MSNBC Anchor Apologizes for Empty Chair Interview Stunt & Misinformation About Scheduled Guest
- Posted on March 30, 2012 at 3:12pm by
Christopher Santarelli
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This past July, MSNBC daytime news anchor Thomas Roberts said then-Republican presidential candidate Minnesota Rep. Michele Bachmann would “extinguish” gay people. In September he said GOP candidates want to go back to a time when “slavery was cool.” This past December, Roberts reported that the Romney campaign was using the same slogan as the KKK did during the 1920s, a report that linked back to a mock political ad youtube video unaffiliated with the Romney campaign.
And now, Roberts is tangled in controversy once again over an interview stunt and comments he made about a scheduled guest, calling further attention to questions regarding journalistic objectivity at MSNBC.
Here’s what happened.
On Wednesday, Roberts seemed to combine his over-the-top aggression towards same-sex marriage opponents with a recent and chastised stunt by MSNBC personality Lawrence O’Donnell, asking questions to an empty chair where Roberts claimed National Organization for Marriage (NOM) spokeswoman Maggie Gallagher was supposed to sit before canceling her appearance last minute.
With Gallagher’s absence, Roberts, who is an openly gay man and outspoken LGBT advocate, conducted the segment with same-sex marriage supporter Wayne Besen on NOM’s alleged tactics to wedge ethnic minorities against same-sex marriage supporters based off recently revealed internal documents.
The news anchor opened the segment describing “just how down and dirty opponents of marriage equality are willing to get in their fight to stop it,“ and said he planned to ask Gallagher ”how do you deny these documents as proving that the National Organization for Marriage is race-baiting, trying to ensure bigotry and homophobia?” At the end of the segment, Roberts again said that Gallagher “decided not to show up for this interview” and thanked Besen for coming on and “keeping your word.”
Like with the Romney KKK incident, Roberts once again failed to followup with his sources.
“MYSTERY solved… @maggiemarriage was in a studio ready for our #nom interview it was just the wrong studio booked improperly on @msnbc_booking IT WAS OUR MISTAKE and she has an open invite for the show,” Roberts tweeted Wednesday afternoon. “Our sincerest apologies.”
To many in the journalism industry, however, that apology is not enough. The blog Inside Cable News writes:
“This segment wasn’t just handled wrong it was criminally handled wrong. There is no justification for what Roberts did on the air. None. Zero. It was over the top and inappropriate. The proper way to handle it is to say that a guest was scheduled to appear but couldn’t make it in time and we hope they will appear in the future. Then you move on and don’t refer to it again. Given that you don’t know what actually happened you must err on the side of caution…for reasons that now seem all too obvious given that it was MSNBC booking that screwed up.”
[...]
“This is supposed to be MSNBC’s non-POV straight news time, not Lawrence O’Donnell’s POV primetime where the rules are different and O’Donnell can get away with mocking an empty chair.
If I sound angry here, it is because I am. I have watched MSNBC since the day it launched and, not mincing words or understating the situation, this is the worst display of journalistic unprofessionalism I have ever seen on its newscasts. To say it’s an embarrassment is doing a disservice. By rights Roberts should be suspended as it totally undermines MSNBC and NBC News and is no better than David Shuster’s “pimped out” comment regarding Chelsea Clinton for which Shuster got a small “vacation” for.
That is if MSNBC still wants to stand for news and journalistic values from 9-3 anymore.”
On Friday, Gallagher and MSNBC booking got on the same page and the NOM spokeswoman spoke with Roberts. Take a look at the video:
Broadcast journalism or 2 on 1 crossfire? You be the judge.
(H/T: Mediaite)
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Comments (114)
spirited
Posted on March 30, 2012 at 4:06pmOne might say that MSNBC daytime news anchor Thomas Roberts is deliberately false;
>on multiple levels.
Report Post »seeker9
Posted on March 30, 2012 at 4:34pmmsnbc IS NOT news, journalism, opinion, etc. They ARE a full time, 24 hour campaign arm of the Demo-marxist party.
Report Post »Treaty
Posted on March 30, 2012 at 4:49pmAnyone that hasn‘t figured out that PMSNBC is the US version of Pravda isn’t real bright. It’s how the Democrats get their message out.
Report Post »db321
Posted on March 30, 2012 at 5:57pmWhat – Driving a wedge between Blacks and Gays – Give the left enough time and they turn on themselves. As a conservative I am going to sit back and watch – my bet is on the Gays – they will wipe the floor with the Blacks.
Report Post »kaydeebeau
Posted on March 30, 2012 at 6:51pmHe may as well interview an empty chair, according to the ratings stats his audience is missing also
Report Post »flrick
Posted on March 30, 2012 at 9:19pmThat’s what they get for hiring people based on things other than jounalistic integrity, qualifications and competance. Hiring a guy because he get’s a penis rammed up his ass is just dumb. Sorry to be so gross, but it is what it is.
Report Post »The-Monk
Posted on March 30, 2012 at 10:04pmWhen I read the headline, “MSNBC Anchor Apologizes for Empty Chair Interview Stunt” my first thought was that it was Larry O’Don-a-who? and his empty chair stunt when George Zimmerman’s attorney walked out.
Report Post »Who the he11 is Thomas Roberts and why an apology now from something way back in July 2011? Is this to make up for Larry O’s latest tirade? If MSNBC thinks they can substitute one apology for another they are sadly mistaken. I guess that someone from MSNBC in the year 2025 will apologize for what Larry O did this week? Hopefully, in the year 2025, there will not be any MSNBC. On second thought, change that to 2014.
FreedomPurveyor
Posted on March 31, 2012 at 2:10am“When I read the headline, “MSNBC Anchor Apologizes for Empty Chair Interview Stunt” my first thought was that it was Larry O’Don-a-who? and his empty chair stunt when George Zimmerman’s attorney walked out.”
Exactly what I thought as well. I guess they’ve made a habit of it.
Report Post »lillymckim
Posted on March 31, 2012 at 6:45amMSNBC has officially joined forces with comedy central
Report Post »G-WHIZ
Posted on March 31, 2012 at 10:45amBS-MSNBC….doeing what they love ta do…and I thought jon Stewert was the only one(can yousay, scarcasm) who tries this…LOLOL… .
Report Post »B_rad
Posted on March 31, 2012 at 4:39pm@Monk, your reading comprehension skills are about on par with your ability to use logic. The article alluded to an earlier stunt by this moron that happened last July. This incident just happened.
Seriously, if this so-called network didn’t generate this kind of attention, they would disappear into the dustbin of history. Anyone who sees them as relevant is hopelessly lost to the dark side of progressivism. On the bright side for this so-called reporter, in 6 months Current will need to fill a spot when they can‘t get Spitzer’s ratings above the competing public broadcast channel.
Report Post »evilhatemonger
Posted on March 30, 2012 at 3:58pmAnyone who’s sexuality is their defining feature is a failure.
Report Post »Do whomever you want, just shut up.
Perhaps if Roberts concentrated on being simply a good journalist instead of a gay journalist, he wouldn’t be such a laughingstock.
angelcat
Posted on March 30, 2012 at 4:43pmSo correct! If you think about your sexual preference over and above yourself as just a person and a human, you are going to be a miserable person and find joy in trying to make others just as miserable.
Report Post »ronin_6
Posted on March 30, 2012 at 4:47pmSo very well said. I think I will borrow it.
Report Post »Miles Monroe
Posted on March 30, 2012 at 7:29pmDing Ding folks….we have a winner.
Report Post »tamalezebra
Posted on March 30, 2012 at 9:16pmThat’s right!
Report Post »izukiddin
Posted on March 30, 2012 at 3:52pmWhat do you expect from that oddity? Fairness?
Report Post »swift_driver
Posted on March 30, 2012 at 5:06pmBSnbc is where the 12% bottom feeding progressives get their “news.”
Report Post »FlowerBell
Posted on March 30, 2012 at 3:51pmLiberals and Democrats spend much of their lives apologizing for the ignorant and biased things they’ve said or done. How many times have we heard them later say “Well that isn’t exactly what I meant“ or ”You are just interpreting it incorrectly“ ”He did not mean that” the list goes on and on. The president’s spokesman Carney is the king of doublespeak.
Report Post »CATPBJ
Posted on March 30, 2012 at 4:23pmFlowerbell – Actually Liberals and Democrats spend far too much time apologizing for things that Conservative Republicans have done which wastes time on the floor of Congress. The GOPTP Party of NO has to be eradicated by any means possible! Ronald Reagan, the neocon appointed conservative SAINT is far to moderate or left to fit in with todays far right wing-nut conservatives in Congress and the Senate. They praise him, yet if he were alive today, his opinions would be laughed at by current GOPTP idiots! How many times did Ron Reagan compromise and raise taxes? How many??
Today the Supreme court is weighing in on the constitutionality of Obamacare when in reality the Supreme Court should be weighing in on the constitutionality of the GOPTP Pledge with Grover Norquist!!! That pledge with a NON-elected person puts idealogy ahead of peoples interests and is a communistic-fascist-socialistic demogoggery!!!
Report Post »Blackhawk1
Posted on March 30, 2012 at 4:51pmCATPBJ
It must suck for you mindless liberals that a majority of this country rejects your Socialist/Communist/Marxists ideology. The Supreme Court will slap down Obamacare because the U.S. is NOT just another Euro-socialist country and never will be. Then the adults (Conservatives) can work on the rest of the Ponzi schemes the liberals have forced on this FREE nation. Ever wonder why the New Deal and the Great Society schemes all failed? It’s because whenever Socialism is tried it always fails. The Conservatives will not let the minority liberals of this country turn it into Greece, Spain, or any other failed Utopia!
Report Post »Dstarr55
Posted on March 30, 2012 at 4:54pmCatpbj, it is hard to say yes to soaring debt and throwing money to failed green companies. SS and Medicare going bankrupt and the only solution by the left is to demonize anyone brave enough to step forward to try and save the programs. It is hard to say yes to a President who seems more interested in the perks of the presidency than in governing the country. He ignored the gulf oil spill for two weeks and then blamed BP for their incompetency while leaving them in charge of plugging the leak and cleaning up the spill – never to let a crisis go to waste he used the opportunity to shut down drilling and now he is touting all the drilling being down – none of which is because of his policies.
When Obama was sworn in he rejected the Republicans who wanted to work with him saying he didn’t need them – he then proceed to ram through without bi-partisan support a stimulus bill that had to pass immediately but he didn’t sign it for another few days – this stimulus was supposed to keep unemployment below 8% and have shovel ready jobs. The joke was on us as he later declared while laughing that shovel ready wasn’t so shovel ready after all. Health care was pushed through without bi-partisan support – it was a monster bill that you had to pass before you knew what was in it – now we do and we don’t like it. Obama is a failed president and hopefully will go the way of Carter.
Report Post »kaydeebeau
Posted on March 30, 2012 at 6:54pm@ CAwhatever – I would be happier if the GOP would have the guts to be not only the party of NO but Heck NO.
Report Post »FlowerBell
Posted on March 30, 2012 at 7:03pmWow,
Report Post »Great argument. I admire your passion. I wish you would put that gift to good use for American Values. Please reconsider your position. I was once like you, I understand perfectly how in-the-right you feel about what you believe. But just as you thought there was once a Santa, your eye’s will continue to open to real truths if you are smart. You just can‘t know what you don’t know until you know it. Life is funny like that.
cal_105
Posted on March 30, 2012 at 3:49pmInvisible guests on their news programs and no one watching either.
Report Post »OhioRifleman
Posted on March 30, 2012 at 3:59pmInvisible guests to be interviewed by duplicitous hosts, pandering to a nihilistic audience for the benefit of their megalomaniac paymasters. Sounds about par for the course at PMSNBC.
Report Post »Papadoc
Posted on March 30, 2012 at 3:49pmThere are no questions about journalistic integrity or ethics at NBC or any of their clones. That would imply that there are doubts.
Report Post »Kevin The Elder
Posted on March 30, 2012 at 4:47pmAs I’ve suggested in the past to those who have Comcast as their provider. Cancel and advise them you did so because of MSNBC’s biases.
Report Post »ColoradoMaverick
Posted on March 30, 2012 at 3:49pmIt’s a good thing only 3 people watch MSNBC
Report Post »izukiddin
Posted on March 30, 2012 at 3:43pmWhat do you expect from this queer? Fairness?
Report Post »moonpeace
Posted on March 30, 2012 at 3:40pmRoberts won’t come out of the closet to admit that he also does animals. Yet he is openly gay. What disgust! Imagine him with another gayball as they writhe and moan across the floor. He needs some type of mental balancing medication for sure.
Report Post »AvengerK
Posted on March 30, 2012 at 3:38pmGallagher came across as totally believable and credible. She knew was walking into a hyperpartisan environment and would be confronted by a shrill homosexual and she came out the better for it. She’s a smart and strong woman. Hey..can I say that if conservatives are currently in a war against women?
Report Post »Robert999
Posted on March 30, 2012 at 6:13pmConservatives are Not at war with women, we Favor women, the right kind of women. We are for women who are Christians, who abhor abortion, who do not practice birth control, and who put their husbands and children above their career or ideology.
Report Post »babylonvi
Posted on March 31, 2012 at 12:57amYou are wrong Robert. Women do not have to be ‘Christian to be popular with conservatives. Though there may be a lot of them involved, who gave you the right to declare the mandatory religious affiliation for conservatives? On the other hand, there are many ‘real women’ who are conservatives, it is the Liberal-Progressives who attract women who feel the need for the womb of big government around them to feel secure.
Report Post »SPOT_OF_TEA
Posted on March 30, 2012 at 3:36pmThe last time I watched MSNBC,Michael Savage had a show on the network….and Don Imus did the morning show…
Report Post »T-2
Posted on March 30, 2012 at 3:34pm“questions regarding journalistic objectivity at the network.” HAHAHA, this is the network that has thrills every time Obama opens his mouth
Report Post »moonpeace
Posted on March 30, 2012 at 3:34pmMsnbc is dead to me.
Report Post »Robert999
Posted on March 30, 2012 at 3:32pmHomosexuals should not be allowed in the news business, either as reporters or commentators. Because of their homosexuality, they can’t be unbiased. They will always favor the homosexual point of view and not the view of patriotic American Christians.
Report Post »OhioRifleman
Posted on March 30, 2012 at 3:44pm@ Robert
Talk of an unbiased journalists is an illusion, my fellow patriot. A rabid, happy illusion foisted upon the world for over a century and still going. Everyone has an angle, some more than others, and anyone that says different is lying to you.
The way things are going right now, you’ll probably have better luck finding a wild unicorn in the next decade than you would a true journalist.
My apologies for whizzing on the parade, but the truth shall no longer be silent in my presence.
Report Post »Miles Monroe
Posted on March 30, 2012 at 7:31pmNot true. People who define themselves by their sexuality should not be paid journalists. They can do whatever the hell they want with their time.
Report Post »Cavallo
Posted on March 30, 2012 at 3:31pm“I have watched MSNBC since the day it launched and, not mincing words or understating the situation, this is the worst display of journalistic unprofessionalism I have ever seen on its newscasts…”
We have now identified one of the 12 people who watch that Charlie Foxtrot of a network
Report Post »moonpeace
Posted on March 30, 2012 at 3:31pmAnother bonesmoker bites the dust.
Report Post »chips1
Posted on March 30, 2012 at 3:55pmHe bit off more than he could chew!!!
Report Post »blackstone22
Posted on March 30, 2012 at 3:31pmGood work Maggie !!
Report Post »deeberj
Posted on March 30, 2012 at 3:25pmThat show is not journalism. It is entertainment where you are allowed to make fun and do skits.
Report Post »OhioRifleman
Posted on March 30, 2012 at 3:36pmMy apologies, but your definition of entertainment must be very skewed. Whenever I see PMSNBC on the air, I get this unusual urge to vomit. It does nothing psychologically exhilarating to me whatsoever.
Frankly, I am surprised they still have a viewership. Must be a couple dozen hardcore devotees and the whitehouse pansies.
Report Post »Polish4USA
Posted on March 30, 2012 at 3:47pm@Ohio sir, I live in columbus and let me tell you that even in a midwestern normal state more than a “dozen” people watch it. The reason is simple. NBC used to be a great company for news. It wasn’t perfect. But it beat waiting for newspaper. Now a days, people want everything right away. And while more objective bodies like newspapers and magazines are bought by radicals like newsreel being bought by the daily beast or smaller publishers being crowded out of the market by the local versions of the by times, the masses turn to tv. To old reliable NBC, who now has their own 24 hr network which just happens to be aligned with those same radicals. Msnbc isn’t the problem, it’s a symptom of our Over consumption of news and no reliable source to turn to
Report Post »Sirfoldallot
Posted on March 30, 2012 at 3:24pmHad no idea that chanel was still on . They must be aopologizing 2 there self & the 9 viewers.
Report Post »HKS
Posted on March 30, 2012 at 3:24pmDoes anything from NBC really surprise anyone anymore. I don’t need them
Report Post »marine249
Posted on March 30, 2012 at 4:53pmso your saying what else is new
Report Post »scuba13
Posted on March 30, 2012 at 3:24pmWhy is it that MSNBC’s best interviews are in front of empty chairs? Maybe they could get Obama in there so at least they would be interviewing an empty suit instead.
Report Post »CatB
Posted on March 30, 2012 at 3:30pmExcellent!
Report Post »Sirfoldallot
Posted on March 30, 2012 at 3:42pmIt’s the crease silly
Report Post »booger71
Posted on March 30, 2012 at 3:53pmScuba 13
Report Post »+1
Do you know Scuba Steve?
scuba13
Posted on March 30, 2012 at 4:09pmBooger, no I do not.
Report Post »momsense
Posted on March 30, 2012 at 3:22pmIs there nothing that the weirdos won’t do to make people with different principles look bad?
Report Post »13th Imam
Posted on March 30, 2012 at 3:22pmPMSNBC , journalism is dead.
On another note Please contact George Zimmerman as he is living with ROSEANNE BARR 2570 Benedict Canyon DR, Beverly Hills, CA 90210 Bye the Bye her modest abode is worth 2,651,00 US Dollars. She is waiting to hear from you.
Report Post »Micmac
Posted on March 30, 2012 at 3:21pmMSNBC is owned by GE, so what is there to tell to the choir here. Same ol’, same ol’.
New day, same tactic.
Unfortunately the overbearance of media on the masses just indroctronates them like you see in these “utopian” movies where as you walk down the street the billboards and bullhorns visually and verbally attack your senses. Where art becomes reality…
NoBama 2012
Report Post »Polish4USA
Posted on March 30, 2012 at 3:32pmNBC or msnbc havent been owned by GE for more than two years. (comcast bought them) But don’t let your facts get in the way of your story… Like msnbc.
Report Post »drago
Posted on March 30, 2012 at 4:17pm@polish4usa aka encinom
Report Post »mslsd is owned by both comcast 51% AND ge 49%,so get your facts straight dummass.
silentwatcher
Posted on March 30, 2012 at 3:16pmFYI….it’s not really Encinom. It’s Encinoman-if you have ever seen the immature movie from the 90′s and how stupid and backwoods he really is,,,,you‘d understand why ’Encinom’ is so stupid.
Report Post »dmerwin
Posted on March 31, 2012 at 4:06pmPauley Shore at his finest, bro.
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