MS NOW (known as MSNBC until November 2025) is a news and political commentary organization that has been the focus of several controversies. It has been accused by academics, media figures, political figures, and watchdog groups of having various biases in their news coverage as well as more general views of a liberal bias. Most of these controversies took place during the 2015–2024 era.
Controversies
Assertions of liberal bias Commentators have described MSNBC as having a bias towards left-leaning politics and the Democratic Party. In November 2007, a New York Times article stated that MSNBC's prime-time lineup is tilting more to the left. Washington Post media analyst Howard Kurtz has stated that the channel's evening lineup "has clearly gravitated to the left in recent years and often seems to regard itself as the antithesis of Fox News". In 2011, Salon.com noted that "MSNBC's prime-time lineup is now awash in progressive politics."Kornacki, Steve (2011-01-21). "Is Olbermann the victim of his own success?". Salon.com.
That same year, Politico referred to MSNBC as "left-leaning".Barr, Andy (2011-04-05). "MSNBC host coaxes Ron Paul to run". Politico. In reference to changes in the channel's evening programming, senior vice president of NBC News Phil Griffin said that "It happened naturally. There isn't a dogma we're putting through. There is a 'Go for it.
A study conducted on media bias during the 2008 presidential election found that "A positive tone pervaded (on MSNBC) coverage of candidates from both parties. Nearly half (47%) of the stories about Democratic candidates were positive, vs. 19% negative and 34% neutral. Coverage of Republican candidates was not quite as rosy but still more stories were positive (38%) than neutral (33%) or negative (30%)."
In the February 2008 issue of Men's Journal magazine, an MSNBC interviewee quoted a senior executive who said that liberal commentator Keith Olbermann "runs MSNBC" and that "because of his success, he's in charge" of the channel. The New York Times has called Olbermann MSNBC's "most recognizable face". In September 2008, MSNBC stated that they were removing both Olbermann and Chris Matthews as live political event anchors, and replacing them with David Gregory, due to growing criticism that they were "too opinionated to be seen as neutral in the heat of the presidential campaign".
Olbermann continued to broadcast Countdown both before and after the presidential and vice-presidential debates, and both Matthews and Olbermann joined Gregory on the channel's election night coverage. In September 2009, a Pew Research Poll showed that Democrats were much more likely than Republicans to rate the channel favorably and Republicans were much more likely than Democrats to see MSNBC unfavorably.
On November 13, 2009, in the days leading up to the release of 2008 Republican vice-presidential candidate Sarah Palin's book "Going Rogue", MSNBC's Dylan Ratigan used photoshopped pictures of Palin on the channel's Morning Meeting program. Ratigan apologized a few days later stating, "I want to apologize to Governor Palin and all of our viewers. On Friday, in a very misguided attempt to have some fun in advance of Sarah Palin's upcoming book Going Rogue, our staff mistakenly used some clearly photoshopped images of Ms. Palin without any acknowledgment."
In October 2010, MSNBC began using the tagline "lean forward", which was described by some media outlets, including msnbc.com, as the network embracing its politically progressive identity.
Assertions of pro-Obama bias Some Democratic Party supporters, most notably Pennsylvania Governor Ed Rendell and Bill Clinton advisor Lanny Davis, criticized MSNBC during and after the 2008 Democratic primaries, as covering Barack Obama more favorably than Hillary Clinton."Rendell: Obama coverage was embarrassing". Politico. August 24, 2008. Retrieved August 24, 2008.Dangerous Liaison. The New Republic. May 27, 2008. Retrieved August 24, 2008. A study done by the Project for Excellence in Journalism showed that MSNBC had less negative coverage of Obama (14% of stories vs. 29% in the press overall) and more negative stories about Republican presidential candidate John McCain (73% of its coverage vs. 57% in the press overall).
MSNBC's on-air slogan during the week of the 2008 presidential election, "The Power of Change", was criticized as being overtly similar to Obama's campaign slogan of "Change". Following the 2008 presidential election, conservative talk-show host, John Ziegler worked on a documentary called Media Malpractice. ... How Obama Got Elected, which was very critical of the media, especially MSNBC's role, in the election. While promoting the documentary, he engaged in an on-air dispute with MSNBC news anchor Contessa Brewer, on how the media, especially MSNBC, had portrayed Sarah Palin.
After Chris Matthews and Keith Olbermann made controversial on-air comments during the 2008 Republican National Convention, NBC News correspondent David Gregory replaced them, but Matthews and Olbermann continued working as analysts. On November 4–5, Matthews teamed with Rachel Maddow, Eugene Robinson, Gregory, and Olbermann to cover the presidential election.
During MSNBC's coverage of the Potomac primary, Matthews said of presidential candidate Barack Obama, "I have to tell you, you know, it's part of reporting this case, this election, the feeling most people get when they hear Barack Obama's speech. My, I felt this thrill going up my leg. I mean, I don't have that too often."
This led many on the right to assert that both he and MSNBC were biased toward Obama.
Donahue cancellation
Phil Donahue's 2002 program Donahue was canceled in late February 2003 during the buildup to the Iraq War. Despite earlier statements tying the cancellation to low ratings, Donahue was MSNBC's highest rated show that month.
A leaked NBC internal study revealed that the studio was concerned that Donahue would act as "a home for the liberal antiwar agenda at the same time that our competitors are waving the flag at every opportunity".
Michael Savage dismissal During the spring and early summer of 2003, MSNBC featured a weekend talk show hosted by conservative radio host Michael Savage. In July of that year, Savage responded to a prank caller on his show by calling him a "pig" and a "sodomite", and telling him he "should get AIDS and die". Savage's show was canceled and Savage was fired from the channel shortly afterward (with some reports placing the termination immediately after the episode in question went off air).
Don Imus dismissal In early April 2007, Don Imus, whose radio show Imus in the Morning was simulcast on MSNBC, described members of the Rutgers University women's basketball team, as "some nappy-headed hoes". The comments sparked outrage, as many considered them to be racist and sexist. After sponsors began to withdraw advertisements from the show, MSNBC canceled the simulcast. Imus, as well as NBC News, apologized to the Rutgers Basketball team for the remarks."MSNBC drops simulcast of Don Imus show". msnbc.com. April 11, 2007.
Rise of the New Right documentary In June 2010, a documentary airing on MSNBC and hosted by Chris Matthews titled Rise of the New Right drew significant criticism from conservatives and the Tea Party movement. The documentary features interviews with Dick Armey, the former House Majority Leader, Orly Taitz, a leading figure in the "birther" movement, and radio host Alex Jones. The documentary also showed the Michigan Militia's survival training camp and hit the campaign trail with Kentucky Senatorial candidate Rand Paul.
After the documentary aired, FreedomWorks, which is chaired by Dick Armey, issued a letter calling for a boycott of Dawn and Procter & Gamble, which advertises during Hardball with Chris Matthews.
Olbermann suspension On November 5, 2010, MSNBC President Phil Griffin suspended Olbermann indefinitely without pay for contributing $2,400 (the maximum personal donation limit) to each of three Democratic candidates during the 2010 midterm election cycle.Aujla, Simmi (November 5, 2010). "Keith Olbermann suspended after donating to Democrats". Politico. Contributions to political campaigns, under NBC News policy, are not allowed without prior permission. On November 7, 2010, Olbermann posted a thank you message to supporters via Twitter. The same day, MSNBC announced that he would return on the air starting November 9.
Two weeks later, Griffin announced the suspension of Joe Scarborough for the same offense, as the Morning Joe host had donated $4,000 to Republican candidates in Florida. Like Olbermann's suspension, Scarborough's suspension was brief, and he returned to the airwaves on November 24."MSNBC Suspends 'Morning Joe' Host Scarborough for Political Donations" The Wall Street Journal November 19, 2010
2011 Tucson shootings During the news cycle following the 2011 Tucson shooting, conservative talk-radio host Mark Levin threatened to sue Chris Matthews and several other MSNBC commentators who suggested that he might have influenced the shooter, Jared Lee Loughner. Levin also defended Republican politician Sarah Palin from MSNBC punditry linking her political rhetoric to the heated political atmosphere surrounding the killings.
Paul Bond of The Hollywood Reporter wrote "MSNBC was crucial in driving the narrative that the killer was egged on by violent political rhetoric, particularly from Palin". Bond also wrote "even after it was learned that the shooter was an atheist, flag-burning, Bush-hating, 9/11 Truther who enjoyed joking about abortion (not exactly the portrait of a Palin supporter), MSNBC still did not let up on that story line".
Mitt Romney video Anchorwoman Andrea Mitchell was caught showing a doctored video clip of GOP presidential candidate Mitt Romney at a rally in Pennsylvania. The edited version features Romney saying how amazing it is to get a custom made sandwich, using a touch screen ordering device at a Wawa convenience store. What viewers didn't see or hear was nearly three minutes of Romney discussing the extensive amount of paperwork faced by an optometrist he'd talked to in trying to get the post office to change his address. He expressed mock amazement at Wawa's efficiency to underscore how the private sector is often more efficient than Government.
Romney-Ryan chant video On Morning Joe, a discussion about Romney relying on his running mate Paul Ryan's popularity was begun with a clip from a Romney rally that showed the crowd chanting. In the clip Romney instructs them to chant "Romney-Ryan". According to the subtitle added by the show, they were chanting "Ryan", which along with the introduction to the clip, made it appear that Romney was injecting his own name into a "Ryan" chant. A caller to TheBlaze TV's Pat & Stu said she had been at the rally and they were chanting "Romney".
Reporters who attended the event from the website BuzzFeed, and the New York Times both confirm that the crowd was chanting "Romney", and he added the name of his running mate. In response to criticisms, Joe Scarborough tweeted that they were chanting "Ryan", and that he would "take note of those who link to the lie". Lauren Skowronski, a spokeswoman for Morning Joe, sent out an email stating that, "the tape clip was untouched and was played as it was recorded", though the "Ryan" subscript was clearly added to the clip.
Bias against Mitt Romney and for Barack Obama