...As the MSNBC channel has forged a separate identity as the liberal home of Rachel Maddow, Chris Matthews, Ed Schultz and others, the company has worried about the brand confusion caused by its straight-news site bearing the same name.

◼ NBC News Declared Dead: Microsoft Leaves MSNBC - Jeffrey Lord/American Spectator

NBC News, the legendary television and news organization that once starred such journalistic pros as Chet Huntley, David Brinkley, John Chancellor and Tom Brokaw was declared officially dead on Wednesday afternoon.
The death was preceded by a stunning divorce announcement between Microsoft and NBC that had resulted in a long, tempestuous televised and website union known as MSNBC....

There were worries at corporate about "brand confusion" between "the liberal home of Rachel Maddow, Chris Matthews, Ed Schultz and others" with the so-called "straight-news site bearing the same name."

So the obvious question.

Why in the world would NBC be worried about "brand confusion" with a cable version of itself?

That's right. Because there was nothing "straight-news" about what has evolved at MSNBC....

The NBC News that is today the network of Brian Williams, Matt Lauer and the retired Tom Brokaw, the NBC News network that once boasted of names like Huntley and Brinkley and Chancellor -- is now the NBCNews.com of Ed Schultz, Chris Matthews, Lawrence O'Donnell, and Rachel Maddow.