The Two Sides of MSNBC

It’s frustrating to hear that MSNBC has removed Keith Olbermann and Chris Matthews from its upcoming election coverage. Actually, frustrating isn’t the word. I’m pissed.

I know the two will still be on the screen giving their analysis. And I know they’ll both still have their shows. But really? Really, David “Race for the White House” Gregory will be talking instead? The guy who interrupts people just as they’re gearing up to say something important. The guy who doesn’t pursue significant lines of questioning but would rather steer the conversation back his way because he’s the host?

The move makes me want to hate MSNBC, but I can’t because it still has Keith. So perhaps there’s another, brighter, way to look at this. Had they not been removed, they would have been under a sharper scope come Election Day. Their hands might have been slapped. Their mouths might have been washed out with soap. They might have been strongly encouraged to offer a softer hand to the poor conservative guests with weak constitutions. And, sadly, they might have even become a bigger story closer to Election Day, thus diverting attention from the shocking patheticness that is McCalin.

Made-up scenario:

Reporter: Senator McCain, we have yet to hear any specifics on your health care, tax, education, or environment plans. Yet, you claim Senator Obama will do nothing to help the nation recover from the current financial hardship.

McCain: Well, what about Keith Olbermann. Didya hear what he said? How can he be allowed to continue doing such things and saying such scathing things about me, my wife, and my running mate? And besides, I was a POW.

Reporter: So sorry. So sorry.

Instead, Keith and Chris will be able to more freely, I’m assuming, provide the commentary that’s been drawing viewers, such as myself. And it’s the commentary page that’s always more exciting anyway, right?

There’s another reason I can’t hate MSNBC: Rachel Maddow. Her new show starts tonight at 9 EST.

If you want to be smarter, you have to watch Rachel. And keep paying attention to Keith. I’ll have to watch it online, so here’s hoping MSNBC won’t decide to do away with its video player to avoid hurting McCalin’s feelings.

And here’s hoping MSNBC won’t be too hurt when its election-night ratings drop. Really. David Gregory.

Channel 7 Calls It ‘Yum-Cha’

The other day, I wrote about a show that Channel 7 is broadcasting each day before its Olympic coverage starts. Turns out, I’m not the only one frustrated by it.

I found out that it is called Yum Cha. Yum Cha, for those who don’t know, is a Chinese custom of “eating small servings of different foods while sipping Chinese tea in Cantonese-speaking areas of Southern China.” (Thanks, trusty Wikipedia).

I also found out the name of the woman who I despise so much. It is Sonia Kruger and she was in the movie Strictly Ballroom and hosts the Australian version of “Dancing With the Stars.” This non-athlete has been sent to join a panel of other unfortunate Australian personalities that hop from reality show to reality show performing hosting duties, including one of the Daddo brothers, of which I hear there are a few. There is also a guy who put on traditional Chinese dress, including makeup, and then put his hands on the side of his head and pulled the skin back. Yes he did.

But there is much more Channel 7 should be embarrassed about other than this show. I’m thinking about all the equestrian and rowing and field hockey (field hockey!) I’ve had to watch, so now I’m mad. The funny thing is that Channel 7 is happy with its ratings. What the hell else is there to watch? Well, for one, the Olympic coverage on SBS. It’s far superior. I’m actually watching volleyball that is not taking place on a fake beach.

Aussie Olympic B’Casters Forget Manners at Home

If you’re a broadcaster lucky enough to be sent by your news station to cover the Olympics in person, you probably don’t want to come off sounding like an ignoramus. The athletes aren’t the only ones representing their countries.

This morning, four Aussies were sitting behind a desk in Beijing doing some morning-session review before handing it over to the next group.

I’m not sure of the blond one’s name, because Channel 7 doesn’t think regularly flashing them on the screen is beneficial. Nevertheless, I tuned in just in time for the broadcaster to hold up a sheet of paper, shush her colleagues and say, “Can you say [insert two names I didn't catch formed by a complex combination of vowels and consonants that can be difficult for a native English speaker to say.]“

They all shared a commiserating chuckle, decrying the difficulty of reporting the Olympics back to their compatriots here in Australia. Oh, the poor blond who has to (no!) pronounce such names. The woman next to her suggested that her teammates probably refer to her by this nickname or that.

Then, the unknown blond said something to the effect of, “I seem to have become the weightlifting expert. Just because yesterday I said ’45 kilo class.’ By the way, I’ve never seen a person weighing 45 kilos lift weights let alone food.

“Anyway,” the bumbler continued, “I have to tell you. Because I’m the weightlifting expert, I’m going to have to say things like ‘clean and jerk’ and ‘snatch.’ So I don’t want to hear anything out of any of you.”

Blond lady, you said another word for vagina. Snigger, snigger. How old are these people? Unfortunately she won’t be embarrassed and no one will call her on her shit, because she’s blond and hot. Neither of those, though, excuse her from being a broadcaster with a modicum of respect for others besides herself, as well as cultural awareness.

It’s a big ask, I know.

Moveon.org’s Ad For Obama And a Shout Out to Lincoln

It was pretty sweet to see one of the finalists in Moveon.org‘s Obama ad contest take us back to almost 150 years ago when another guy became the unlikely presidential nominee. The spot finished second in the contest, which was judged by a bunch of well-known lefties such as Michael Franti (find his music and listen to it!), Julia Stiles, Steve Buscemi (he rides the F train), John Legend, Lawrence Lessig, Oliver Stone, Markos Moulitsas (Daily Kos founder), and Matt Damon.

The Obama-Lincoln ad:

The other finalists are on Moveon.org. The next step in this process is to raise enough money to run the ad on the airwaves at the right time.

Reality TV Check

Unfortunately there are few things that surprise me anymore. Equally as unfortunate, though, is if something does have the potential to surprise, once it settles in, be it in a minute or, say, five, it goes back to being not such a surprise.

But I think I found something.

I was watching a DVR-recorded episode of “Criminal Minds” the other night, sweat dripping off my face because I had just gotten off my stair stepper, and I was a little slow on the fast-forwarding uptake. As a result, I managed to catch a promo for the upcoming season of “Survivor.”

I used to watch this show. Just the first season. The foul-mouthed, short-tempered truck driver from the Midwest was much too entertaining to ignore, and, well, it was an interesting idea. The problem, though, is that the show has run out of ideas. I haven’t kept up, but I can only imagine that is the reason they’re doing this season what they’re doing. Because of the need for ratings to satisfy advertisers so someone makes a big buck.

The brainiacs behind “Survivor” thought it would be a good idea to divide this season’s contestants into four teams by race: Blacks, whites, Latinos, and Asians. I didn’t hear that right, did I? I hit the rewind button. I did hear that right. My mouth fell open, ready to scream at the television, but nothing came out. I was speechless. Flabbergasted. Surprised, even.

Who thought this would be a good idea, asked my friend Chris today after I presented him with the information. Indeed. Have we not just spent more than a hundred years trying to ease the divisions that were drawn by race? Does “race war” no longer have meaning?

I’ll admit that I don’t know much of the show’s specifics, other than the “tribes” will eventually merge as they do each season, this time into a “melting pot,” if you’ll allow the misnomer. They hope. “It’s a social experiment,” said the scrawny little host (I wonder whose side he’s on). A social experiment. Correct me if I’m wrong, but simply stepping foot outside every day is a social experiment. There are social experiments being conducted all over the world — racially, religiously, economically.

Even the word “experiment” is unnerving. It suggests the presence of a powerful higher-up somewhere in a white lab coat tracking the data in order to prove a hypothesis. What will it be? That whites are the “it” group? Asians the smartest? What if all the Latinos are gone by merge day? The blacks? What are those stories going to be about in the papers the next day?

And consider that the point is to work together, thus assuming that each tribe member gets along well. That will rely on the presumption that all blacks like each other, all Asians like each other, and so on. Furthermore, it assumes that nationalist pride within each group is enough. That those with Canadian, Irish, German, Czech, Polish, Australian, Swiss, Chinese, Korean, Japanese, Laotian, Vietnamese, Indian, Filipino, Puerto Rican, Dominican, Peruvian, Mexican, Brazilian, Colombian, and Venezuelian ancestry share national pride. Um. Oh, and I forgot. “African-American” national pride. Sen. Barack Obama is visiting Kenya, because his father is from there. Not all blacks can trace their nations of origin. America? Lots of pride for blacks to feel about there.

Television is a representation of the current state of things. So pitting racial groups against one another in a game of survival in order to entertain is akin to sitting ringside of a boxing match. Or watching figures in a cage go at it. And viewers will be watching figures go at it in a cage, except this cage comes in high definition. Just to make the bloodshed a little sharper, more, well, defined. Sure the show is a hit. And yes people have been pit against one another before. Men and women, I heard. But never racially. And it’s a little frightening that not only do television executives think this would be a good idea, but also that there will be advertisers. Even more frightening, perhaps, is that there will be viewers.

This idea is a sick one. It’s American. It takes any social progress this country has made and dips it in a vat of lye. Maybe it’s not so dramatic. Maybe there’s another, sicker effect the producers are going for. A Bamboozled-like satire is potentially in the making, with the contestants donning modern-day blackface in the quest to belong to the “bigger,” “stronger,” “better” racial group.

“Survivor” is a game. Race is not. And sadly it’s all in the name of keeping it interesting. Because the world’s not interesting enough?

Loving it a Little Too Live

I’ve got the paper to do and a move to get through and what am I doing? Watching basketball. I don’t think I’ve ever paid such close attention to the NBA playoffs as I have this year. It’s a bad time.

I haven’t signed up for cable yet for my new house, so maybe that’s a good thing. But I will be missing the season finales Boston Public, West Wing, Friends, Will & Grace, and ER. Sucks. And the playoffs. Maybe it’s a good thing. Another thing I’m doing instead of my paper is looking for a decent Spurs hat. I can’t find one. I may have to hit the NBA store here. I may actually have to shop offline. I’m not happy about it. Not that I have a whole lot of money for such stuff, but I’m still in mourning over the loss of my other Spurs hat. It’s been about four years now but there are just some things one can’t get over. I don’t think I’ll ever have another hat like that one.