Carlos Watson Loses Anchor Slot At MSNBC

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by Rachel Sklar | 1:05 pm, September 5th, 2009

» 27 comments

Mediaite has learned that Carlos Watson, anchor of MSNBC’s 11 a.m. weekday show, “Live with Carlos Watson,” will no longer be anchoring that hour on the network. An MSNBC spokesperson confirmed the rumor, which we learned via Mediaite columnist Danielle Belton on her website, The Black Snob. MSNBC spokesperson Alana Russo said that yes, Watson’s hour had been canceled, but that he will remain a contributor with MSNBC.

Watson’s tenure as the 11 a.m. host was brief, awarded the gig only in June, scooping up the hour amid chatterings that Meet The Press host David Gregory would anchor at that time for one day a week, and that MSNBC Chief Washington Correspondent Norah O’Donnell was also up for an hour. Russo said that there is no replacement scheduled for the 11 a.m. slot, which will be covered by the MSNBC dayside anchor team.

Watson’s website, The Stimulust, is currently “on hiatus” according to its front page, and will be “back soon.” (Update: According to Politico’s Patrick Gavin, it’s been “stagnant for weeks.”) We’ve emailed Watson for comment and are awaiting a reply. (In the meantime, the front page slideshow looks pretty sharp; I must confess that I clicked on this. And the LeBron illustration is great.)

For background, here’s what Danielle Belton posted earlier today:

I’m hearing murmurs from sources that as of Friday Carlos Watson’s 11 a.m. MSNBC show might be no more! Will do some digging to see if that’s true… If this story is true this is a major bummer. First my Uncle Rolly Rolls gets no show from CNN (but luckily Roland Martin will be getting his own shot at a political news gig on TV One this fall), and now this! What’s it gotta take for a person of color, black or otherwise to get and keep a news show on the air?

I don’t know why Watson’s hour was canceled — Russo declined to comment on that part — but it’s no secret that the original MSNBC dayside shakeup was ratings-related. MSNBC confirmed that the hours hosted by Dylan Ratigan and Dr. Nancy Snyderman are safe, so it seems to reason that Watson’s hour was the low-rated alien-baby stepchild in the bunch.

…but then there’s this, from TV By The Numbers, just two days ago:

I’m sure there were high hopes at MSNBC a few months ago when Dylan Ratigan’s Morning Meeting (9-11am) and the Dr. Nancy (12pm) show launched that they’d rejuvenate weekday daytime ratings.

But, sadly for MSNBC, at least initially, those 2 shows have tallied weaker ratings than the shows in the same timeslots a year ago. Ratigan’s Meeting is down 26% in the cable news targeted adults 25-54 demo, and Dr. Nancy’s show is down 43% in that demo, as well as 27% in viewers.

Down 26%? Down 43%? Yikes, that is not good. (Though please consider that a year ago we were in the thick of the conventions and Sarah Palin had just been introduced into the media bloodstream. That’ll make a difference in ratings.) It stands to reason — and we have indeed heard — that Watson’s hour was also performing poorly. But — poorly enough to stand out amongst these numbers?

Also, to be fair, Watson’s hour never got the kind of promotion that Ratigan’s Morning Meeting or Snyderman’s Sniffle-Tastic Swine Flu Hour got, with interstitial promos and the like — just a look at the website makes that plain (though where is Andrea Mitchell across the top? And to be fair, David Shuster and Tamron Hall are not pictured, either).

Upshot: Watson was never announced as permanent anchor nor was given much of a push — but he did have a website with a well-covered launch, and was permitted to use feature ideas from that on his show (i.e. his “C-Note” segment). So, presumably it was his to make work, or on with the next person.

And who will be that next person? Well, I’m just going to throw something out there: If mornings and 11 a.m. are such a challenging spot, then maybe MSNBC needs to try something different. Here are two suggestions: (1) Force Willie Geist to stay up for one more hour and rerun a version of “Way Too Early” at 11, because that show is tight and quite fun; (2) Try for the younger demo via Ana Marie Cox, whose guest-hosting for Rachel Maddow was very impressive. Also, she has 1,104,204 Twitter followers. Those are the kind of numbers that could prop up Ratigan, Snyderman, and everyone else across the MSNBC dial. Something to think about.

(NB: I should note here that I rarely caught his show so I cannot make a qualitative judgment here. As someone who leaves MSNBC on in the background a whole lot, that, too, may be saying something. As for “Sniffle-Tastic Swine Flu Hour,” that’s not a qualitative judgment, either; I just thought it sounded funny. Swine Flu is important!)

This post has been edited and updated from its original version.

Alana Russo, Ana Marie Cox, Black Snob, Carlos Watson, Danielle Belton, David Gregory, dr. nancy, Dr. Nancy Snyderman, dylan ratigan, msnbc, Norah O'Donnell, Roland Martin, The Black Snob, The Stimulist, Willie Geist

m

Unfortunate. I thought Carlos was great. I’d rather have Snyderman dropped and Carlos do an additional hour.
jake montero

low ratings = low revenue. they need more prison shows.
Lurker

Maybe his Socialism = The N word did him in but since this is MSNBC, it can’t be…
http://www.facebook.com/people/Chris-Jones/1384303476 Chris Jones

Good. Maybe we won’t have to hear about anymore phony “code words” that conservatives use.
Facebook User

lurker… you are a racist moron. what is the correlation between socialism and the n-word?
Gianrico

Carlos Watson was the most informative and erudite of all MSNBC’s morning anchors He asked insightful questions and allowed his guest to speak. He was not enamored of his own voice or opinions as a lot of their anchors seem to be. It’s unfortunate that MSNBC didn’t give him enough time to build a following. If content and information are important to a news organization, MSNBC should review all his shows for a second assessment. If insipid entertainment is what they seek with sycophants for interviewers, then they have the perfect line up. I think Mika needs to be less vapid, Joe a bit more humble and learn a different pronoun than” I”. And it will be a special day when Andrea Mitchell with all her access, asks a pertinent and meaningfully pointed question. Dylan needs to stop and take a breath once in a while.

I’ll miss Carlos . I’ll follow him on twitter and his website The Stimulust.
johnnr2

Watson is one of their very best – what a shame. Now Maddow is the only real journalist on msnbc.
Lurker

Facebook User, Do I get an apology?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f3dFh8YYd70
injest

“I don’t know why Watson’s hour was canceled — Russo declined to comment on that part — but it’s no secret that the original MSNBC dayside shakeup was ratings-related. MSNBC confirmed that the hours hosted by Dylan Ratigan and Dr. Nancy Snyderman are safe, so it seems to reason that Watson’s hour was the low-rated alien-baby stepchild in the bunch.”

Here’s a thought!

How bout taking a camera down to the local bar and get the drunk at the end of the bar to comment on Fox News.

Kinda like an Olbermann nooner!

Cost less and would get better ratings.
m

Could we get some maturity in here instead of just trash talking and making stupid jokes about people we politically disagree with? Injest is probably twice my age, but at least I try to act mine.
genmanager

Honestly, I don’t know how much longer I can support MSNBC/NBC. They make mistake, after mistake. First it was putting that pretty face, yakker, blowhard to host Meet The Press (thank goodness they took him off msnbc). I cannot watch that because I dislike him so much. I find the Stephanopoulis show better.

Then they screwed David Shuster with Ed Schultz whom I can tolerate, but really acts more like Rush L. than anyone on the channel. Now they take off Carlos Watson, the only intelligent voice during the day. It’s just incredible. Dr. Nancy’s show might be one of the most boring shows on television. While I started off really liking Dylan Rattigan, I think he has become a little shaky lately. (While his show was only about a month old, why was he off last week?)

I think they should have increased Carlos Watson’s show one hour to cover the low ratings of Dr. N. They could also decreased Morning Meeting by one hour and put in one of the regular daytime anchors for a news hour.

In the beginning I watched Morning Joe and liked Mika and tolerated Joe. Over the months she has gotten softy and silly and cowtows(sp?) to Joe who rarely shuts his mouth. I even try, but can’t watch them anymore. MSNBC is slowly losing me. Let’s not even get started about the prison and to catch a predator shows.

Isn’t Dan Abrahms affiliated with mediaite.com? Dan, what is going on?
libra blue

@genmanager, I ususally like David Gregory, but MTP was pretty bad this morning. Axelrod avoided directly answering Gregory’s questions about everything from the health care plan to Van Jones’ resignation, but at least he asked the questions about Jones. Stephanopoulis chose not to discuss Jones’ resignation on the show today and said that they would discuss it in the green room after the show.
sarainitaly

“What’s it gotta take for a person of color, black or otherwise to get and keep a news show on the air?”

Viewers.
libra blue

@sarainitaly, Although CNN has done 2 over the top specials on “Black in America” they still don’t have a black or even an Hispanic anchor during prime time during the week. They should get rid of one of their overpaid “talents” and set an example. They aren’t bringing in the viewers anyways.
genmanager

@libra blue, I think Stephanopoulos did ask Gibbs about the Van Jones resignation/firing. Perhaps it was not forceful enough, I don’t know, I missed that part too. I didn’t watch MTP so I missed David Gregory/David Axelrod as well. I get your point though. The media certainly doesn’t usually ask pertinent questions and the guests almost never answer in a straightforward manner. Who can you believe? Certainly not the media or I hate to say it, advisors from the white house.

UPDATE: On “This Week” with George Stephanopoulos, Gibbs told Stephanopoulos that Obama thanks Jones for his service but doesn’t endorse his views or object to his resignation.

“What Van Jones decided was that the agenda of this president was bigger than any one individual. The president thanks Van Jones for his service in the first eight months,” Gibbs said.

Before Gibbs came on his show, Stephanopoulos tweeted ominously:

Van Jones resigns Hardly Saturday Night Massacre, but when’s last time WH official let go at midnight? Clearing deck pre Gibbs on This Week
http://www.facebook.com/people/Jason-Carson-Wilson/1235543197 Jason Carson Wilson

No, Lurker, you don’t get an apology. If you’d listened to the clip, you’d notice Watson didn’t accuse everyone of using socialist as a code word. But it does happen and is happening. When will I get an apology from the Republican Party (under Ronald Reagan’s leadership) for painting all African-Americans as lazy, Welfare whores? I won’t be holding my breath. It’s fascinating that same people who are incensed over Watson’s comments are the first ones saying AAs are overacting, when we’re faced with a racist situation. But, in true conservative style, it’s do as I say, not as I do. And, of course, no Black “boy” is entitled to an opinion.
http://www.facebook.com/people/Pucci-Amanda-Jhones/1583649758 Pucci Amanda Jhones

I’ve watched Carlos Watson’s show on several occasions. Personally, I did not agree with all of his comments. I thought Mr. Watson was fair in many of his statements and extremely insightful. You know,
in saying that about Mr. Watson, I should state that I feel the same way about the Sonny and Cher show starring, Joe and Mika. BOY! What big egos they ALL have, including Willie. I just love when Mika, looks straight into the eye of the camera as though she’s looking into her own personal mirror. I expect her to whip out her lipstick at any given moment. Joe, they can’t make an “S” (Superman) big enough for him. Getting back to Mr. Watson, I am not surprised MSNBC cancelled Watson’s show. On the other hand, I applaud the producer(s) who books the shows. If you watch MSNBC, the producer (s) always set dress the discussion table with people of color. You win a little……you lose a lot.
EKD

I am really impressed by Carlos and he has a beautiful speaking voice. I have to change the channel when a couple of the women who are on the daytime shows speak. Not only their voices are shrill but they act downright mean. Who cares what their opinions are. Let the guests speak some more. Then there is Mika…. Does she know anything? She is good at sighing and peeking up at the camera. I have yet to hear her contribute a worthwhile sentence on politics. I guess she is there to read the news and be a straight-man for Joe.
Jymn

It’s not surprising. Watson had a terrible voice. He spoke like he had rocks in his mouth. I was always shocked that he had a job talking on the air.
mmh28

I stopped watching MSNBC altogether after they initiated the new morning lineup. I gave up on the bombastic, blowhard Joe Scarborough and his sockpuppet, Mika long ago. (What a way to start the day!) But Ratigan was equally unsatisfactory and Schneider just downright boring. Carlos was the only bright spot, but not enough to keep me watching. While I like Shuster and Hall, Tamron’s shrill voice finally got to me. But I have difficulty listening to several of the females anchors – their voices can be SO irritating. In general, I’ve become turned off by cable news as they churn insignificant news items in into tropical storms and prefer to read the news now.
http://www.facebook.com/people/Gregory-Curtis/1405184909 Gregory Curtis

MSNBC is Morning Joe then Garbage up until Rachel Maddow’s show. So long Carlos you were silly, should have reported the news instead of commenting on it.
K_Zoe

I tried to give Watson a chance because he was new but I couldn’t get over that voice. He talked like his tie had him in a choke cold. When he said he was tired of the MJ coverage that did it for me.
http://www.facebook.com/people/Deborah-D-Waddington/1321389809 Deborah D. Waddington

I am an MSNBC junkie. Except for The NewsHour with Jim Lehrer (sorry, Ed) I watch it day and night. I LOVE Dylan Ratigan, and figure he talks so much because he has lots to say. Carlos Watson was good on Morning Joe providing commentary – not so sure about him hosting. Of course no one beats Keith and Rachel.
pointofview

Used to love to watch msnbc with Carlos Watson, great commentary, great delivery…msnbc has lost me now and I know of many others who are quite disappointmented with Carlos not being there. They never pushed him at all, I mean, they never advertised him in the way they have with others. Even as a white American, I find msnbc obvious double standard racist to say the least. Shame on them! Carlos will definitely not have a problem with bouncing back…msnbc’s lost and another’s game! They just don’t get it…do they!
ken_jen1821

I love MSNBC, but I loved it more when Carlos Watson anchored the 11:00 A.M. show. He was charismatic, knew what he was talking about, had wonderful guest in his show and is very articulate. I am sorry to say that MSNBC used poor judgement in letting him go without giving him the chance and giving him more exposure as should have been given. I will miss him and love him dearly because he was and is awesome. i will never forget as he use to say with pride “This is Carlos Watson at MSNBC” I will follow him where ever he goes. God Bless you Carlos. You are loved!!!!!
BMinor

I came across this site, obviously a bit late; but, I still wanted to add a few comments here. I disagree a bit with the author that MSNBC did not make any attempt to market “Live with Carlos Watson”. I noticed early in his new show, that Watson appeared as a regular guest on Morning Joe, which was a good thing in terms of giving him a great amount of exposure, but it also was a hinderance as Scarborough use Watson, as an Obama proxy and verbally attacked Watson. Watson, was drawn into a verbal battle with Scarborough and while he held his own on several appearances, Scarborough used some tried and worn tactics to bait the inexperienced Watson. And, as I look back upon those exchanges, I think that unlike the way Lawrence O’Donnell handle similar episodes with Scarborough, and smiled and did not let Scarborough get under his
‘skin’, Watson became agitated and this was all a guy like Scarborough needed to undermine the professionalism of Watson.

It is still true that no matter how much Watson brought to the table, he was always in need of someone at MSNBC who could guide him and help him gather his ‘wings’ as he gained credibility. Going up against Scarborough may have looked like a very good idea to Watson, but his EGO got the better of him, as he somehow believed he had a little stronger footing than he actually did. While Shultz and O’Donnell were frequent guests at the time, I see those guys as possible mentors who could have pulled Watson’s coattail and cautioned him to ease up and avoid verbal exchanges with Scarborough. But, atlas he was unfortunately alone without a paddle, and while ratings were probably also a contributing factor, it did not help that he fell into a too familar role for upstart minorities, attempting to navigate their way in corporate America. Be smart and be prepared; but, even more so; be patient in the face of the reality that minorities just do not have the same amount of latitude to voice strong opinions, in a society where often, what passes as being ‘more right’ is what one’s white colleagues hold and believe to be true.

Hopefully, Watson will be back after he licks his considerable self-piting wounds, it would still be re-freshing to more minorities on MSNBC in an anchor slot, but for now; what we now have is the sprinkling of contributors to augment the white anchors.
Williscarl703

I’ll just shut my mouth and let you speak for me. I agree 100% with everything you said with the exception of the comment regarding Ed S. resembling Rush L…no way, no how! I find Ed’s unabridged voice of advocacy for the middle-class, the working class, quite refreshing and much needed during these days seemingly dominated by those endless voices preaching hatred and nullification of civil and human rights as well as total annihilation of the middle class in America.