I’m a big fan of “free speech”(1st Amendment). I may not agree with most commentators on CNBC but I’d defend their right to speak their minds all day long. Odd they apparently fear legitimate debate & want to cancel a conservative voice that would greatly enhance viewership on their channel?
McDaniel was the director of the RNC. Yes, she earlier wrongly claimed Trump was unfairly denied the 2020 election. She has since changed her stance, saying Biden won the election and is the legitimate Pres. She's imperfect but so are many at the left-leaning network.
If Maddow are her gang are confident in their position, get on national TV and debate Ronna; show her up. Eat her for breakfast. Maybe they're afraid? Of what?
Our country would be stronger if people stopped trying to cancel each other (whether from the right or left) & engaged in more respectful dialog. Let the viewers hear both sides!
BREAKING NEWS! NBC just dropped McDaniel from the network. Their minions (ergo news anchors) temper tantrums were to much for the top brass to withstand. So they caved to the mob.
NBC News Discusses Future of Ronna McDaniel as Contributor
Hiring of former Republican National Committee Chairwoman sparked an unprecedented on-air backlash from anchors and commentators
By Joe Flint and Iabella Simonetti, WSJ
March 26, 2024
Senior NBC News executives are discussing the future of former Republican National Committee Chairwoman Ronna McDaniel as an NBC News contributor, people familiar with the matter said, after her hiring sparked an unprecedented on-air backlash from anchors and commentators.
McDaniel’s close ties to former President Donald Trump and her support of his efforts to challenge the 2020 presidential election results led several high-profile anchors including Rachel Maddow and Joe Scarborough to use their shows on Monday to decry the hiring.
Joy Reid, Jen Psaki and Mika Brzezinski were among other MSNBC personalities who criticized the move, while NBC political analyst Chuck Todd blasted the network on Sunday. The string of criticism by one big-name anchor after another amounted to an extraordinary rebuke by news talent of their employer’s hiring decision. Bringing in McDaniel didn’t just irritate some staffers—it pushed some of cable TV’s biggest names to engage in a show of on-air insubordination in an effort to undo the decision.
Variety earlier reported that NBC News executives were meeting about McDaniel’s fate at the company.
A representative for McDaniel didn’t respond to a request for comment.
Inside NBC News, top executives are squabbling about how the hiring was handled and how best to cool the flames inside its newsrooms, people close to leadership said. The hiring of McDaniel was carried out by NBC News editorial chief Rebecca Blumenstein with the support of Carrie Budoff Brown, who oversees political coverage. Cesar Conde, the chairman of the NBCUniversal News Group, was also in the loop on the hire.
Blumenstein previously was a top editor at The Wall Street Journal and the New York Times.
NBC News executives have said privately that the motivation behind the hire was to have people on its shows who could provide analysis and perspective about the former president and his supporters.
In a letter to staff announcing the hire last week, Budoff Brown said: “it couldn’t be a more important moment to have a voice like Ronna’s on the team,” adding she will provide “an insider’s perspective on national politics and on the future of the Republican party.”
Since news of her hiring became public, McDaniel has made one appearance on NBC’s “Meet the Press” this past Sunday.
That “Meet the Press” appearance—which was booked weeks before McDaniel signed a deal—sparked the on-air rebellion. First, anchor Kristen Welker made clear to viewers she was unaware of the hiring or talks with McDaniel when the Republican political operative was booked. Then later in the show, Todd, a former “Meet the Press” host, blasted the network for the hire.
But even before McDaniel went on “Meet the Press,” the leadership of MSNBC made clear to both NBC News leadership and its own talent that McDaniel wouldn’t be welcome there. MSNBC President Rashida Jones told concerned staff over the weekend that they would not be expected to have her on their shows, the Journal previously reported.
In her on-air remarks Monday night, Maddow said the anger about the hire wasn’t about McDaniel being a Republican, but rather about having someone on the payroll who is “about undermining elections and going after democracy.” Maddow urged NBC News leadership to rethink the hire.
“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. It is a sign of strength,” she said.
Write to Joe Flint at Joe.Flint@wsj.com and Isabella Simonetti at isabella.simonetti@wsj.com
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