MSNBC Prez Admits Ed Schultz 'Over the Top' and 'Crossed the Line

A month after the Daily Beast's Howard Kurtz reported on infighting at MSNBC over the Keith Olbermann suspension, Kurtz is revealing that MSNBC president Phil Griffin admits he has had to scold host Ed Schultz multiple times for being "over the top" and has told the host he has "crossed the line."

Kurtz profiles the bombastic and incendiary Schultz, who actually got his start in radio as a conservative talk show host. That changed when he met his wife, who converted the former college quarterback into a liberal and now produces his three-hour radio show.

“[H]is conversion was genuine.” Don Haney, a reporter and friend of Schultz told Kurtz. But, he admitted, “to be honest, he’s got a temper. There are some people who have drawn his wrath.”

The opposite is also true -- according to Kurtz, Schultz has drawn the ire of MSNBC president Phil Griffin on multiple occasions.

“There are times I tell him he goes over the top and that TV is different than radio,” Griffin acknowledged to Kurtz. “A couple of times he’s crossed the line. I said, ‘Ed, you ran down the field 100 yards and you spiked the ball. Don’t spike the ball!’”

But apparently that hasn't phased Schultz, who thinks his rhetoric represents the thoughts of the American people: “Not to get too grandiose about it, but I really believe I’m saying things a lot of Americans want someone to say.”

Read Kurtz's entire profile.