http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/ap/20030225/ap_on_en_tv/tv_donahue_6 Not surprising, but still a shame. I can't see a true progressive show ever being popular on television. The medium, after all, is indeed the message, and liberal politics don't mesh with that message very well.
Donahue? The guy who pretty much single-handedly created the likes of Ricki Lake, Jerry Springer, Oprah, et al? It's a shame he was even born, let alone given a tv show.
I'm surprised it lasted this long. The show had negative ratings because of all the TV's thrown out of windows when it was on.
i think this is the first of many to fall under the MSNBC axe. i believe that they're in serious monitary trouble.
It was fairly middle of the road and extremely boring. Occasionally there were progressive guests such as Ed Asner on.
Amazing contempt for Phil Donahue on here. Anybody actually ever watch the show (or remember his old one?) Since the answer is patently obvious, let me recap: 1) Blaming Donahue for Jerry Springer is like blaming Edward R. Murrow for Sean Hannity. Donahue's long running, HUGELY respected daytime talk show was neither salacious nor exploitative. He gave many "regular" Americans the chance to speak their minds, explore new ideas, and learn about our culture. The style was more "town hall meeting" than "media spectacle." For his pioneering work on this show, he has been dubbed by some as "one of the greatest champions of free speech in this century." 2) Back then, however, he was not as overtly political as he has become known in the past few years. I was actually shocked upon seeing him on Charlie Rose a few years back touting Nader's campaign. I had no idea he was either "into" politics or a progressive to boot. I did catch him speaking a few times during that campaign though, and he impressed me with his understanding of and passion for political issues I care about as a progressive. 3) I also missed the news that he even got his own show until recently, and since it didn't last very long, I probably only saw bits and pieces of it a half dozen times. From those viewings, though, I can guess one reason why it failed to catch on: he's too reasonable and accomodating. He actually would let conservatives come on and speak without shouting them down, ad hominem attacks, or general rudeness. In short, it did make for fairly dull television when compared to Fox's bombastic sentsationalism. I often even got upset with him for not getting a bit angrier and annimated when some conservative shmuck would spout the standard misinformation (allusion to the famous Prague meeting, for instance). 4) Nonetheless, and this finally answers Gringo's question, he was very effective at giving reasonable but passionate diatribes from a truly progressive viewpoint. He is no party stooge like Carville. So the bottom line is that the lone voice of that particular American perspective has been now taken back off the air, and the cacophony of irate conservatives can go back to their flag waving thuggery. Anyway, here's a Salon review from when the show premiered: http://www.salonmag.com/news/feature/2002/07/18/donahue/index.html "When he and Buchanan squared off on camera to debate the recent Pledge of Allegiance court ruling, they were just another pair of wealthy, middle-aged, white Irish Catholic men pontificating. Yet they did it with the kind of oratory skill, savvy and touch of bluster that's almost extinct from televised debates today. Like a couple of PGA senior pros on familiar links, the two still had the swing and the smarts to play the game gracefully and entertainingly. Sure it was nostalgic, and at any moment viewers expected them to break into heated 1980s debate about the role of the contras, but it was also passionate TV that revolved around core beliefs, not hollow accusations or a game of political gotcha. For a few minutes, it was the old point-counterpoint style of televised debate. No cutaways to talking heads weighing in via satellite, no endless interruptions of guests. And Donahue boldly defended the controversial court ruling that deemed the Pledge of Allegiance unconstitutional. What other TV talker has done that in prime time?"
The cancellation of Donahue's show is just further evidence that wacko liberalism is dead and can't survive without public funding. I feel bad for the likes of Universal, Pakovits, and superdave as they've now lost a valuable source for their diatribes. Now they're going to have to go back to Chomsky for talking points and there's no chance of him showing up on TV anytime soon.
Yea, and stop substituting "progressive" for liberal. That's what you are, a liberal. If you insist on using progressive, then you have identified yourself as a communist.
This show wasn't cancelled because Phil is a liberal Naderite...it was cancelled because it was a REALLY bad show. I was watching once, and my kid had to prod me to stop me from snoring. I read today that for one episode, Phil had a .1 share...or 137,000 households. In the Nielsen world, that is the equivalent to haveing NO ONE tune in... MLS on ESPN gets 5 times the audience. Maybe MSNBC ought to make an offer.
You have issues. liberal - Not limited to or by established, traditional, orthodox, or authoritarian attitudes, views, or dogmas; free from bigotry. progressive - A person who actively favors or strives for progress toward better conditions, as in society or government. Much love to Dictionary.com.
thanks for that little lesson . Don't you know that communists called themsleves progressives so they could identify each other? Liberal means liberal. I know what it means. You try to spin it so it looks like you're all for the "common good"
Donahue's cancelled? oh no, where am i going to go to see "angry white men" now? well, aside from bigsoccer.
Salon indicates that Donahue was MSNBC's HIGHEST RATED SHOW WHEN THEY CANCELED HIM. http://www.salon.com/books/feature/2003/02/28/alterman/
http://www.drudgereport.com/msnbc.htm he does terrible in his slot. also gringo i didn't see any ratings numbers in that article (note i do not subscribe to salon therefore i only got the snipet)
I watched the whole thing from beginning to the end last night (for the 1st time) with Dennis Miller on. It was a different format than what Donahue had been using - this was more a Charlie Rose 1 on 1 show. Dennis Miller totally out-duelled Phil on pretty much every issue they argued about. I think, even Phil would have to take a step back and re-examine his own thoughts and feeling on quite a few issues... ... yeah, like that'll happen.
I lost all respect for Phil Donahue in political terms years ago when he appeared on Night Line to moderate a debate over home taping. This was at some point in the 80s when it as controversial as downloading music is now. After each of the two participants said something, Donahue would recap the remarks in a way that distorted them toward a more extreme position. It looked as though all he cared about was upping the anger level to get more melodrama. From what little I could stand to watch of his just cancelled show, I didn't see a lot of change. That being said, I find him infinitesimally preferable to the likes of O'Reilly and co because he occasionally lets his guests finish a sentence. Do those guys take intense seminars on interrupting others?
Since Donahue did not keep yelling at us to inform us that his show is fair and balanced, it was doomed from day one.
I didn't like Donahue attitude. However, I thought his show was entertaining. I think the format and guests made the show much more interesting than many shows of its kind. Donahue is extremely liberal but he would have guests on the other side of the extreme. And unlike other shows the dialogue went smoothly rather than everyone yelling at one time. Donahue would have done better if he was on another network.
Even if I agreed with O'Reilly's politics, I still couldn't stand to watch his show for just that reason.
Dennis Miller doesn't "outduel" anyone. He "outclevers" them. Big difference. I just read his Rant Zone book and the guy contradicts himself totally from week to week. He'll say whatever will get a laugh and sound provocative THAT week. The fact that he's ironic about his own self-interest migiates this somewhat. But only somewhat.