If Chris Matthews, Keith Olbermann, and Rachel Maddow think the economy is bad now, just wait until GE asks to renegotiate their contracts in light of what looks to be the start of a long-term decline in advertising revenues.

GE Capital, GE’s financial arm saw a 67% decline in fourth quarter profit to $1 billion and a 17% decline in revenue to $14.8 billion. Profit in its consumer and industrial products unit fell 86% to $36 million, while sales fell 17% to $2.7 billion.
GE’s energy-infrastructure unit had an 11% jump in profits and a 21% gain in revenue, while at NBC Universal — in which GE has an 80% stake — earnings fell 6.3%, while revenue was down 2.7%.

When and if it comes time to cutting costs at NBC, will the MSNBC Big Three (along with Brian Williams, David Gregory, etc.) acknowledge the changed world and accept pay cuts, or will they make NBC cut costs by firing a number of lower-paid workers?