Tag: MSNBC

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Capitol Insurrection Fox News January 6

Devin Nunes Gets Slammed By Fox Host For Saying Fox ‘Destroyed’ MSNBC By Refusing To Air Jan. 6 Hearings

Former GOP congressman and current Truth Social CEO Devin Nunes got a lot more than he bargained for when he suggested on Fox News that the conservative network had “destroyed” MSNBC with its decision not to air any of the January 6 committee’s public hearing on Thursday evening.

Nunes was a guest Sunday on “Media Buzz,” and he immediately told host Howard Kurtz that the recent hearings were biased and worthless because there are no supporters of failed former president Donald Trump on the Jan. 6 committee.

Kurtz countered by asking:

“Does that mean the media shouldn’t cover it much? Does it mean they should dismiss videotaped deposition from the likes of Bill Barr, Jason Miller, Jared Kushner?”

Nunes then tried to suggest that ratings for the hearing were a bust:

“To put this in primetime, the numbers were way down. So I don’t understand how these big corporations — I know it was spread across some 20 different networks — when you compare Fox News which didn’t which did not air that live, it just destroyed CNN and MSNBC in the ratings, right?”

But Kurtz wasn’t about to let Nunes blatantly lie about the ratings, countering him by noting:

“Networks like MSNBC did very well covering this hearing. Obviously, it would appeal to the liberal viewers of that network.”

As a matter of fact, 20 million people watched Thursday’s broadcast of the hearings. Fox, on the other hand, only drew about 3 million viewers:

According to the New York Times, at least 20 million viewers tuned in to watch the hearings. Only 3 million opted for Fox, which deliberately avoided televising the historic event.

An audience of at least 20 million people watched the first prime-time hearing of the House Select Committee’s investigation into the Jan. 6 attack on Thursday night, according to Nielsen.

ABC attracted the biggest audience, with 5.2 million viewers. NBC and CBS each had an audience of more than three million. MSNBC averaged more than four million, and CNN drew 2.7 million. (The 20 million figure did not yet include PBS, so the total audience was most likely a bit bigger.)

As usual, Nunes and the other pro-Trump Republicans would rather lie than face facts.

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Media in America

Rachel Maddow Taking A ‘Hiatus’ From Her Nightly MSNBC Show: Report

MSNBC host Rachel Maddow will take a “hiatus” from her top-rated primetime show, according to Claire Atkinson of Business Insider.

 

Atkinson reports:

Maddow is taking time to work on a Focus Features movie based on her book and podcast “Bag Man” about a political bribery scandal. It will be directed by Ben Stiller and Maddow will be an executive producer. The influential anchor is also developing a new podcast.

Maddow’s break from her nightly hosting duties will only be for a few weeks:

“Maddow’s break to re-energize and also set up her new outside projects will be temporary.”

Maddow recently signed a new contract with MSNBC that pays her $30 million a year and will keep her at the network through the 2024 election.

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Congress GOP Whining Russia WTF?!

Devin Nunes Sues MSNBC Because Rachel Maddow Exposed His Ties To Russia

Rep. Devin Nunes (R-CA) — who is fresh off losing a lawsuit he filed against CNN — is now suing the parent company of MSNBC, NBCUniversal Media, for defamation because MSNBC host Rachel Maddow dared to reveal his many connections to Russia and Russian operatives who tried to influence the 2016 presidential election.

According to Bloomberg:

“California Republican Congressman Devin Nunes sued NBCUniversal Media alleging that MSNBC’s liberal talk show host Rachel Maddow defamed him with on-air suggestions he’d conspired with a Russian agent to rig the 2016 presidential election for Donald Trump.

“Nunes, who is the ranking member of the House Intelligence Committee, says Maddow has repeatedly targeted him with defamatory statements that accuse him of obstruction of justice and treason. Nunes said Maddow has also called for him to lose his committee post and be stripped of his security clearances.”

What exactly did Maddow say that Nunes is claiming was defamatory? Well, she let the world know about his many ties to Russia and Russian nationals who played a part in running a smear campaign against Hillary Clinton in the 2016 election to benefit Donald Trump, who was favored by the Kremlin.

Here’s what Maddow reported on March 8, 2021:

“Last summer, the Senate Intelligence Committee in the house learned that same guy, Derkach, had mailed a stack of unknown materials to Devin Nunes, who is the top Republican on the Intelligence Committee to this day. Andrei Derkach singled out by name by the Director of National Intelligence as someone under Vladimir Putin‘s direct purview who helped run this organization targeting our election last year. Congressman Nunes accepted a package from him. What was in it? Congressman Nunes has refused to answer questions about what he has received from Andrei Derkach.”

The problem for Nunes is that every single word of what Maddow said is true and easily fact-checked against declassified congressional and intelligence reports on the 2016 election.

So why is Nunes suing? He claims that Maddow and MSNBC never contacted him for comment and therefore he wasn’t allowed to present his side of the story. However, given the fact that Nunes constantly lies, his accusation is almost certainly false.

Also, a journalist as precise and seasoned as Maddow would never air a story without reaching out for comment from Nunes or an official representative who could speak on behalf of the congressman.

The highly litigious California Republican will lose the suit against NBCUniversal, the same way he’s lost all of the other defamation suits he’s filed against media companies — including Twitter — which dared to allow accounts that were critical of Nunes to remain on their platform.

Devin Nunes is a Russian asset. All the lawsuits in the world won’t change that fact.