TWO TNRs IN ONE:

MSNBC isn’t an instrument of the Democratic Party in the way that Fox is of the GOP. Ailes has a direct line to conservative politicians and considerable influence over them. Griffin may go to the odd White House Christmas party, but he’s not talking strategy with Valerie Jarrett.

— The New Republic, “Slyer Than Fox: The wild inside story of how MSNBC became the voice of the left,” today.

MSNBC is now hiring high-ranking party operatives. In February, two of Obama’s closest confidants, Robert Gibbs and David Axelrod, signed up as contributors to the network.

The courtship of Axelrod was particularly intense. Network bigwigs—including Griffin, Brian Williams, and former NBC News President Steve Capus—went to Washington for a meeting with Axelrod in his lawyer’s office. Zucker and CNN made a bid, too, but the NBC team, offering wider exposure, won out. “It was not a negative judgment about CNN,” Axelrod says. He’ll be appearing on a weekly basis on either NBC or MSNBC (“I don’t think I’ll be a ubiquitous presence”), and he expects to be featured on MSNBC’s new website. “I like to write, so I wouldn’t discount the possibility that I’ll do some writing for them as well,” he says.

— The New Republic, “Slyer Than Fox: The wild inside story of how MSNBC became the voice of the left,” today.