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Rev. Al Sharpton Will Probably Join MSNBC As 6 PM Host
By
Jen Chung
Published Jul 21, 2011
Modified Jul 21, 2011
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By
Jen Chung
Published Jul 21, 2011
Modified Jul 21, 2011
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No stranger to controversy, the Reverend Al Sharpton looks he'll be like the newest member of MSNBC's left-leaning talk show crew. Last week, TV Newser reported that Sharpton, filling in for usual 6 p.m. host Cenk Uygur, had higher ratings in a key demographic and now the NY Times says, "Mr. Sharpton’s imminent hiring, which was acknowledged by three people at the channel on condition of anonymity because the contract had not been signed, is significant in part because MSNBC and other news channels have been criticized for a paucity of minority hosts in prominent time slots."
Earlier this week, Sharpton's spokeswoman told the NY Post, "There have been no formal discussions, but he is having a lot of fun. He's been doing talk radio for the past five years -- with a daily show and several radio shows that he hosts during the weekend -- so he has an audience." Of course, the Post tries to dampen any kind of enthusiasm over the show, reminding, "The Sharpton-hosted show airing nightly would, at the very least, generate plenty of ink for MSNBC, due to Sharpton's outspoken and often inflammatory nature. CNN tried much the same thing when it hired disgraced "Love Guv" Eliot Spitzer last fall -- two years after he resigned from office in a hooker scandal -- to host its 8 p.m. show with conservative columnist Kathleen Parker (who left shortly thereafter). That experiment ultimately backfired when Spitzer -- who, like Sharpton, had no professional background in TV -- failed to find a steady audience."
However, let's consider Sharpton's (Tweeted) words from Tuesday, "Activism is like playing a football game and you have the ball. Some in the crowd will cheer u, others will jeer u. Your job is to score."
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Jen Chung
Jen Chung is a former WNYC and Gothamist editor.
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