The following is a history of MSNBC from 1996 to 2007. MSNBC is an American basic cable and satellite news television channel that was created in 1996 by Microsoft and General Electric's NBC unit, which is now the Comcast-owned NBCUniversal.
Microsoft invested $220 million for a 50% share of the cable network, while MSNBC and Microsoft would share the cost of a $200 million newsroom in Redmond, Washington for MSNBC. NBC supplied the channel space that was occupied by the 18-month-old America's Talking network. Its name is a combination of "MSN" and "NBC". MSNBC (similarly to Fox News) was created as an alternative to CNN.
The following are highlights from the network's first 11 years; its history from 2008 to 2015 is separately covered. Mark Harrington was the first president of MSNBC until his death in 1998; the network's first permanent studios in Secaucus, New Jersey, were later named for Harrington.Ariens, Chris. "NBC News Unwraps New World HQ. Adweek: TVNewser, October 12, 2007. MSNBC's first temporary facilities were located in Fort Lee, New Jersey, on which see the Harrington obituary in the note above.
Launch MSNBC was launched on July 15, 1996, after a lengthy taped loop of promos aired following the end of America's Talking. The first show, which was anchored by Jodi Applegate, broadcast a lineup of news read by Lori Stokes, interviews and opinions. The first three news stories MSNBC covered on its launch are Boris Yeltsin meeting then-vice president Al Gore despite concerns over Yeltsin's health, an update on Bob Dole's presidential campaign, and updated information about the Khobar Towers bombing. During the day, rolling news coverage continued with The Contributors, a show that featured Ann Coulter and Laura Ingraham, as well as interactive programming coordinated by Applegate, John Gibson and John Seigenthaler. Stories were generally longer and more detailed than the stories running on CNN at the time.
Connecting news and the Internet (1996–1998) The start was a bit bumpy due to a series of changes in management and continuing internal squabbles over the direction of the network. Some NBC affiliates were concerned that cross-promotion would divert viewers from their own programs, although that fear abated.Siklos, Richard. "This Little Peacock is Showing Some Pluck. BusinessWeek, August 17, 1998. However, MSNBC was often first to break news, ushering in an era of hypercompetitiveness between the news channels that continues today.Towery, Terry. "MSNBC proves it is ready." Peoria Journal Star, July 21, 1996. Page C12 MSNBC originally demonstrated the interactive value of the Internet. The network's first slogan was It's Time to Get Connected, and e-mail addresses and phone numbers were displayed regularly. It was headquartered from studios in Fort Lee, New Jersey. In November 1996, the network moved to new studios in Secaucus, New Jersey.
The network's goal of attracting a younger, tech-savvy audience in 1996 failed to materialize. In September 1997, MSNBC laid off 20% of its staffFlash, Cynthia. "Microsoft learns costly media lesson". Tacoma News Tribune, September 24, 1997. Page C9 and canceled one of its earliest programs, The Site, due to low ratings and the press of a news story (the death of Princess Diana), which angered many viewers. The network began moving away from its Internet roots, and began covering fashion and entertainment features like its competitors. After its first year, the network had 24,000 households viewing it per night, well short of the 578,000 of CNN and the 30,000 of Fox News (which was four months younger than MSNBC)
That show was replaced by Headliners and Legends, a biography program that became a weekend staple on the network ever since. Also in 1999, the management of MSNBC replaced midday news coverage with a delayed broadcast of NBC's Today called Today on MSNBC and repackaged Dateline NBC stories into MSNBC Investigates, a decision that angered NBC affiliates.
A fictionalized version of MSNBC and its newsroom was featured in the 1998 science fiction film Deep Impact, after CNN reportedly declined.
Early programs
Imus in the Morning MSNBC signed a simulcast agreement with Infinity Broadcasting station WFAN in New York City to carry the Imus in the Morning radio show, which began on September 2, 1996.Bianculli, David: "Best of 'Imus in the Morning' on MSNBC? Them's the breaks." New York Daily News, September 29, 1996.
Internight
Primetime featured an hour-long interview program called Internight (which showcased the stars of NBC News), followed by the network's flagship newscast. It was a rotating host lineup of big names such as Tom Brokaw, Katie Couric, Bob Costas, Bryant Gumbel and Bill Moyers. The first Internight included an interview with President Bill Clinton, who took questions from callers and e-mailers. BET host Ed Gordon also contributed to the new network by hosting the Saturday version of Internight.
Brian Williams and Soledad O'Brien The original two primetime shows were The News with Brian Williams, hosted by Brian Williams, and The Site, a show about the Internet and computers co-hosted by Soledad O'Brien and a "live" computer-generated character called Dev Null played by Leo Laporte. Other shows that made use of the Internet included News Chat featuring Mary Kathleen Flynn, and a look into the past with Time & Again, anchored by Jane Pauley. The Site was canceled in 1997 and was eventually followed by The News being dropped and relocated to CNBC in 2002.
The crash of TWA Flight 800 was broken on The News by Williams several minutes before CNN; Howard Rosenberg of the Los Angeles Times felt that its coverage was initially marred by disorganized coordination with NBC News personnel (as many of its chief correspondents were in Atlanta for coverage of the 1996 Summer Olympics) and technical issues, but improved throughout the evening and benefited from WNBC's helicopter imagery. However, he still felt that CNN's Linden Soles-led coverage was of better quality.
Keith Olbermann and John Hockenberry SportsCenter host Keith Olbermann left ESPN to join MSNBC in 1997. In the 8pm timeslot, Internight was replaced with The Big Show with Keith Olbermann in hopes that his irreverent style would spike up ratings.Mifflin, Lawrie. "Too Few Viewers for 'Hockenberry'." The New York Times, July 12, 1999. Page C12 But when the Monica Lewinsky scandal broke in 1998, The Big Show morphed into White House in Crisis. Olbermann became frustrated as his show was consumed by the Lewinsky story. In 1998, he stated that his work at MSNBC would "make me ashamed, make me depressed, make me cry." He left MSNBC and joined Fox Sports Net. Olbermann was then replaced by Dateline NBC host John Hockenberry, whose show Edgewise became popular.
Chris Matthews and Mitch Albom Political advisor under President Jimmy Carter, Chris Matthews began his own show Hardball with Chris Matthews on both CNBC and replaced Hockenberry's 8pm show Edgewise. Prior to this, Matthews hosted Politics with Chris Matthews on MSNBC predecessor America's Talking. Hardball would last up to March 2020.
Popular author and sports and political journalist Mitch Albom hosted his own two-hour program The Mitch Albom Show. Despite high ratings, the show was canceled after a few months. The reason is rumored to be that he did not get along with the leadership at MSNBC.
Leadership under President Erik Sorenson (1998–2004) In 1999, MSNBC began a partnership with The Washington Post that permitted more integrated coverage on the website."Washington Post, NBC to collaborate". Houston Chronicle, November 18, 1999. pg. 4 The msnbc.com website, a separate company, remained relatively successful, becoming the most-used online news site in 1997,PR Newswire: "MSNBC.com rated #1 online news site for 1997", January 20, 1998 1998,PR Newswire: "MSNBC.com rated #1 online news site for 1998", January 19, 1999 and 1999.PR Newswire: "MSNBC.com rated #1 online news site for 1999", January 22, 2000 MSNBC's ratings significantly increased during the impeachment of Bill Clinton, following a new "covering the Big Story" format that provided saturation coverage for the top stories. Keith Olbermann left over MSNBC's continuing focus on the impeachment.
On April 3, 2000, Home Page, a show hosted by three womenAshleigh Banfield, Gina Gaston and Mika Brzezinskidebuted.Curpisin, Tim. "MSNBC wants to be women's `Home Page'". Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, April 3, 2000. Along with Home Page, MSNBC tried to attract female viewers by signing a deal in February 2001 with Detroit radio station WJR to simulcast the first two hours of The Mitch Albom Show. While the pairing was a ratings winner, both shows would eventually be canceled: Home Page due to sinking ratings; and The Mitch Albom Show due to its frequent preemptions and some disagreements with the MSNBC management. In 2000, John Gibson, one of the original MSNBC hosts, left the network. His confrontational tenure as the host of the Feedback primetime program foreshadowed his opinion program on the Fox News Channel."Gibson Jumping to FNC." New York Post, August 16, 2000. MSNBC continued to repackage NBC News programs (Special Edition and Crime Files), and during the 2000 presidential election cycle, reporters and interviews were cycled constantly between broadcast NBC and the cable news channel.Saunders, Dusty. "NBC scored early success in announcing Bush win", Rocky Mountain News, December 15, 2000. MSNBC also commissioned original documentaries similar to the Discovery Channel for use as filler on weekends. Later in the year, Lester Holt received kudos for his daily coverage of the Florida election controversy.Lavin, Cheryl. "Holt hits the Newsroom running for MSNBC." Chicago Tribune, November 24, 2000. Page 1.
By the start of 2001, MSNBC continued to trail both Fox News and CNN. With the success of Fox News Channel, MSNBC tried to emulate the Fox News Channel's emphasis on opinion hosts.Moss, Linda. "MSNBC Shifts Shows" Cable World, July 2, 2001. The Project for Excellence in Journalism found in 2007 after a seven-year survey of cable networks that "MSNBC is moving to make politics a brand, with a large dose of opinion and personality." In January 2001, Mike Barnicle got a show on MSNBC, but it was canceled in June 2001 due to high production costs. In June, in a sign of continuing trouble of MSNBC, Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer said that he would not have started MSNBC if he knew then what he knows now (referencing the longstanding troubles in increasing viewership).
After the September 11 attacks in 2001, MSNBC served as an outlet for NBC News to provide up-to-the-minute coverage, in contrast to broadcast network NBC's longer stories. CNBC and CNBC Europe, with little financial news to report, ran MSNBC for many hours of the day following the attacks. The year also boosted the profile of Ashleigh Banfield, who had escaped injury while covering the World Trade Center on September 11. Her Region In Conflict program capitalized on her newfound celebrity and showcased exclusive interviews from Afghanistan.
In 2001 and 2002, MSNBC tried to focus on opinion journalism. MSNBC still had low ratings, but scored up to triple the usual ratings during the 2002 Winter Olympics, airing several events, but this success was not due to news programming.Bauder, David. "Bad decisions hurt MSNBC" Associated Press, February 25, 2002. MSNBC rebranded itself as America's NewsChannel, with a patriotic theme proclaiming MSNBC to be fiercely independent.Battaglin, Steven. "MSNBC starts to spell out new approach." New York Daily News, April 12, 2002, page 139 The News with Brian Williams was moved to CNBC, leaving MSNBC with primarily opinion shows in the evening. The experiment failed miserably and many shows were canceled. The network was regularly beaten in the ratings by CNN Headline News. Overall, ratings dropped 36% from the previous year.