BEYOND TALK

Dylan is straight talking, truth telling and asks the questions many will not ask.  I could count on his opinion as being right straight down the middle, and he did not take sides.  He would give it to both sides without malice. I will miss him, and hope that he will keep us up to date on his travels and what he is doing.  
June 10, 2012

Dear Friends,
I left a fifteen year career in financial journalism amid the crisis of 2008.  I did this to join the traditional cable news ranks with a clear goal of revealing the ruthless truth about our biggest problems and telling the inspiring stories of those who are resolving them despite all odds.
After three years at MSNBC, two national roadshows and one book, (and a couple of rants,) my objections to our current political process and our dominance-at-all-costs culture that gives us all less, while we pay more is well documented.
Fortunately, I have been inspired by meeting countless “doers” like Bea Cohen, 102 years old and one of the original “Rosie the Riveter’s” to contemporaries like Marine Veteran Colin Archipley who after serving 3 tours in Iraq, started “Archi’s Acres” with his wife in San Diego to teach returning veterans how use low-cost, hydroponic, organic farming techniques to create good jobs that produce twice as much food, at a higher quality, using 90% less soil and water.
They are pointing us — through their actions in history and today — on a clear mission – to seize new tools and take cultural risks to resolve our challenges.  Bea Cohen, and millions of other women did this in the past. Millions of men and women are doing this now — simply by daring to create new, sustainable, tolerant, problem-solving cultures in almost every social, personal and financial system.

It is in this context that I have decided to leave cable news to collaborate and join with some of these leaders to experiment and explore new ways to tell their stories.

While it may seem unconventional to leave a rapidly growing political cable show on the eve of a Presidential election, to me, the timing couldn’t be better.
In fact, the thrill of an opportunity to expand new systems that cost less and give us more in every part of life is impossible to pass up.  I believe if we are honest about where we are now, honest about where we want to go and honest about how we are going to get there, we may well end up as the hero of our own stories.  While I don’t know exactly how my own story will develop, I hope to share some initial details with you soon.  In the meantime, keep in touch.
I have had the privilege and confidence of NBC News, MSNBC, and CNBC for nine years and want to thank everyone who worked with me in that time, especially Phil Griffin and Steve Friedman, who made the work of the past three years possible along with The Dylan Ratigan Show and MSNBC staff.  I look forward to collaborating with all of you in learning, sharing, and building new ways to solve old problems in this expanding mission.
Onward and Upward,
Dylan



As a testament to the cause, and credit to you, here are some of the latest ratings:
The Dylan Ratigan Show is the only cable news program to show total audience growth in 2012 (Year-over-Year/4pm ET). While CNN and Fox fell at 4pm ET, The Dylan Show on msnbc showed healthy gained.
The Dylan Ratigan Show gained in total viewership 18%, while CNN and Fox fell 15% and 7% respectively in total audience (Year-over-Year/4pm ET).
In the 18-34 demographic, The Dylan Ratigan Show gained 17%. Competitors, CNN and Fox fell 42% and 14% respectively (Year-over-Year/4pm ET).