@Nonilex Right decision. There is no place in journalism or reporting for the enemies of facts and evidence - i.e., of democracy. Free media are a definitional part of democracy and need to use their teeth.
Their comments come a day after #ChuckTodd pilloried #NBC execs moments after #RonnaMcDaniel’s 1st network appearance, an interview w/ #KristenWelker on “Meet the Press.”
“I think our bosses owe you an apology for putting you in this situation,” Todd told Welker. “There’s a reason why there’s a lot of #journalists at #NBCNews uncomfortable w/this, because many of our professional dealings w/the #RNC over the last 6 yrs have been met w/ #gaslighting, have been met w/ #CharacterAssassination.”
Other #NBC & #MSNBC hosts & contributors will undoubtedly now be under pressure to speak their minds as well. MSNBC’s prime-time lineup today will be worth watching.
The on-air #protests may be a seminal moment in #PoliticalMedia as #news orgs continue to grapple w/how to responsibly represent voices from the #Trump#RightWing on their screens & in their pages w/o handing their #platforms over to #ElectionDeniers or #BadFaith actors who have attacked & attempted to discredit their own reporters.
The #NBC - #RonnaMcDaniel relationship was forged last year when NBC execs wooed her to land a #Republican presidential debate, which was a high priority at the network. CNN had beat NBC in the race for a #Trump town hall, & securing a debate took on extra significance. McDaniel’s price included a rebuke to the company’s own cable network: MSNBC would not be allowed to simulcast the debate. NBC took the deal.
Deals can be undone. The political climate is not the same as it was when the deal was made. NBC would be wise to pay whatever golden parachute escape clause is in the agreement and ditch McDaniel asap.
Thru that process #RonnaMcDaniel built a good rapport w/ #NBCNews execs Carrie Budoff Brown, snr VP of politics, & Rebecca Blumenstein, pres of editorial. McDaniel left the RNC, signed on w/ #CAA [further proving Republicans are just actors] & went looking for a TV contract.
…The #McDaniel deal was unanimously supported by leaders of all their networks, …including by …[the] president of #MSNBC.
The announcement came in a memo from #NBCUniversal#News Group Chair #CesarConde, who said he had listened to “the legitimate concerns” of many network employees. “No organization, particularly a newsroom, can succeed unless it is cohesive & aligned,” he wrote. “Over the last few days, it has become clear that this appointment undermines that goal."
Conde also apologized to employees “who felt we let them down” & took “full responsibility” for the hiring. #NBC#NBCNews#MSNBC#RonnaMcDaniel
But the company’s on-air personalities… disagreed vehemently, saying #RonnaMcDaniel’s promotion of #Trump’s #media-bashing & false election-fraud claims [#BigLie] disqualified her for a role in #news divisions.
And 1 by 1, they took to the airwaves to deliver that msg to their bosses in front of their live audiences Mon.
“Take a minute, acknowledge that maybe it wasn’t the right call. It is a sign of strength, not weakness, to acknowledge when you are wrong,” #MSNBC’s Rachel Maddow said.
#NBC employees argued publicly & privately that their complaint was not w/ #RonnaMcDaniel’s party affiliation but w/her actions.
“To be clear, we believe #NBCNews should seek out #conservative#Republican voices to provide #balance in their election coverage,” co-host Mika Brzezinski said on MSNBC’s “Morning Joe” on Mon. “But it should be conservative #Republicans, not a person who used her position of #power to be an anti- #democracy#ElectionDenier.”
@mastodonmigration Liz Cheney is probably too expensive & uninterested. NBC does have a lot of conservative contributors, they’ve just been branded as traitors / “never-trumpers” & so exiled from the current GOP.
Meanwhile, #CAA, the talent agency that helped broker the deal w/ #NBCNews, cut ties w/ #RonnaMcDaniel Tues, acc/to 2 people familiar w/the matter, telling the fmr #RNC chief & #political operative she needed to consult w/ an attorney to represent her in exit discussions.
I'm no fan of Ronna #McDaniel, but argue that of the three qualifications to be on NBC or MSNBC's air--resume, insight, and liberal outlook--she deserved a couple of weeks to show that she could deliver insight to the MAGA brain.
You don't have to agree with someone to learn from them. It was clear from McDaniel's performance on Sunday that she is unrepentant. Nevertheless, we all could have learned from her had she shared some insight. 1/2
No argument from me. That's why I dislike her personally.
Michael #Cohen wrote the check to Stormy Daniels. He went to jail. Lev Parnas fed the Biden-Ukraine BS story. He went to jail. George Papadopoulos spewed the #Trump story. They are all darlings of #MSNBC with resume and insight. The only difference is that they saw the light.
We ignore those with whom we disagree at our peril.
@Nonilex the original notice on Friday said that upper management made the decision to hire her unanimously, yet it’s obvious that they didn’t talk to any of the anchors before signing the contract. And now Ronna McDaniel is taking legal action against NBC! It’s time to kick some of the responsible officers out. After the fiasco with the Muslim journalists being silenced, NBC is quickly losing the trust of its target audience.
@Nonilex I share your belief regarding pressure, however how many spoke up when Mehdi was let go? Fear of being "shunned" from the industry is a powerful motivator.