Ronna McDaniel will undoubtedly create a lot of sound and fury at NBC News. Shakespeare can tell you what all this will suggest.
NBC News shocked the nation’s legions of news critics (in the latest social media, it seems, anyone can be one) on Friday when it revealed a new pact with McDaniel, recently chairman of the Republican National Committee, and, throughout this time, a denier of the validity of the 2020 presidential elections and a frequent critic of US media. One of the many retailers McDaniel has continually criticized is the left-leaning MSNBC, part of NBCUniversal’s information operations.
“It couldn’t be a more important time to have a voice like Ronna’s in the workforce,” said Carrie Budoff Brown, an NBC Information executive with direct oversight of political protection and “Meet The Press,” mentioned in a memo Friday. -day, noting that McDaniel would provide “an insider perspective on national politics and the future of the Republican Party.” McDaniel’s arrival sparked much talk that MSNBC President Rashida Jones felt compelled to calm angry anchors and producers with an internal memo, according to a report in The Wall Street Journal, noting that the former head of the RNC would not appear in the leftist trend. cable outlet.
On Sunday, McDaniel acknowledged during an interview with “Meet The Press” moderator Kristen Welker that the 2020 election was, in fact, official, although she nodded to “points” that remained largely unexplored. . But Chuck Todd, the show’s former moderator, told Welker on air that “I believe our bosses owe you an apology for putting you in this situation.” He added: “There’s a reason why there are a lot of journalists at NBC News uncomfortable with this, because a lot of our professional dealings over the last six years have been met with gaslighting, they’ve been met with character assassination.” He said McDaniel’s contribution agreement was made in exchange “for access.”
McDaniel’s hire would raise even more eyebrows if NBC Information hadn’t become so savvy lately at attracting talent in bids designed to beat the conservatives.
Megyn Kelly joined NBC News from Fox Information Channel in 2017, in what at the time was widely seen as a strategy to appeal to voters — suburban women among them — who had recently placed Donald Trump in the Oval Office. In May of that same year, Nicolle Wallace, once known as a powerful Republican political operative in George W. Bush’s White House, took the reins of a new afternoon show on MSNBC called “Deadline: White House.” CNBC ventured out in 2020, handing its 7 p.m. time slot to Shepard Smith, the former Fox News lead news anchor, for a regular hour-long newscast.
Only one of the three maneuvers resulted in long-term success. Wallace is almost as trendy among MSNBC diehards as Rachel Maddow.
There were other maneuvers as well, such as operating a town hall with President Trump by reversing an ABC News broadcast featuring then-candidate Joe Biden. Trump balked at the idea of holding another joint debate during the 2020 presidential election. NBC Information recently raised eyebrows when it decided to have Welker, at the start of his “Meet The Press” tenure, interview Trump. Critics have long maintained that networks are relatively powerless to react against a disingenuous and incoherent Trump while the cameras are rolling — even when an interview is recorded.
Different TV news retailers have tried to make similar inroads with conservative viewers. These contribution pacts are often characterized as a way for the information team to gain insight and voice into the group that they typically do not have access to. In the cases of the recent hiring of Republican adviser Marc Quick as a contributor to NBC News and CNBC, or the appointment of former national security adviser H.R. McMaster as a contributor to CBS News, the news departments have really caught people hard-won data how authorities work; how Trump’s marketing campaign makes choices; and what Republicans want. Those who generate controversy have sometimes been caught supporting falsehoods or criticizing the media with an unwarranted claim.
But make no mistake: Some of these hires are spurred in part by financial pressures. In the streaming era, reputable TV news retailers face as much competition from new technology as their primetime counterparts. Getting the right and the far right to tune in could boost viewership and promotion during the lead-up to the next election, a cycle that often brings broader crowds to NBC News, CNN, Fox News and their rivals.
The aforementioned causes undoubtedly played a role in CBS Information’s 2022 decision to hire Mick Mulvaney, a former Trump White House chief of staff, and in CNN’s 2019 effort to bring the political operative on board. Sarah Isgur, a former spokeswoman for the US Department of Justice under Jeff Periods, in an editorial management position.
These two attacks never worked. Within a year, Mulvaney was no longer working as a contributor at CBS News and recently took the same role at Nexstar’s NewsNation. Flores never got the full-time job that CNN executives had initially envisioned. Instead, she worked as a political analyst and later secured positions at The Dispatch and ABC News.
Cautionary stories aside, news retailers like to consider these candidates and others like them because they add drama. As CNN proved in the run-up to the 2016 election, stacking the screen with bickering talking heads in red and blue can attract attention. The public rarely thinks about the idea of “casting” in a news broadcast, but there may be more of it happening lately, especially as the Fox Information Channel finds success with “round table” shows like “The 5,” “In smallest number” and “Gutfeld!”
So there may come a day in the not-too-distant future when MSNBC anchor Jen Psaki, the former White House press secretary, and McDaniel find themselves sitting on the same dais during an important commemorative conference or election night. Each must participate in the political protection of NBC Information.
It’s not clear whether integration with radical partisans makes for great journalism, but it probably makes for good TV.
