• by John Gaffney , December 9, 2002

If I Ran MSNBC: The Iraq countdown is over. Deadline past. What’s a news channel to do? Instead of waiting around for the next terror attack, Here’s what I’d do. I’d wipe the content slate clean (did I say Slate?). I wouldn’t concern myself with Fox or CNN. But I would take notice that Fox is off the hook conservative and CNN has loaded itself down with talk shows that lack differentiation. Seems to me the big content opportunity here is not in the demographic opportunity, but in the psychographic opportunity. I’d make MSNBC the channel for people who want an uninterrupted, clean, in-depth take on news, pop culture, sports and entertainment. No reason quality content that tells you something you didn’t know can’t make it. I’d have a one-hour news show at 8 am, 1pm and 7 pm. Forget Countdown: Iraq. I’d put Lester Holt on the health care beat. I’d hire Gary Giddins for an entertainment show. Bryant Gumbel gets a sports show. Get it? The ratings couldn’t get any lower. So after I push them up, I’m coming to the ad community with a good story to tell. And if a huge story demands all my resources, I still have them.

Roone Arledge: I don’t have much to add to all the accolades, but I can tell you that during my sports marketing life, everybody I ever met at ABC Sports shared his passion for making the telecast better for the viewer. That went for golf, football, Olympic events and news.

Parting Shot: UBS Warburg throws the big media fest starting today, and already predictions of a comeback are in the air. Once again, before I’m on that bandwagon, I want to know what product categories are driving the comeback. The devil’s in the details.