Why Can’t Cable News Anchors Win On Jeopardy?

MSNBC host Chris Matthews appeared on last night’s episode of Jeopardy, and despite a valiant comeback, he fell short, losing to Charles Shaughnessy of Mad Men.

Add Matthews to the list of cable news anchors who can’t pull out a victory on the long-running quiz show.

Here’s how FishbowlDC described the performance:

For once, the chatty host was on the receiving end of rapid-fire answers. He apparently knows his President Obama trivia and his South American geography.

Matthews finished the first round with just $400 and was in third place, but worked his way back into contention with a strong Double Jeopardy. But he finished 2nd.

Last year two CNN anchors performed much worse: Wolf Blitzer and Soledad O’Brien finished in third place during their appearances. It got the New York Post to snarkily declare:

CNN should consider banning its anchors from appearing on “Celebrity Jeopardy” after the humiliating defeats of Wolf Blitzer and Soledad O’Brien.

Matthews did pretty well, but the journalism profession is in dire need of a Celebrity Jeopardy win over the Hollywood elite.

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