The Wrap interviews Socolow on MSNBC programming decisions
Michael Socolow, processor of communication and journalism at the University of Maine, spoke to The Wrap about MSNBC’s decision to replace recent segments of “Morning Joe” and pull its anchors from air to run a single breaking news feed after the assassination attempt against former President Donald Trump. Socolow said that the decision “seemed jarring to MSNBC fans, who tune in primarily for the punditry,” but viewed the decision as an “implicit admission” of the network’s prioritization of “reporting over speculation and punditry.” “There’s a hierarchy here, and they are placing reporting at a higher level of service to the public and their audience than their regularly-scheduled pundit shows,” he said.