Heated Words from CNN/MSNBC Heads

The LA Times’ Matea Gold writes about the ratings battle between CNN and MSNBC — “dominant” Fox News is largely left out of the story.

The story culminates with a “my-channel-is-better-than-your-channel” exchange between CNN/U.S. president Jon Klein and his MSNBC counterpart, Phil Griffin, with Griffin saying Klein “better start getting scared…”

Klein says having Olbermann and Matthews anchor primary night coverage is, “a slippery slope.”

“I don’t spend a lot of time thinking about or analyzing their decisions,” he said. “They’ve tried a lot of different things over the years. They’ll probably try something different next year.” Griffin responds:

That’s an outrageous statement, but it fits CNN, which is living in the past. The last two years, MSNBC has been focused and has figured out who and what it is…For the first time, this is a three-way race. If he’s not scared now, he better start getting scared.

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