MSNBC is an American news-based television channel and website headquartered in New York City. It is owned by NBCUniversal — a subsidiary of Comcast — and provides news coverage and political commentary. The network produces live broadcasts for its channel from studios at 30 Rockefeller Plaza in Manhattan, New York City, and aggregates its coverage and commentary on its website, msnbc.com.
Keith Theodore Olbermann is an American sports and political commentator and writer. Olbermann spent the first 20 years of his career in sports journalism. He was a sports correspondent for CNN and for local TV and radio stations in the 1980s, winning the Best Sportscaster award from the California Associated Press three times. He co-hosted ESPN's SportsCenter from 1992 to 1997. From 1998 to 2001, he was a producer and anchor for Fox Sports Net and a host for Fox Sports' coverage of Major League Baseball.
Media Matters for America (MMfA) is a non-profit left-leaning watchdog journalism organization. It was founded in 2004 by journalist and political activist David Brock as a counterweight to the conservative Media Research Center. It seeks to spotlight "conservative misinformation" in the U.S. media; its methods include issuing reports and quick responses. Two example initiatives include the "Drop Fox" campaign (2011–2013) that sought to discredit Fox News' "fair and balanced" claims; and a 2023 report about X that highlighted antisemitism on the platform.
Countdown with Keith Olbermann is a weekday podcast that originated as an hour-long weeknight news and political commentary program hosted by Keith Olbermann that aired on MSNBC from 2003 to 2011 and on Current TV from 2011 to 2012. The show presented five selected news stories of the day, with commentary by Olbermann and interviews of guests. At the start of Countdown, Olbermann told television columnist Lisa de Moraes:
Our charge for the immediate future is to stay out of the way of the news. ... News is the news. We will not be screwing around with it. ... As times improve and the war [in Iraq] ends we will begin to introduce more and more elements familiar to my style.
The Stephanie Miller Show is a syndicated progressive talk radio program that discusses politics, current events, and pop culture using a fast-paced, impromptu, comedic style. The three-hour show is hosted by Stephanie Miller and is syndicated by Westwood One. Voice artist Jim Ward formerly co-hosted the show and is a recurring guest. Miller is frequently joined on the air by executive producer Jody Hamilton and general manager Chris Lavoie. The show debuted on September 7, 2004 and is broadcast live from Los Angeles, California each weekday morning from 6:00 a.m. – 9:00 a.m. Pacific Time, on Pacifica station, KPFK in LA, and radio stations throughout the U.S., as well as online, and via SiriusXM Progress Channel 127. The show is also video simulcast live on Free Speech TV. Audio of each day's show is also available commercial-free for download from the show's website via the paid subscription Stephcast, which has been available since June 2005. The radio show should not be confused with Miller's short-lived 1995 syndicated TV talk show with the same name.
Dean Obeidallah is an American lawyer, comedian, and journalist. He is the host of SiriusXM Progress' The Dean Obeidallah Show and a frequent contributor to CNN, The Daily Beast, and MSNBC.
Melissa Victoria Harris-Perry, formerly known as Melissa Victoria Harris-Lacewell, is an American writer, the Presidential Chair Professor of Politics & International Affairs and head of The Anna Julia Cooper Project at Wake Forest University, television host, and political commentator with a focus on African-American politics. Harris-Perry hosted the Melissa Harris-Perry weekend news on MSNBC from 2012 to February 27, 2016.
The Rachel Maddow Show is an American news television program that airs on MSNBC, running in the 9:00 pm ET time slot Monday evenings. It is hosted by Rachel Maddow, who gained a public profile via her frequent appearances as a progressive pundit on programs aired by MSNBC. It is based on her former radio show of the same name. The show debuted on September 8, 2008.
Steve Benen is an American progressive political writer, blogger, MSNBC contributor, and the producer of The Rachel Maddow Show, for which he received two Emmy Awards in 2017. Benen's first book, The Impostors: How Republicans Quit Governing and Seized American Politics, was published in 2020. His latest book is Ministry of Truth: Democracy, Reality, and the Republicans' War on the Recent Past, which was published in August 2024.
This Week in Blackness was an independent digital media platform which acts as a hub for a network of multimedia projects. Founded in 2008 during the presidential campaign season it is also the home of the video series of the same name hosted by Elon James White. The Blog was nominated for 4 Black Weblog Awards in 2009 and won 3 including "Blog of the Year." The site combines pointed criticism of politics and pop culture with social activism and urban humor.
The Black Weblog Awards was an online awards event which recognizes bloggers of African-American descent for their contributions in blogging, video blogging, and podcasting. The Black Weblog Awards started in 2005 with 11 categories, and grew to include 36 categories. Former Black Weblog Award winners include blogger and radio host B. Scott, comedian and YouTube personality Elon James White, comedian, television host, and New York Times best-selling author Baratunde Thurston, LGBT activist and media personality Keith Boykin, hip-hop artists D-Nice and Kanye West, musician and DJ Questlove, and model/media personality Tyra Banks. Other Black Weblog Award winners have also appeared in traditional media outlets, such as The Washington Post, the Los Angeles Times, and NPR.
Melissa Harris-Perry is a current affairs and political commentary television program produced by MSNBC and hosted by African-American author and academic Melissa Harris-Perry. The program was broadcast from 2012 to 2016, and normally aired on weekend mornings. Harris-Perry had previously been a contributor and guest host for the network before the show was announced. The first episode debuted on February 18, 2012.
Zachary "Zack" Sawyer Kopplin is an American political activist, journalist, and television personality from Louisiana. Kopplin has campaigned to keep creationism out of public school science classrooms and been involved with other separation of church and state causes. He has opposed school vouchers because they provide public money to schools which may teach creationism. As a high school student, he organized seventy-eight Nobel laureate scientists in a campaign against the Louisiana Science Education Act, a creationism law. He is also involved with science funding policy and curriculum and textbook policy. His new campaign calls for a launching Second Giant Leap for Humankind, calling for Barack Obama to invest $1 trillion in research and education.
Jamilah Lemieux is an American writer, cultural critic, and editor. She rose to prominence for her blog, The Beautiful Struggler. She has worked for Ebony, Cassius Magazine, and Interactive One, part of Radio One, Inc. Lemieux currently writes a parenting column for Slate, and co-hosts an accompanying podcast, Mom & Dad Are Fighting.
Disrupt with Karen Finney is a political news and commentary television program that aired weekends at 4:00 p.m. ET on MSNBC from 2013 to 2014. It was hosted by Karen Finney, a Democratic political operative who had been a political commentator at MSNBC since 2009. The show debuted on June 8, 2013 and had its final broadcast June 1, 2014.
Feminista Jones is an American social worker, author, and activist known for her work on Black feminism. She is a freelance writer for national newspapers and magazines, a podcaster, book author, and social media influencer.
Mychal Denzel Smith is an American writer, television commentator and author of Invisible Man, Got the Whole World Watching: A Young Black Man's Education (2016) and Stakes Is High: Life After the American Dream (2020). He is also a fellow at Type Media Center.
Jamie Broadnax is an American film critic, podcaster, and writer, known for founding and being editor-in-chief and CEO of the Black Girl Nerds community.
Katherine Rose Halper is an American comedian, writer, filmmaker, podcaster, and political commentator. She is the host of the podcast The Katie Halper Show and co-host of the podcast Useful Idiots with Aaron Maté.
