WaPo | If nothing else, the Sunday move reduces Sharpton’s broadcast time
from five hours per week to one hour per week. His activist stature on
MSNBC just sustained an 80 percent drop. The clash between Sharpton’s
incarnations emerged in striking ways during MSNBC’s coverage of the
cases of Trayvon Martin, Michael Brown and Eric Garner — instances where
Sharpton functioned as an advocate for the families and helped to
organize protests. “He has an important voice for any audience, but
especially for our audience on justice, civil rights and equality issues
and we want that voice to be part of menu of things that MSNBC has to
offer,” says the NBC News source.
That voice will have less
opportunity to showcase its activism, meaning that the sources he
formerly interviewed on “PoliticsNation” may opt for other shows on the
network. “If you’re an Eric Garner family member . . . you might be more
comfortable on [Sharpton’s Sunday show] but you might want to get on
the ‘Today’ show,” said the NBC News source.
Sharpton’s Sunday
show starts on Oct. 4, and his current gig ends on Sept. 4. MSNBC
executives proudly note that the host never missed a single show — which could be a tribute to Sharpton’s nails-man diet (daily intake: a salad and whole wheat toast). Tonight the network is throwing a “little party” to celebrate the host’s tenure; hold the starches!
