Ryan Grim

[Commentary] Channel surfers who stopped on MSNBC on July 11 in the 6 p.m. hour would have stumbled on something new in the world of cable news. In the July segment, every person on camera -- the host and the two guests -- was African-American.

That such a phenomenon is new, of course, is itself a broad indictment. But on MSNBC and occasionally CNN, black hosts and black guests have been discussing news that is targeted not just at the black community, but at all viewers.