Friday, June 17, 2011

Norah O'Donnell Leaves MSNBC and Goes To CBS (Sad Face)

My girl, Norah O'Donnell, is moving to CBS
My longtime favorite TV correspondent, Norah O'Donnell, is leaving NBC/MSNBC after more than a decade with the network. She is leaving to become the Chief White House Correspondent for CBS News. Obviously, this is a good move for her; but I am sad because I can count the number of times I've watched CBS News in the last decade on one hand. I didn't like how the network dismissed Dan Rather after his accurate story on the questionable way former Pres. Bush avoided going to Vietnam. But I digress...

This move was inevitable. Norah has been woefully underused at NBC for many years. In fact, in my posting on Savannah Guthrie's departure from The Daily Rundown, I said, "As for MSNBC, can you guys just go ahead and give Nora O'Donnell her own freakin' show!? Or make her the TDR's new co-host?!" That was a mere two weeks ago. It seems that MSNBC was not prepared to give her a show, which is sad.
Norah is an excellent reporter, in addition to having the world's most perfect face. I've watched her for many years (I first noticed her during the 2000 presidential campaign), and still cannot say, definitively, what her personal politics are. That's the way it should be for reporters, and is very rare in this day and age. Her analysis is usually correct, and her infectious laugh makes her a joy to watch on television. I hope she will still be able to appear on the syndicated Chris Matthews Show (not Hardball), and that she can return to Bill Maher in the future. It would be a shame if her new contract prohibited such appearances.

In reality, I suppose I could DVR Face The Nation if I knew ahead of time that Norah was going to host it. I guess I could handle that.
Man...first Savannah Guthrie leaves Daily Rundown to go to the Today Show (which I don't watch since I'm not 60 years old the right demographic), now Norah O'Donnell leaves to go CBS. What's next? Contessa Brewer goes to Fox?!

Good luck to you, Norah. 

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

I could not agree more with every word you said. Norah is beautiful and has the best laugh I ever heard. In addition she is a spot on reporter. I am a habitual MSNBC watcher and will miss her tremendously.

Anonymous said...

LOL... I feel the opposite, she does not look beautiful and I would not use that as a reason to judge a political or news talent's worth.

And I could not stand her laugh. Way back I emailed MSNBC in New York and told them to have her stop with the laugh, it was grating.

(I recall her doing it more after Matthews in 2008 had her on this show and he said "Oh what a cute laugh.") From then on she was always the one on guest panels who could not wait to get in her "signature" laugh.

Obviously, my position prevailed since MSNBC and NBC never promoted her and let her leave.

Dave Splash said...

See, this is how I know you are totally disingenuous. "She does not look beautiful" is your tell. You can dislike her, you can hate her reporting, and you can hate her laugh, but to say she's not beautiful...that's ridiculous.