And here’s how the New York Times’s Alessandra Stanley one year ago described the tone of MSNBC programming:

“The smugness is easier to copy than the wit. MSNBC has a growing cast of anchor-bloviators — hosts like Martin Bashir, Tamron Hall and, of course, Al Sharpton, who rant and then invite like-minded guest commentators to assure them that they are right.”

Must-agree TV, in other words. …

3) The MSNBC conservative shortfall cited by Sanneh means that the network’s anchors and commentators must often be relied upon to explain the opposition’s viewpoints. Before slamming them, that is.