DENVER -- Amid a spate of awkward on-air conflicts among MNSBC anchors at this week's Democratic convention, some staff members say there are sharp internal disputes at the cable network over whether its opinion and personality-driven political coverage has crossed the line. "The situation at our channel is about to blow up," a high-ranking MSNBC journalist told Politico on Wednesday. Two other MSNBC sources said some of the testy on-air exchanges between Keith Olbermann -- whose quick-witted and often caustic commentary has fueled ratings growth -- and other network personalities were a public glimpse of much more intense behind-the-scenes turmoil.
As replays of the conflicts became YouTube hits, MSNBC President Phil Griffin gave his first public defense in a Politico interview. "MSNBC does not have an ideology," Griffin said. "We hire smart people who are passionate about their love of politics and love of news."
"Do I want them to have squabbles?" Griffin asked. "No. But I understand they're human."
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On Monday evening, Olbermann interrupted Scarborough while he was talking about McCain being competitive in the polls. "Jesus, Joe, why don't you get a shovel?" Olbermann remarked.
On "Morning Joe" the following day, a clearly agitated Scarborough went off on Shuster during a discussion of Iraq, which quickly devolved over several cringe-worthy minutes into personal attacks, such as Scarborough telling the world how his colleague missed the show three times by oversleeping. "Are you Rip Van Shuster?" Scarborough asked. "Have you been sleeping for the past couple of months?"
But Scarborough, a former Republican congressman from Florida, became enraged when Shuster made a reference to "your party." Asked by Scarborough what his party was, Shuster said he was an "independent."
"I feel so comforted by the fact that you're an independent," Scarborough said, in a mocking tone. "I bet everybody at MSNBC has independent on their voting cards. Oh, we're down the middle now." (Shuster left the set, but returned later to hug it out, "Entourage"-style.)
That night, Scarborough told NPR that he "get[s] frustrated by people who have an obvious partisan bias that don't proclaim that bias."
The old debate over election coverage bias was given new life on Sunday, when Democratic Pennsylvania Gov. Ed Rendell -- who'd remarked during the primaries that Fox News was the "most objective" network -- told a panel of Sunday show anchors, including NBC's Tom Brokaw, that "MSNBC was the official network of the Obama campaign."
