• New York Times, Friday, August 31, 2012 12:13 PM

"MSNBC has pumped up its ratings by recasting itself as a left-leaning riposte to Fox News" -- a fact that's doubly obvious this week, when its anchors "shout that Republican claims [during the convention] are 'lies,'" writes Alessandra Stanley.  In the ratings race, Fox "is still well ahead, especially during a Republican convention, but on Tuesday, there were times when MSNBC drew significantly more convention viewers than CNN."

Still, "all that arch sarcasm and partisan brio may rev up the cable channel’s fans, but it constrains — and stains — NBC News, its corporate sibling, which is still the country’s No. 1 source in the evening," continues Stanley. "And that leaves fewer choices for viewers who like their election coverage with informed commentary without a twist of bias."

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