I wonder what the folks over at MSNBC.com think about Wells Fargo?

(click for a bigger version)

Is it still just reporting when you scream a headline with 72 point font, or have you wandered into Editorial Land? Just curious.

From MSNBC:

After months of accusations of political bias and simmering animosity between MSNBC and its parent network NBC, the channel decided over the weekend that the NBC News correspondent and MSNBC host David Gregory would anchor news coverage of the coming debates and election night. Mr. Olbermann and Mr. Matthews will remain as analysts during the coverage.

Why, you might ask?

The change — which comes in the home stretch of the long election cycle — is a direct result of tensions associated with the channel’s perceived shift to the political left.

…

Executives at the channel’s parent company, NBC Universal, had high hopes for MSNBC’s coverage of the political conventions. Instead, the coverage frequently descended into on-air squabbles between the anchors, embarrassing some workers at NBC’s news division, and quite possibly alienating viewers. Although MSNBC nearly doubled its total audience compared with the 2004 conventions, its competitive position did not improve, as it remained in last place among the broadcast and cable news networks. In prime time, the channel averaged 2.2 million viewers during the Democratic convention and 1.7 million viewers during the Republican convention.

Now, I love Olbermann, and Matthews has sparks of brilliant insight, but I was taken aback by Olbermann’s almost orgasmic reactions to several of the speeches at the DNC. Don’t get me wrong: Keith often provides much needed biting, spot-on criticism in his Countdown show.

But as an anchor, I don’t think he provided “just the facts” reporting during the conventions. This is the kind of thing I’m talking about. The segment shown below came immediately after Michelle Obama’s DNC speech.

I can’t say I’m surprised by the MSNBC execs’ decision to replace him with someone who will provide more sober, neutral reporting. And I think David Gregory’s a pretty good choice.

I’m a little surprised they’ve reined in Matthews, but I’m glad to see they’ll both be in a more appropriate role. Gregory can draw the outlines of the story for us, while Matthews and Olbermann can offer the context and predictions to help color it in as they see fit.