the kicker

Super-Duper Tuesdays

MSNBC loves Tuesdays!
August 5, 2008

We couldn’t help noticing that every Tuesday is “Super Tuesday” at MSNBC. Typically, the term refers to a day in February or March when the greatest number of presidential primary contest are held.

So what’s up with that, MSNBC?

Well, it seems that the network has liberated the term from its strict definition. “It’s part of our election year coverage. We’ve branded every Tuesday as ‘Super Tuesday’ with the prime focus of the day on politics,” MSNBC Communications VP Jeremy Gaines told us. “”On Tuesdays we devote nearly all of daytime to politics (depending on breaking news). … Hard to say how much more politics it is than a regular day since we are focusing on politics every day this year—best guess would be 85-90 percent politics on Super Tuesdays and 50+ percent on other days.”

So that’s that.

To compete, CNN will begin calling Wednesdays “Wolf Blitzer Beard Day.” Again, much like in the case of Super Tuesdays at MSNBC, CNN’s Blitzer Beard Day will feature nearly 40 percent more of Wolf Blitzer’s well-groomed beard.

Katia Bachko is on staff at The New Yorker.