It looks like Ed Schultz needs to beg Roger Ailes for a job again.
Mediaite reported Thursday that MSNBC plans to cancel Schultz’s show as well as “The Cyle”and “Now with Alex Wagner” and give “Meet the Press” moderator Chuck Todd his 5PM time slot.
Nothing has been formally announced thus far.
Already, Vermont Senator and presidential candidate Bernie Sanders bitched out the cable channel’s corporate owner, Comcast, for dropping his ideological co-hort.
Schultz was struggling with low-ratings. But it seems plausible to think that everything The Mirror uncovered from court filings for the breach of partnership lawsuit against him speeded up his demise.
MSNBC president Phil Griffin, who Schultz turned into huge liar at his trial this May, presumably was a key player in the apparent decision to cut him loose.
Exposing your boss as lying under oath is probably not a good career move in any profession.
And when The Mirror discovered in court papers that Schultz’s first wife obtained a temporary domestic violence restraining order against him, that probably did not go over very well at a place that likes to accuse the GOP of waging a war on women.
Just how obtuse and arrogant is Ed Schultz? He could have avoided all this trouble if he had just paid NBC producer and sound engineer Michael Queen for helping him get “The Ed Show.”
In 2008, Queen and Schultz formed a partnership to get him a TV show. Queen was promised 25 percent of whatever Schultz got for a gig. And Schultz repeatedly promised him part of the profits and vowed not to “screw” him.
Alas, it turned out that Schultz, bosom buddy of the working man, wanted a higher minimum wage. He was happy to let Queen work for him free of charge.
Queen worked feverishly for more than one year to land him on the silver screen. Queen approached all three cable channels on his behalf. He even sent a fulsome letter to FNC President Roger Ailes. He also asked Tim Russert for help right before he passed away.
Queen produced a pilot, which provided virtually identical to the actual show, and mailed NBC a copy. He emailed MSNBC president Phil Griffin, but did not get a response.
In 2009, Griffin bypassed Queen and signed Schultz directly. Queen got zippo from Schultz.
Queen threatened to sue. Schultz shrugged him off.
Did Schultz forget just how many embarrassing emails he sent Queen in the course of trying to get him a TV show? How could he not be worried that these electronic ticking time bombs would come to light as the case wound its way through the court system. Particularly, how he belittled Oprah and said Chris Matthews spits while he talks.
When the case was finally scheduled for trial this February, Schultz had another chance to avoid further embarrassment. But he made no settlement offer to Queen. His lawyers even asked Judge Beryl Howell to dismiss the lawsuit she had already scheduled for trial.
At the trial, Schultz was caught lying on the stand. Worse yet, Ed turned Griffin into a huge fibber —possibly a perjurer. Griffin testified in his deposition that he approached Schultz in early 2009 about a possible show because he was so impressed that the liberal yakker got to sit in the front row at President Obama’s first press conference.
Sure, sounds impressive. Except that it never happened. Under cross-examination Schultz admitted that he did not ask Obama a question. Griffin would have a hard time arguing he was just confused. Schultz won the trial because the jury decided he didn’t have a legal partnership with Queen, even though under D.C. law you didn’t need to formally ink one.
Schultz accused this reporter of trying to destroy his career after Grifffin received information about the domestic violence restraining order.
But Schultz, in the end, proved himself to be the biggest loser.