As far as prank call videos go, they don’t get more uncomfortable than what happened on MSNBC yesterday. In the wake of the Malaysia Airlines disaster in Ukraine, cable news networks interviewed scores of experts. And as happens so often in these situations, a Howard Stern fan somehow got through the system impersonating one of these experts.
As perhaps the most vapid cable news channel in existence, MSNBC is the perfect target. The Cycle co-host Krystal Ball interviewed who she thought was someone from the US embassy in Ukraine. As she asked a question about what the man’s eyewitness account, it led to one of the most terribly awkward exchanges in cable news history…
That’s right, Ball asked a serious follow-up question after being told that “it would appear the plane was shot down by a blast of wind from Howard Stern’s @$$.” I’m actually speechless how that could happen to someone who collects a salary as an on-air talent at a national news network. There’s been a lot of really dumb moments in the history of cable news. This one may now be at the top of the list.
Keep shooting for the stars, MSNBC.
