A Slight Delay

Slight shakeup over at MSNBC. Tucker Carlson’s eponymous show in the 6 PM slot is out, replaced by David Gregory’s Race For the White House. What difference will this have? Well, for one thing, Tucker packs up his bow tie and continues with the network as a correspondent-at-large. For another, David Gregory could now plausibly lay claim to the title of “Hardest-Working Man in News.” In addition to covering the White House for NBC, he’s anchoring the aforementioned show, and still making regular appearances on NBC’s Nightly News.

So, for practical purposes, what does it mean for the lineup from night to night? On one level, it does mean that the cable net is more tightly intertwined with its broadcast parent. This is especially clear on the nights of primaries and caucuses, when the likes of Brian Williams, Tim Russert, Tom Brokaw, and Gregory share airtime with the usual suspects. On another level, it replaces Carlson’s feisty conservative bent with Gregory’s more centrist presentation, drawing on the same cast of characters that tend to appear on the other programs: Air America’s Rachel Maddow, Eugene Robinson (associate editor and columnist for the Washington Post), NBC Political Director Chuck Todd, ex-Congressman/current MSNBC host Joe Scarborough, and Carlson. (more…)