MSNBC pulling plug on Keyes

Barring last-minute negotiations, "Alan Keyes is Making Sense," a primetime cable news show on MSNBC, will end its five-month run on July 11 after the network told Keyes his show would be moved to an afternoon timeslot – an option the talk-show host rejected.

Alan Keyes

Debuting last January, Keyes' show takes on various cultural and political issues of the day, and has often focused on the Middle East conflict. The show currently airs Monday through Thursday at 10 p.m. Eastern time. Keyes' chief of staff, Mary Parker Lewis, calls the show "fresh, honest, provocative" analysis.

Both Bob Angelotti, Keyes' media representative, and Lewis said Keyes is unwilling to move to an afternoon broadcast time.

"The afternoon timeslot wasn't acceptable to the mission and message of Alan's show," he said. "It would not reach our audience. Primetime hours are the most conducive to getting the message out."

Angelotti says ratings "were not an issue" in the proposed move. "His ratings were very steady," he said.

Lewis concurred: "His ratings were solid for a new, provocative show."

A spokesperson for MSNBC, however, mentioned ratings as a factor in the decision.

"His ratings aren't the strongest," she said. "He drew 213,000 Nielsen households in May."

The chief of media relations at MSNBC was unavailable for comment. The spokesperson who talked to WND refused to give the newssite her name.

She confirmed that Keyes was offered an afternoon timeslot but that he was "not inclined to take it."

"MSNBC is working with him to be a regular on another show," the spokesperson said. Lewis, however, says she's heard nothing about the possibility of Keyes appearing on another program.

MSNBC has no official statement as of yet that addresses the future of "Alan Keyes is Making Sense."

Lewis believes Keyes' show is an asset to the cable news network, noting that "We have brought new viewers" to MSNBC.

Angelotti speculated that the network wanted to group shows featuring conservatives together, noting that Pat Buchanan's new show begins in mid-July. As WND reported, Buchanan and Bill Press will co-host a new debate show on MSNBC that will air from 2 to 4 p.m.

Keyes' afternoon show, had he accepted it, would have followed that program. He said the network did not volunteer to rebroadcast the Keyes show in the evening, which is common for some cable news shows.

So, will Keyes land at another network?

"He wants to think it through," Angelotti told WND. Once the current show ends, "he will figure out what he wants to do."

Keyes has no plans to shop his show to other networks, Angelotti said, but added that the host has received calls from others in television interested in the program. For now, says Angelotti, Keyes will concentrate on making the final installments of his show the very best he can.

Keyes' show has made waves internationally, Angelotti noted.

"He has emerged as a media superstar in Israel," he said, for telling the truth about the Middle East and for his "logical, factual, unbiased approach to the Israel issue."

"We know for a fact that that bothers people," Angelotti said, based on complaints from supporters of the Palestinians.

MSNBC may not have gotten around to issuing a statement about the show because they're too busy fielding e-mails from Keyes supporters.

A Jewish website, Mesora, is promoting an online petition to try to keep Keyes' show on the air. Signing the petition sends an e-mail to executives of MSNBC with the following message:

I urge MSNBC to continue "Alan Keyes is Making Sense" in the 10 p.m. slot. I protest your succumbing to pressures against Keyes' stance for truth, and his honest fight against terrorism. Too many Americans died, and Keyes is defending them, ... but you favor those who oppose Keyes. This is not American. Keep him on air, or I will cease watching your programming, and get others to join me.

Rabbi Moshe Ben-Chaim, founder of Mesora, says the drive has been active only for two days, yet over 21,000 people have joined the effort. The only response he has received from MSNBC is a complaint about spam. Ben-Chaim told the network that the e-mail drive was not spam because each message is from an individual; they're not all from one source.

The rabbi denounced MSNBC for squelching someone's voice "who is searching for truth." He was not sure when the petition drive would end.

"MSNBC is not concerned with delivering facts," which is what Keyes does, Ben-Chaim told WND. "That's contrary to what a TV network should be."

Keyes is an exclusive WorldNetDaily columnist, former U.S. ambassador to the United Nations Social and Economic Council and a 2000 Republican presidential candidate.