How Many Prisons Can MSNBC Possibly Feature On It's station??????

[aaaaaa5a]

I know today is a holiday.

But both FOX and CNN still manage to air some political programming. I watch MSNBC more than the other two. (I never watch FOX) But I can't stand all the Prison documentaries the station airs.

Alright, I get it. Prison is hard!

Haven't they documented every Prison on Earth by now anyway?

And it's not just today.

The entire network basically takes every weekend off. I mean at least CNN gives us Ballot Bowl.

This is NBC for crying out loud!

Is it that difficult to take a live camera to a Clinton, Obama or McCain rally and just broadcast it unedited! Chris Mathews could still take the day off.

MSNBC... the place for politics.... just as long as their wasn't a new prison riot somewhere in America the night before!

[MrSlayer]

1. They just rerun them.

They show the same 3 or 4 over and over again. It's stupid.

[Howler]

12. MSNBC....

Not only has a continuous loop of "Lock up" but they also continually loop those damn Catch a child predator episodes.

[TahitiNut]

2. It's 1% of America ... and growing.

Why NOT spend 1% of broadcasting time showing our friends, neighbors, and relatives ... and where our tax dollars are training the very cream of the crop?

[cliffordu]

19. You have that right - almost all drug offenses anymore -

and prison is where most of the more antisocial of the chronically mentally ill went when Reagan closed the madhouses.

It is the shame of this nation.

[Hippo_Tron]

52. Because they only show the rapists and murderers

If they interviewed 10 people every episode and 7 of them were nonviolent drug offenders, I'd be happy with it. Shows like this just re-enforce the false belief that everybody in prison is a hardened criminal.

[grannylib]

3. I am SO SICK of that crap. They keep repeating the same ones

over and over and I can't STAND that. Someone at MSNBC has apparently gotten REAL lazy when it comes to programming.

[goclark]

56. Follow the money trail

Prisons are a Business.

This is a way to make Rethugs and others that are afraid of people that don't look like them to feel safe.

I HATE the Prision MSNBC but they just keep rolling out the programs.

Why because they are getting big bucks to produce them.

There are a million shows they could be doing but this one is racist and not meaningful.

I have written them several times but of course somebody must be watching or they wouldn't do it.

[ccharles000]

4. The NC lesbian prisoners were interesting.

[Max_powers94]

5. All I know is that I do not want to go to jail

[Christa]

6. They do not even hace the decency

to change the names of the programs.

[SoCalDem]

7. Inmates we have known & loved..parts 23-46

and then don't forget how they dredge up ancient Datelines (carefully editing out jane pauley so we don't know just HOW old they are), and splice them together to show us decades old crimes we didn't care about when they WERE news..

[AllentownJake]

8. It's better than 6 months ago

When it was Internet Predators 24/7.

:shrug:

They could have done Headliners and Legends. I like that show.

[aaaaaa5a]

9. They just flashed this warning across the screen....

"You ARE IN THE MIDST OF...
Lockup Marathon: Enjoy your freedom by
seeing what life is like for those without it.

[Gore1FL]

10. Sometimes I wonder if they give a shit about ratings

[Blue_In_AK]

11. They even documented Spring Creek CC in Seward, Alaska...

...and we've got about the tamest prisons in the country.

[Hawkeye-X]

18. Yes, I even saw that.

"Alaska's Toughest Prison"

Are they just that tough?

Hawkeye-X

[Blue_In_AK]

28. At the risk of being called a sexist...

...which I guess is okay since I'm a woman myself, our prisoners here are "pussies." I worked as a CO for a year back in the early '80s, and I got along better with the inmates than I did the other guards. Actually, they send most of our really bad guys down to Arizona. I think there are about 800 of them down there now.

[DesertRat]

13. Maybe it says something about the network's demographics. n/t

[Yael]

14. MSNBC's prison fetish. Aired early and often.

[keep_it_real]

15. It ought to be called the prison channel

[Hawkeye-X]

16. They haven't documented FCI's yet..

And I'm not sure if they will..

[aaaaaa5a]

17. It's really sad....

because thier ratings are way up this year because of their political coverage. They have shows with a growing audience like KO and Hardball. And they have rising stars like Rachel Maddow.

But then all of a sudden, as another poster wrote, it's like they don't care.

We are in the mist of one of the most exciting political races in history. And with all of the great gains the network has made, to essentially offer viewers nothing today or every weekend makes no sense.

[DemocratSinceBirth]

20. I'm Surprised They Aren't Showinfg "Headliners And Legends"

They did have a good show on homeless young adults in Los Angeles yesterday...I didn't realize heroin use was so prevalent...

[aaaaaa5a]

22. I can't beleive....

I'm actually conversing with people online about MSNBC's prison documentaries? Have I just jumped a shark somewhere?

[rainbow4321]

31. It's OK.....I'm in a heated Lounge debate about baby poop vs guacamole dip

I've wandered over to the Lounge and ended up in a thread that's having a deep discussion about guacamole dip looking alot like baby poop (I took the "yeah...it really does" side). And somehow...I still managed to piss someone off in the thread :shrug:

[crankychatter]

21. They can feature prisons and whatever they want... the lack of news is DRIVING me batshit right now

I can dig it

but if it weren't for MSNBC I suspect Obama would be out of the race... sidelined like Kucinich, Dean or Edwards

[jenmito]

23. I was just saying the same thing! (They DO have live news 'til 11AM or 12PM at least.)

But they're so lazy! Even on the weekend(s) when there was a caucus or primary, they still ran their prison or underage sex sting shows. :eyes:

[aaaaaa5a]

24. Lock Up: Inside Alaska Is Coming On Now!

Who needs Countdown!

[Texasgal]

25. ooooh!

I haven't seen that one yet! :P

[Blue_In_AK]

29. It's pretty good...

At least the prison is in a beautiful spot. I think they show some of the scenery down there. (I'm real familiar with that place since my ex-husband did a stint there.)

[Nia Zuri]

32. There's also Charles Manson an Jeffrey Dahmer for a change of pace

[Blue_In_AK]

35. I really can't get enough of Charlie Manson. n/t

[chascarrillo]

26. Prisons are a booming industry nowadays. They haven't come close to showing them all.

[ossman]

27. You can thank Dan Abrams for that. He made those doc blocks the focus when he was GM or whatever

[Berry Cool]

30. The thing is, they play them because they get good ratings.

Before KO caught on, the prison documentaries were the highest rated shows on MSNBC.

It doesn't seem to matter how many times they show one, either. They always pull monster ratings.

I would just once like to meet someone who actually watches these things, so I could have actual proof of these huge ratings. But I have yet to meet any such person.

[Hawkeye-X]

57. I DVR those.

There. You met someone.

[izquierdista]

33. Prison - the only growth industry America has

The continuing cries of "more punishment!" to sensationalized crimes has led to longer sentences and more brutal conditions for the inmates. Although they are still called penitentiaries, penitence is not the object of a prison, vengeance is. People who won't countenance corporal punishment in schools and call animal control at the first sign that a pet has been mistreated see no problem in subjecting someone who runs afoul of the law to years and decades of positively medieval torture as payback. The system almost guarantees that if someone is locked up for a non-violent offense, he will become hardened to the point that he will never be able to be re-integrated into society.

The law view substance abuse not as a public health problem to be treated but as a source of fresh meat to keep the factory running. The prison system actually strengthens gang activity since by their isolation, the gang is the only social group left open to inmates.

It is highly ironic that where you find the most fundamentalist Christians, you also find the most unforgiving of penal systems.

[cbc5g]

34. I'm tired of watching the poor nonviolent drug offenders being displayed all over tv n/t

[fadedrose]

36. MSBNC is my M-F station, Weekends I HATE IT!!!!!!!

Who in the world watches this station on weekends. Is it the designated prison station?

I wish they would stop this nonsense and fire whoever is responsible for programming from Fri nite to Mon morning.

There are so so many good left-leaning commentators who could use the work and would no doubt work miniumum wage just to have the exposure of air time on weekends.

[aaaaaa5a]

42. I agree 100%

Wouldn't it be great if Rachel Maddow had her own show on Saturday and Sunday nights? Maybe something that could compete against Geraldo over at FOX? I just can't believe it would be that expensive. And I'm sure it would get better ratings.

There making progress as a station but I don't think they will ever get over the mountain with just Mon-Fri programing

[Ice-9]

37. Yeah, they go for quality rather than quantity.

Even on the average night, I think they only have two hours of original programming in prime time -- KO followed by the Verdict. Then they rerun KO and do "Predator" or "Locked Up" reruns ad infinitum. I wish they could do both quality and quanity, but if I had to choose I'd take MSNBC's quality over the alternative any day.

But I agree it's frustrating.

[aaaaaa5a]

43. The schedule is so weird...

They actually run Hardball at 5pm and then on most days replay the same show at 7pm. Couldn't you just run Hardball at 7pm and give a young upstart like Rachel Maddow or Michelle Benard a shot to anchor a show at 5?

[Ice-9]

54. Rachel Maddow needs her own show (nt)

[peaches2003]

38. MSNBC really hurts itself on weekends and holidays

Why do they virtually go off the air as a legitimate 24 hour news network on weekends and holidays? I know viewership is down then, but CNN and Faux realize you have to be 24/7 to be a real news network. Very poor.

[aaaaaa5a]

44. I just don't understand...

How you can be a member of the NBC family. And have so much talent. And yet do nothing on the weekends. Do you think they would have to beg Ed Schultz to do one hour Sunday night? I think not!

[Politics_Guy25]

39. I remember when MSNBC used to have real news

And was live almost 24/7:( The all-time low was July 4, 2006 when North Korea tested a long range missile and the other cablers went live to cover it while MSNBC had one 30 second cut in and then aired doc block for the rest of the day. They rock at politics when they cover it but otherwise the network sucks. Also, couldn't they air documentaries about something other than prisons?

Oh well, who cares about politics when you can watch about obese prison inmates 24/7.:)

[hiaasenrocks]

40. Their 200k-400k viewers must like it.

[MikeNearMcChord]

41. My fantasy in the future.

I would love to see MSNBC do a prison week with all the Bush Administration and other Republicans locked up.

[ruby slippers]

45. I know. They just don't get that part of the equation, do they?

They used to run those biographies and at least I liked them and would watch a few here or there...but now all it is is Lockup and those predator shows.
They have made some excellent biographies of Hillary and Obama growing up. Where are they? Even though I've seen them twice, I'd watch them again.....

[TooRaLoo]

46. I get sick of the prison shows, too.

They could be doing so much more with that time.

[morningglory]

47. I would really appreciate re-runs of KO's shows on the week, sort of like Soup

Weekend edition, or something.

[Upton]

48. I actually watch those prison shows sometimes

but they run the same ones over and over. Right now I'm watching the Penguins get beat again, holidays are slow.

[dempartisan23]

49. i have an idea

they should start having dog shows on the weekends and endlessly repeat them!

[ladjf]

50. I have never understood why MSNBC continues to be fixated

on prison shows.

[aaaaaa5a]

51. If I ever get the nerve...

One day I'm going to record some late night Cinemax B-level prison movies and send them to MSNBC to spice up their lineup! (sarcasm)

[ruby slippers]

53. about as many times as the local news features the twister hitting the

hog farm. While I really wanted to see pigs fly, I am just glad those pigs all were safe and the people, too. But, geesh, the footage is getting kinda old. I want Barack!

[DangerousRhythm]

55. ROFL. You know, I've wondered this myself.

Every time I tune in and see one of those damned prison shows I just roll my eyes and quickly change the channel.

Dull, dull, dull.

[musicblind]

58. LOL I just read your entire post out loud to my cousin! It's SOOO true!

:rofl:

[aaaaaa5a]

60. Thank You

[Beacool]

59. It's the bottom of the barrel as a network and their ratings show it.

When it's not showing prison stories, it's an all day Obamathon. Their pundits drool over Obama, one is worse than the other. It's no wonder that their ratings are so poor.

[mucifer]

61. Rachel Maddow was a prisoner's rights activist. I wonder what she thinks

about all of this.