The AP's David Bauder takes Saturday's Jacques Steinberg story one further, homing in on MSNBC's ratings gains.

During the first three weeks of June, MSNBC's prime-time weeknight audience [in A25-54] was up 85 percent over last year...CNN was up 29 percent and Fox was down 1 percent during the same period. Advertisers have taken notice of MSNBC's gains... "They're not at CNN and Fox's level yet," said Andy Donchin, an analyst for Carat USA. "But I think they've made greater inroads. They've gotten their act together a bit and found a formula that works for them."

MSNBC's biggest cheerleader Phil Griffin agrees...

Griffin says MSNBC is "a little smarter, a little edgier, a little more honest." And maybe a little more liberal, Bauder writes.

Griffin resists the idea that MSNBC is positioning itself as the go-to network for the left, in much the same way as Fox is the network of choice for many conservatives. Still, its breakout show is hosted by the virulently anti-administration [Keith] Olbermann, who's made no secret of his admiration for Democratic presidential nominee Barack Obama.

Bauder says the greatest concern now is about holding the audience after Nov. 5.

This election will end. That will be a problem for all of the cable news networks heavily covering the campaign...Griffin said there will still be a great deal of interest as a new administration takes over government. "We have a loyal audience," he said. "We never had a loyal audience."