The real problem is, as MSNBC found out, when commentary creeps into, or in this case, overwhelms in a flood, what should be good old fashioned reporting. When you tuned in Crossfire you knew you were getting two angry (usually) white guys yelling at each other from polar opposite ends of issues. When you tune in the DailyShow you know you are getting parody and liberal leaning commentary on the day’s news. When you tune in election coverage, at the point of an election event, you usually expect reporting, with perhaps commentary later in the program. “So Diane, as a Democratic strategist, what did you think about the State of the Union address?”

The irony is that while MSNBC was trying to ape Fox News they missed the bit where Fox was pretty careful to separate out the news reporting from the commentary. Having Olbermann, and to a lesser extent Matthews, in the anchor seat rather than a 5 minute aside per hour, upset that demarcation and balance.

At any rate, please do read my other piece on Stewart’s visit to Crossfire. I actually use it regularly in classes.