Ed Schultz May Be Replaced By Ezra Klein In 8 PM MSNBC Slot

Schultz's ratings have also been solid, and MSNBC is riding high from its performance during the presidential campaign. But Schultz has been moved around before; he started at 6 PM, was shuffled to 10 PM, and then landed at 8 PM a little over a year ago. Moving the relatively inexperienced and more soft-spoken Klein into the marquee cable news slot would be, at the very least, a major bit of counter-programming.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/11/12/ed-schultz-ezra-klein-msnbc_n_2116267.html?utm_hp_ref=media



• Does Ari Melber feel overlooked?

• Ari Melber would have been a better choice. Ezra Klein is tolerable in a segment but pretty much unwatchable for an entire hour. Whenever he fills in for Rachel Maddow I just don't watch the show.

• I like Ed. Hire Ezra for the weekend, not for weeknights.

• I agree with R3. Klein would be better on weekends. Don't get me wrong, Ezra Klein is a super smart policy wonk. He's someone you can turn to whenever you want to hear complicated policies explained to you in layman's terms. But he should have a weekend show like Melissa Harris-Perry and Chris Hayes. The same people who watch Harris-Perry and Hayes would watch Klein.

• I like Ed, too. He provides a nice counterbalance to the more intellectual, nerdy types like Rachel Maddow, Ezra Klein, Chris Hayes, etc. Ed appeals to working-class, average Joe types in a way that most of the others on MSNBC don't. We need that. I can't picture someone like Ezra Klein taking his show to Freeport, Illinois, to speak to laid-off workers.

• Wouldn't they just move Ed to a different time slot? R4, I watch Chris Hayes but I can't take Harris-Perry for much longer than I can take Ezra Klein. One show segment is a good dose, I don't want more from either one of them.

  R2

• I always liked Melissa Harris-Perry as a guest on the other MSNBC shows, but now that she has her own show, I can't take her for long stretches. This whole "nerdland" persona and platform that she's created is annoying. It's bad enough that she's a nerd--and not in the a ood way like Rachel Maddow--but Melissa has two hours of nerd wonky panelists rather than politically savvy contributors. Melissa has become less appealing a host, and her guests are just boring, professorial wonks who no one knows.

• If they move Ed Schultz, the only primetime evening time slot available is the rerun of Chris Matthews' Hardball. Ezra belongs on the weekend--not weeknights. Ed was always my least favorite of the nighttime MSNBC line-up, but lately he's been growing on me and I like him. Plus Ed gives Joe working class six-pack a chance to join our team and not be lured away by Faux.

• Ed is a great lead in for Rachel's show. If they want to give Ezra Klein a show then give him Reverend Al's slot. Although I secretly wish they would give that time slot to Joy Ann Reid. I know I wouldn't be able to watch Klein for an entire hour. I love when Ed says "get your phones out. I want to know what you think".

• I didn't realize Ed Schultz was an Asian female.

  Ann Curry

• MSNBC should leave Ed Schultz where he is and give Ezra a slot during the weekend.

• Just cancel one of the Hardball airings and give Ezra that slot. They need Ed's blue-collar take on things to balance intellectual nerdiness that Rachel brings.

  The Voice of the Night

• Bad move. Like other posters, I agree that Klein is a better guest or one segment only type. His voice, like Harris-Perry's, just grates on my nerves.

• The Ed Show is a now a solid #2 behind O'Reilly and AHEAD of AC360 which has dropped to #3

• Ed is a better host that Ezra. He knows how to get into the heart of blue collar working people.

• Not an Ed fan. There's something not believable about him to me. It seems like too much of a schtick, like he says what his branded image says he should even if he doesn't agree. Kind of like Coulter does, but on the other side (and he's not nearly as annoying as coulter). I would love Ezra Klein to get a show in that slot. I wonder why they don't move Rachel to 8pm. Her audience would grow I bet

• Maddow declined the 8 p.m. spot. She said she'd been moved around to so many time slots in her career that she wanted to stay put.

• I have to agree with others. I like Ezra a lot as a guest spot but I am not sure about giving him his own primetime show. Especially him being back to back with Maddow is probably not the best placement. I do think his voice is needed though, few pundits are actually willing to go into the real details of policies as he does. I love reading his column for that reason as he actually explains what something REALLY means. Also those luscious lips are a thing of beauty, and I appreciate the rumors that he is packing some heavy man meat. If I was a producer on his show I'd make sure I would throw in some segments where he is standing up to explain something and just happens to be freeballing in some tight pants. It could help a lot of in the online buzz, sex does sell.

• Ezra is a lot better for a weekend slot. He should go on before Chris Hayes.

• Ezra is cute, but he's not really the type to have the Ed slot. You need somebody who is more energetic and aggressive in that slot, like Ed.

• Ezra Klein makes my hands sweat. Keep Schultz.

• One episode of Hardball is enough. If they insist on giving Ezra a show, give him the 5pm Hardball slot. Why Klein needs a show is beyond me; I doubt I'll be watching. If anything, get rid of Chuck Todd's 9am show and give that to Ezra. I tuned in to the 9am Today Show segment to see Willie Geist...poor Willie, going to commercial he announced Vanilla Ice coming up in the next segment.

• Is hardball a repeat or do they actually do 2 shows?

• I love Ezra. Maybe they need to put him on earlier first. The show that comes on with that panel at 3 PM. They get on my damned nerves. I work at home and break for lunch to watch them sometimes. They need to ease Ezra in with a panel or something. Or since Ed is repeated at 11PM, Put Ezra on at 11 instead. All I'm saying is try him out in fringe time before you go to prime time. Ed is a blowhard. I like him sometimes, but he can be very overbearing. I wouldn't move him unless they give Ed Chris Matthews 5 PM slot, and leave Chris on at 7PM. I like Chris. I hope they leave Rev. Al alone he is just fine where he is.

• I think they only do one Hardball show.

• Al's a blowhard too but he's entertaining. i love the ad where he says "We got the DOWN but we never got the TRICKLE!"

• Ezra does not need a show. Period. Geez MSNBC, you've got things working well. Don't screw it up. And oh yeah, Chuck Todd does not need a show either.

• They should hire Jennifer Granholm away from CurrentTV.

• Karen Finney would make a better show host than Ezra.

• R29. You're right. Karen Finney is fab!

• In theory I like having a liberal blowhard to counter all of the rethug ones but in actuality I can't stand to watch Ed, he's unbearable. But I agree about Ezra being a better guest than full-time host - I can never make it thru an entire episode when he takes over for Rachel. Just give Rachel two hours, I say.

• If it ain't broke don't fix it.

• I love Karen Finney and Joy Reid. I like Ezra, but he's kind of a downer. He's always looking for something wrong with Obama and his administration. I can get that kind of thing on CNN.

• Ezra Klein is pro-Obama, R33.

• We should not let ourselves get to the point where a fair criticism of the Obama/any other democrat is considered a bad thing. That is dangerous thinking R33. Ezra is not doing the CNN style parroting the right wing and left wing talking points. He just analyzes a policy, and talks about why it is good and bad. That is EXACTLY what the media should be doing. Not saying he should get his own primetime show, but please don't compare him to the CNN pundit mentality.

• [quote]But he should have a weekend show like Melissa Harris-Perry and Chris Hayes. The same people who watch Harris-Perry and Hayes would watch Klein. Nobody could stand that much wonk.

• I know he is and I do like him, but I follow him on Twitter and he seems to like digging up negative stories on Obama - he's NOT required to be a cheerleader, but it just irritates me to see the negativity coming from someone on the left when we have right wingers doing it all of the time.

  R33

• [quote]I always liked Melissa Harris-Perry as a guest on the other MSNBC shows, but now that she has her own show, I can't take her for long stretches. Same here. I'm surprised. I really liked her as a guest but on her show she comes across as too pleased with her own words.

• R35, I do agree with what you're saying actually and I don't believe the President is above criticism from the left and shouldn't be - the problem with seeing that type of criticism is mine and it's something I have to work on so that it doesn't irritate me the way it has been recently.

  R33

• Ezra Klein can replace anyone in my slot.

• Willie moved to the 9 Am today show? Is that why they stopped airing a third hour of MJ?

• [quote]Don't get me wrong, Ezra Klein is a super smart policy wonk. I'm a thuper thmart polithy wonk, too!

  Mellitha%20Harrith-Perry

• R35 It's only dangerous thinking when one group ie...the democrats are attacked more than the republicans on a regular basis. This happens daily on CNN and Fox. That won't fly on MSNBC.

• Melissa's lisp has actually gotten much better, I'm sure MSNBC has had her working with a speech therapist. While I like that she is willing to tackle real race relationship questions and actually talk about povery in America which few people do, I often find myself not really wanting to watch for long periods of time also. I can't quite put my finger on what doesn't quite work for me but I have to agree with many others than it just doesn't. I do think when it comes for insightful analysis on policies, Klein puts both Hayes and Harris-Perry to shame. He just doesn't have the best delivery and skill at holding people's attention. At the end of the day that is what it is all about and Maddow (of course) and increasingly Hayes do that very well.

• Yes, Hardball is live at 5pm and then the same show is repeated at 7pm...never could figure that one out.

• Bump.