MSNBC’S SHUSTER SUSPENDED FOR APPEARANCE IN CNN PILOT

MSNBC has suspended host David Shuster for reportedly filming a pilot for a new CNN series with NPR’s Michele Martin without informing his bosses at MSNBC, the TVNewser website reported today (Monday), citing unnamed network sources. Existence of the CNN pilot was first reported by the New York Observer, which indicated that it was a “toss-up” whether the project would ever see the light of day. Following release of the article, an NBC spokesperson said that if the Observer article proved to be true, Shuster would be “punished appropriately.” TVNewser indicated that MSNBC is likely to keep Schuster off the air through the remainder of his contract, which expires in December. It quoted an MSNBC executive as saying that to do otherwise would send “a message from management that this is OK.”