MSNBC

There were a pair of big interviews on cable news this week, both of the very different in both tone and content.

As we noted, CNN secured the first TV interview with Chinese activist Chen Guangcheng, who told Anderson Cooper “I didn’t see much hope” while being detained by Chinese authorities:

On MSNBC, Chris Matthews had a sometimes contentious, often funny interview with former GOP Presidential candidate Newt Gingrich. Among the revelations: his favorite snake is a python:

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MSNBC host Joe Scarborough was a guest on ABC’s “The View” this morning.

Scarborough’s “Morning Joe” co-host Mika Brzezinksi, who Barbara Walters described as his “best friend” and “better half,” was seated in the audience. “I did not give Mika a microphone, because he never allows her to speak on the show,” Walters joked.

Scarborough talked to “The View” co-hosts mostly about politics and the Presidential election, saying that he doesn’t particularly like either Barack Obama or Mitt Romney.

“I think at the end of the day you have to look at the candidate — and neither one of them is doing it right now — that talks about the future instead of talking about the past,” Scarborough said.

Current TV considers itself a direct competitor to MSNBC, and indeed both channels are targeting a very similar audience. That competition isn’t stopping MSNBC host Dylan Ratigan from appearing as a guest on Current TV however. Ratigan taped an interview with California Lt. Governor and Current host Gavin Newsom for the second episode of Newsom’s program, which will be televised Friday at 11 PM.

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Talking Points Memo interviewed Ed Schultz this week, and the MSNBC host shared how he takes his coffee (cream and sugar) and what his favorite drink is (Tanqueray and tonic), as well as some more serious thoughts about his job:

What have you learned since joining MSNBC?

I’m a small spoke in a big wheel. I think you have to be very focused to have any measurable success at doing a cable show. I’m very proud of the fact that I’ve done three time slots in my three years here — at 6 p.m., 10 p.m. and 8 p.m. — and I’ve had success in all three. That’s rather rare.

What gets you up in the morning? What keeps you going?

The desire to succeed and continue to put out a good product is kind of a 24-hour job. You just can’t shut it off. You’re always on in this business, whether you like it or not. You’re constantly consuming. I think balance is really important.

What a week for anomalous ratings days! Earlier this week, we noted that CNN’s Piers Morgan saw only 39,000 demo viewers on Tuesday night, way down from his average, and a record-low for CNN. Last night, Morgan was back up to a more typical 175,000 demo viewers, but the drama was on MSNBC and Fox News.

At 10 PM, MSNBC’s Lawrence O’Donnell topped FNC’s Greta Van Susteren in the demo. It wasn’t by that much, but it was a clean win for O’Donnell, and clean ratings wins over Fox News (when there aren’t any big news events or specials) are an unusual thing.

O’Donnell averaged 327,000 demo viewers, to Van Susteren’s 309,000. In total viewers, Van Susteren still handily topped O’Donnell by around 500,000 viewers, but a demo win is still a win. CNN’s Anderson Cooper averaged 143,000 demo viewers, about average for him.

As we noted in our post about Facebook mania on cable news, one of the big Facebook IPO-related stories making the rounds today was that U2 frontman Bono is now a billionaire and the richest rock star on earth, thanks to his early investment in the social networking company.

Coincidentally, Bono appeared on MSNBC’s “Andrea Mitchell Reports” this afternoon from the G8 Summit, where he debunked the rumor:

Transcript after the jump.
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Remember “NBC 2.0“? Way back in 2006, NBC Universal decided that it was going to reorganize the company to try and save money, and make it more efficient. As part of “NBC 2.0,” MSNBC left its home in Secaucus, New Jersey and moved into 30 Rockefeller Plaza, where it effectively merged with NBC News. NBC 2.0 resulted in 700 jobs being cut across NBC, including at NBC news and MSNBC.

MSNBC host Joe Scarborough hasn’t forgotten. During “Morning Joe” this morning, he cited “NBC 2.0″ as a perfect example of “turning a company around.” The panel was talking about Mitt Romney‘s time in charge of Bain Capital.

“When I first walked into MSNBC eight years ago, I saw thousands of people sitting around doing nothing, and I looked and I said, what are all these people doing?” Scarborough said. “It is more efficient, it functions better, it turns a better profit than ever before. Do people lose jobs? Yeah they do, but the idea is to turn companies around and make money for the unions that invest, and teachers that invest.”

Co-host Mika Brzezinski clearly disagreed with Scarborough, and eventually made her point.

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CNN “Reliable Sources” host Howard Kurtz challenges MSNBC anchor Tamron Hall over last week’s heated interview with journalist Tim Carney.

In case you missed it, Hall asked Carney about the recent Washington Post story about Mitt Romney‘s high school days, and Carney argued that it was not a big deal, but rather something hyped up by the media, including MSNBC. The debate that followed ended with Hall cutting off Carney’s mic.

Kurtz said that Carney’s argument was a perfectly reasonable one to make, and that Hall should have considered it.

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There was quite a war of words on MSNBC this afternoon between anchor Tamron Hall and Washington Examiner columnist Tim Carney. The topic of discussion was the recent Washington Post story about Mitt Romney‘s high school days, and the media onslaught that followed.

Carney argued that the story was irrelevant, and should take a back seat to more serious issues. Hall responded by arguing that the story is relevant to the national conversation, and that MSNBC was hardly leading the way in talking about the issue.

WATCH (it gets good around 5:15):

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MSNBC’s Lawrence O’Donnell seemed to surprise even himself last night during his program’s “Rewrite” segment. O’Donnell dedicated the segment to Fox news Channel’s coverage of President Obama’s gay marriage statement. He noted the headline on the Fox Nation website, as well as the comments be Shepard Smith, who he said “has long been the lone voice of reason” on Fox News.