MSNBC is still a destination for liberal viewers, but there's some disappointment that network personalities aren't more challenging to the Obama administration and Democratic orthodoxy, said Jeff Cohen, an Ithaca College journalism professor and liberal activist. He said there hasn't been enough debate about military action in Afghanistan and Libya.
"I would argue that it was more independent when Olbermann was there," Cohen said. "His charm, if you can call it that, is that he's uncontrollable. He's not a party-line guy."
MSNBC is facing the same issue that Fox News had during the Bush administration: It's not as exciting being on defense when the party you support is in power as it is being on the outs and on the attack, said Tim Graham of the conservative Media Research Center.
"Now it's, `Let's not make trouble for these people. They have enough to handle with angry conservatives,'" he said.
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"MSNBC has established a sensibility, a position, a platform," he said. "MSNBC stands for something and MSNBC is really the place to go for progressives and people who are looking for smart, thoughtful analysis. We're growing, and we're putting real effort behind it."
