by Nando Di Fino | 5:46 pm, November 9th, 2011
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For 21 consecutive months, MSNBC has been No. 1 among African American viewers in prime time. So maybe it’s no surprise that Pat Buchanan, the controversial pundit, hasn’t appeared on the network since late October. The Huffington Post’s Michael Calderone reports that Buchanan hasn’t shown up on MSNBC since Oct. 22, while doing the rounds on other stations to promote his new book, Suicide of a Superpower: Will America Survive To 2025?. The book has a chapter titled, “The End of White America,” and — according to Sam Fullwood III of American Progress — it has some interesting racial undertones. As well as some interesting racial overtones. Including:Those who believe the rise in power of an Obama rainbow coalition of peoples of color means the whites who helped to engineer it will steer it are deluding themselves. The whites may discover what it is like to ride in the back of the bus.ColorofChange.org, a civil rights group, asked its members to sign a petition urging MSNBC to fire Buchanan, rattling off a series of questionable comments he has made over the years. The Anti-Defamation League also chimed in, labeling Buchanan a racist and anti-Semite. Calderone even spoke with a station executive, who told him that, “the network is taking the concerns seriously.” He also stressed that the decision to freeze out Buchanan was made long before the groups started rallying against him.
The issue at hand, the executive said, was the views expressed in the book rather than any policy against promoting books written by on-air talent. Although Buchanan made one appearance since the book was published, it was not discussed on air.According to TV Eyes (which, Calderone points out, does miss the occasional mention), Buchanan’s name has only been mentioned on MSNBC eight times in the last 30 days. By comparison, he has 41 hits on Fox Business Network, 17 on FOX News, and 15 on CNN:
MSNBC had no official comment for Mediaite or Huffington Post, so the guessing game is on as to when Buchanan may return. For now, though, it’s 18 days of no Buchanan and counting. And it can’t be that good of a sign that it took anyone this long to notice.
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