I talked so much about the overall MSNBC look rather than the theme package… let me tell ya a couple things. 1) I didn’t watch much cable news (CNN, CNBC, etc wasn’t really on my radar. Maybe Headline.) 2nd, I recall July 1996 really well. Two major stories broke in MSNBC’s first couple of weeks. The set and theme package, just drew my 9 year old self in. Hearing the Shelly Palmer theme package, just channels my inner youthful, but old soul of a Gen-Xer in a Millennial body. I think it was that energy that captivated me into watching cable news.
Least we don’t forget the first break on that morning was actually the best cut in the package itself. The irony. What does MSNBC use today? No package whatsoever
On Friday, it marked the 26th anniversary of MSNBC. On July 15th, 1996, the network launched at a secondary studio that was once for America’s Talking, in Fort Lee, New Jersey; a sister network from CNBC. AT launched in 1994 as a botched attempt to port talk radio onto cable, but by early 1995, Bob Wright, the dimwit head of NBC along with Microsoft’s Bill Gates at a gathering in 30 Rock, announced that they would introduce a competitor to CNN, with the partnership with Microsoft. The channel was scheduled to launch in 1996 with America’s Talking to be replaced, as it was NBC’s second cable entity.
