MSNBC Disconnects “Connected”

MSNBC’s “Connected: Coast to Coast” died a quiet death on Friday. Monica Crowley and Ron Reagan co-hosted their last show at noon.

“Thanks to all of you who have written to say kind things,” senior producer Tony Maciulis blogged on MSNBC.com. “We’ve spent the last year bringing you quality programming — the kind of political debate show that you don’t really see anymore.” Or, some would say, the kind of political debate show that we don’t want to see anymore.

> Cliff Kincaid: “…The hosts permitted guests enough time to complete their sentences. It provided a serious forum for the discussion of hard news.”

> When the show premiered in February, MSNBCers were excited. “We hope to bring some perspective on the news stories that you’ve been hearing during the day,” Crowley said…

> Update: 10:38pm: “Was I the only one who truly enjoyed Connected Coast to Coast?,” an e-mailer asks. “I felt Monica Crowley and Ron Reagan both were low-key enough to allow the newsmakers to make their points without the egos of the hosts getting in the way. It made the show very watchable for those of us raised in an era of sane television journalism. It was probably the only TV talker that was without rancor between hosts of vastly differing viewpoints and truly which brought a thoughtful discussion of issues to MSNBC. I’ll miss the show.”

But another e-mailer writes: “What took MSNBC so long to realize how crappy Connected: Coast to Coast was? The show was terrible; they deserved a quiet death, certainly it shouldn’t make news.”