From the "Watching NASCAR for

From the "Watching NASCAR for the Crashes" Department- MSNBC makes the least-surprising announcement in the history of media - they've signed Ventura to do a talk show.

The exact format of Ventura's show had not been decided, but it would include media criticism and a discussion of current events. A start date for the new show had not been set.

MSNBC President Erik Sorenson attended a farewell party for Ventura on Jan. 4. While in town, Sorenson and Ventura's attorney scouted locations at the Mall of America.

Mall spokeswoman Monica Davis confirmed the visit and the network's interest in the mall. She told Hauser that no agreements between the mall and the network had been signed.

Let's hope MSNBC picks some famously patient producers to work on the new program. Sources who've were involved with Ventura's various radio talk shows at two Twin Cities stations say that working with the former governor, mayor, wrestler and Navy UDT diver was a unique experience: Ventura is reportedly a bit of a prima donna. That's not unusual in the media - but he also apparently has very little actual aptitude for hosting talk shows, other than the flair for confrontation and hyperbole that characterized and stigmatized his administration.

Posted by Mitch at January 22, 2003 07:06 AM