MSNBC faced a backlash from its own hosts and employees that led it to decide not to have Ronna McDaniel on the network.
The Wall Street Journal reported:
Rashida Jones, the president of the cable network, sought to address internal backlash in the wake of an internal announcement Friday by NBC News regarding the hiring of McDaniel as an on-air contributor. In that internal memo, the political chief, Carrie Budoff Brown, said McDaniel would contribute “across all NBC News platforms,” causing an uproar among many of the network’s anchors and staff, people familiar with the matter said. . MSNBC is part of the NBC News division.
Jones told employees that the cable network has no plans to have McDaniel on the channel, according to people familiar with the conversations. A number of MSNBC hosts and producers have expressed concerns internally about McDaniel’s ties to former President Donald Trump and the RNC’s role in his efforts to challenge the results of the 2020 election.
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The original report that the initial plan was to feature McDaniel on all NBC News platforms, including MSNBC, was correct, but it appears that the backlash for having one of Trump’s sixth co-conspirators on the network was so strong that Comcast has backtracked. of that plan.
McDaniel will be interviewed by Kristen Welker on Sunday morning’s Meet The Press and will likely be part of NBC’s political coverage both on the network over the air on programs like Today and on their NBC News Now streaming channel.
As intense as the employee reaction may have been, the spectator reaction was worse.
Comcast, the company that owns NBC, clearly sees MSNBC’s leftward tilt as nothing more than a brand they can stomp on.
Ronna McDaniel was still given a prestigious job in corporate media to satisfy Trump, but at least MSNBC viewers don’t have to worry about her appearing on their channel.
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Jason is the managing editor. He is also a member of the White House press pool and a congressional correspondent for PoliticusUSA. Jason has a bachelor’s degree in political science. His graduate work focused on public policy, with a specialization in social reform movements.
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