What does MSNBC owe Jackson or Sharpton?

David Gregory, of MSNBC, spent 15 minutes, of the Imus In The Morning time slot today,discussing Imus with Jesse Jackson and Al Sharpton.

Gregory brought up Jackson's use of 'hymie town', of which he had apologized. But, Jackson said there was no comparison of that, of which he apologized 24 years ago (after all Gregory didn't hear it himself) and Imus' statement on television to thousands. Well, Imus apologized, but it's not good enough for Jackson?

Jackson: "It’s not just Imus making a statement but when people like you appear on the show and Tim Russert and, and, and McCain and Harold Ford, you give, you’ve given credence to the show."

At that point, a chastened Gregory seemed to concede the point. He noted, "Reverend, it is a fair point and I take your point about my appearances on Imus and those of my colleagues as something that I and others have to think about as well." Anyone remember a time when the combative White House correspondent conceded a point to Press Secretary Tony Snow?

Jackson went on to question Gregory about how many black people are employed to be a host during the periods of 3 - 12. Gregory could only name one woman.

Jackson: "The time when MSNBC shows come on, when the Wolf Blitzers come on, when the, uh, the Chris Matthews come on, I'm saying there is too much cultural isolation in the media. It should be more diverse and that's my basic appeal. We meet with officials today. We gonna talk about the employment categories, talk about hosts, and producers and content and supply diversity, All these things matter. You look at the, the, the weekly shows, the, the ‘Face the Nation,’ the ‘Meet the Press’ shows."

Gregory also questioned Sharpton about the Tawana Brawley case, of which he has questioned him on a previous show.

Gregory asked Sharpton innocuous questions such as "Why do you think NBC made the decision?" And he certainly didn’t make the point that, according to the Drudge Report, Don Imus asserted on his radio show on the same day: When will Al Sharpton apologize to the members of the Duke lacrosse team?

Again, what does MSNBC owe Jackson or Sharpton?

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