Begin forwarded message:
From: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Date: July 23, 2008 8:19:59 AM PDT
To: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Cc: [EMAIL PROTECTED], [EMAIL PROTECTED], [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Subject: Fourth Estate, Fifth Column -- Comcast's Virtual Censorship
of NON-Far-Rightists
Comcastic?
Fans smell a political rat in moving MSNBC
Saturday, July 19, 2008
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/08201/898010-192.stm
Hours before a televised presidential debate last December in
Portland, Ore., Comcast moved the liberal-leaning MSNBC from basic
cable to digital premium. Viewer fury was immediate. Comcast was
inundated with complaints from thousands of cable subscribers who
would not have been able to switch to the higher-priced package to
see the debate on time even if they had wanted to.
In an overwhelmingly liberal town, having to pay a premium to watch
MSNBC's Keith Olbermann dismantle the Bush administration every
night while Fox and CNN remain part of the basic cable package was
infuriating.
Many Oregonians considered the move an attempt to marginalize
outspoken liberal voices like Mr. Olbermann's by making it more
expensive to get access to them.
MSNBC was replaced by the Weather Channel. Offering no apologies,
Comcast pointed to the intricacies of offering more high-definition
channels in the market to justify MSNBC's bump to the next level.
It was entirely Comcast's decision to move MSNBC. NBC Universal,
MSNBC's parent company, told Comcast it was unhappy with the
decision to move its cable news affiliate.
Earlier this week, Pittsburgh cable subscribers attempted to tune in
to MSNBC only to find the Golf Channel sitting where "Morning Joe"
and "Hardball with Chris Matthews" used to be aired.
What happened last year in Portland and other cities is now
happening in Western Pennsylvania. Viewers are just as angry. More
than a dozen channels were bumped, but only MSNBC, TruTV, Oxygen and
the Hallmark Channel were kicked from standard to digital premium.
On local talk radio, the suspicion is that Comcast is engaging in a
back-door rate increase that disproportionately affects Democrats
during an important election year. Because MSNBC caters to liberal
voices in ways that Fox and CNN don't, moving it to a more expensive
tier is suspect.
The reasons for moving MSNBC may be far more mundane than liberal-
bashing conspiracy theories allow. Decisions for doing so also may
vary according to local programming carriage agreements. These deals
are complex, so cable companies aren't always forthcoming about them.
Still, there are a lot of unhappy subscribers who want their MSNBC.
If a cable subscriber is truly mad enough, complaining to Comcast,
moving to a competitor, pulling the plug or subscribing to the paper
may be the way to go.
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