Nick Denton seems to think so, calling them the “cosiest co-anchors” and saying their “on-air antics have convinced MSNBC grunts the two are pursuing an off-camera affair.” Of course, Denton also calls Scarborough a “liberal darling,” so who knows if it’s true?

................................................................................................................................................................................................
comments (39) | digg this | reddit | facebook | del.icio.us | stumble | permalink

In yet another strange twist to how the MSNBC network is covering the 2008 presidential elections, about ten minutes after 11:00 a.m. ET on Monday, an anchor briefly mentioned on-air the plagiarism controversy involving Sen. Barack Obama’s recycling of a 2006 speech by Gov. Deval Patrick. However, instead of detailing the very similar speeches, the MSNBC anchor immediately noted that Obama and Patrick have said they are close friends and regularly share lines.

The story was not explained to viewers further, and video clips comparing the similarities of the speeches were not aired. It also was not explained that even if Obama and Patrick are friends, that doesn’t mean Obama is allowed to present Patrick’s words as his own to unsuspecting audiences.

Whether MSNBC can present serious coverage of the Obama campaign has been questioned by many critics of the network to date. Some have noted that one of MSNBC’s top personalities, Mika Brzezinski, has at least two family members consulting and/or working for the Obama campaign.

................................................................................................................................................................................................
comments (13) | digg this | reddit | facebook | del.icio.us | stumble | permalink

Lots of facial problems at MSNBC this morning. Joe Scarborough, back from a possible skiing holiday vacay, turned up on TV bright orange and burnt this morning, sitting next to an increasingly plump-faced Mika Brzezinski and a jolly David Shuster with weird make-up smudges on his rapidly expanding cheeks and double-chin. New year’s make-overs, MSNBC? Please?

Tim Russert, adding his oversized ego to the fat-faced lineup, said on Morning Joe that he’s faced plenty of “80-year-old cougars” trying to chase him down while on the trail in Iowa. A cougar, you’ll recall, is an older lady who’s hot to trot. Go, Timmy.

................................................................................................................................................................................................
comments (2) | digg this | reddit | facebook | del.icio.us | stumble | permalink

MSNBC’s Mika Brzezinski is making headlines today for landing an interview with Michelle Obama, but few people are talking about the family connections she relied on to score her scoop. Her father Zbigniew Brzezinski, who served in the Jimmy Carter administration, is one of Barack Obama’s national security advisers. “My daughter wrote her a note, and she wrote her back,” Mika noted on Morning Joe today.

................................................................................................................................................................................................
comment | digg this | reddit | facebook | del.icio.us | stumble | permalink

Zbigniew Brzezinski, former National Security Advisor to President Jimmy Carter, was steaming mad this morning when his daughter Mika Brzezinksi, a host on MSNBC’s Morning Joe, indicated he didn’t show much affection to her as she grew up. She said his hugs were few and far between, and were often stiff and angry when they did come her way. Almost immediately after she made the claims, her cell phone rang on-air; after taking the call, she said it was her dad, who had been watching, telling her that he disputes her memories. Still, Zbigniew has long been known to be a grouch. In a WaPo article last year, several of his suburban DC neighbors spoke out about his refusal to let city planners install a sidewalk through his front yard.

................................................................................................................................................................................................
comments (5) | digg this | reddit | facebook | del.icio.us | stumble | permalink