The Ronna McDaniel era at NBC News has come to an abrupt and chaotic end.
Facing an extraordinary on-air revolt from his major stars, NBC’s top news executive said Tuesday he has decided to cut ties with Ms. McDaniel, the former Republican National Committee chairwoman who was hired as an on-air anchor last week political commentator.
Her tenure at NBC lasted four days.
Ms. McDaniel’s appointment, announced with fanfare on Friday, was immediately criticized by network reporters and viewers on social media. Fans of MSNBC, NBC’s left-leaning cable channel, were particularly outraged, pointing to Ms. McDaniel’s leadership of the Republican Party under former President Donald J. Trump and her handling of his false claims that the 2020 election was rigged.
“After listening to the legitimate concerns of many of you, I have decided that Ronna McDaniel will not be an NBC News contributor,” Cesar Conde, chairman of NBCUniversal News Group, wrote in a staff memo on Tuesday.
He added: “I would like to personally apologize to our team members who felt we had let them down.”
NBC News executives believed that election-year audiences deserved to hear the perspective of conservatives like Ms. McDaniel and believed the hubbub would die down. They didn’t count on the audacity of their own stars, who lined up one by one on Monday to denounce NBC’s decision on their own radio.
Rachel Maddow spent 29 minutes on her show Monday night – the highest-rated show on MSNBC – devoting 29 minutes to Ms. McDaniel’s attitude, calling her “inexplicable” and linking her to historical figures who attempted authoritarian takeovers. She told her superiors, “Take a moment and acknowledge that maybe it wasn’t the right call.”
Her monologue followed similar calls from moderators Joe Scarborough, Mika Brzezinski and Nicolle Wallace, among others. Ms. Wallace, herself a former Republican who once drew the ire of Democrats as George W. Bush’s chief defender, said Monday that NBC had given “election deniers” the green light to spread falsehoods “as paid contributors to our holy ones.” Aether waves.” ”
Television networks regularly hire Washington veterans as paid commentators; Reince Priebus, Mr. Trump’s former chief of staff, recently joined ABC News.
Ms. McDaniel, who has occasionally clashed with Mr. Trump, left the RNC this month under pressure from the former president and his allies. She quickly signed with CAA and met with executives at several networks. Her contract with NBC was worth about $300,000 a year, according to a person familiar with the details.
The insurrection against Ms. McDaniel is a major test for Mr. Conde, who has led NBC’s news division since 2020.
“No organization, especially a newsroom, can succeed unless it is cohesive and aligned,” he wrote in his memo Tuesday. “It has become clear in recent days that this appointment undermines that goal.”
NBC officials said that Mr. Conde agreed to Ms. McDaniel’s hiring on the recommendation of several deputies, including Carrie Budoff Brown, who oversees NBC News’ political coverage; Rebecca Blumenstein, the president of NBC News; and Rashida Jones, the MSNBC president. (Ms. Blumenstein is a former New York Times editor.)
Mr. Conde wrote that Ms. McDaniel was hired “because of our strong commitment to presenting a broad range of viewpoints and experiences to our audience.” He said NBC remains “committed to the principle that we must have diverse viewpoints on our programming, and to that end we will redouble our efforts to find voices that represent different parts of the political spectrum.”
This is a developing story. Check back for updates.
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2024-03-26 22:29:13
www.nytimes.com
