That Finnish study about the ‘woke’ being riddled with anxiety, depression, and all-around mental health trainwrecks is coming to life with NBC News’ latest fit over Ronna McDaniel. The former Republican National Committee chair was hired as an analyst, which caused a furor among the network's staff, particularly its on-air talent.
Chuck Todd was notoriously vocal about his displeasure at the hire. After a couple of days of whining, the NBC brass relented and fired McDaniel. This circus isn’t over. Now, staffers at NBC are worried that her termination might impact their access to Republican Party sources (via Semafor):
New: NBC News staff are concerned that the hiring and abrupt firing of Ronna McDaniel will damage relationships with GOP sources, making it more difficult to break news. Some Republicans have been complaining to journalists at the network about the move. https://t.co/siIjlsZYX1
— Max Tani (@maxwelltani) March 27, 2024
"Takes responsibility," like an attack happened. https://t.co/1zQ2dcW5Gg
— Tim Graham (@TimJGraham) March 26, 2024
But while the abrupt reversal was cheered by some MSNBC staff, other NBC News journalists said they believe the move will only continue to strengthen complaints by Republicans that the network doesn’t want to hear their perspectives.
Now, NBC staffers are bracing for Republican backlash, fielding texts from angry GOP sources.
“Political reporters here didn’t take part in the backlash, nor did they get to give input on the hire,” one NBC News journalist said. “But they’ll be the ones who have to pick up the pieces with sources who are now dismayed with the organization.”
Four NBC News staffers expressed concern that instead of fixing the problem, hiring and then firing McDaniel had only alienated liberal viewers while confirming Republican fears. Two Republican aides told Semafor they’d texted their NBC News contacts to express their anger with the decision.
[…]
The move also deepened tensions between NBC News and MSNBC leadership, which have strained at moments throughout the last several years. Some senior NBC News figures privately expressed frustration at MSNBC president Rashida Jones, who did not oppose McDaniel’s hiring, but reversed course Saturday afternoon amid backlash from top talent. For its part, top figures at MSNBC expressed astonishment that the network didn’t seem to grasp how strong the backlash to the decision would be internally.
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What an absolute disaster. Does anyone get along over there? Though it’s not like I care. McDaniel was a bad RNC chair, so no one is shedding tears over her termination on either side. She’s going to be fine, but it's the principle of it all that was ridiculous, confirming what we’ve always known about these networks and their feelings of antipathy toward conservatives.
Still, the political reporters trying to say we had no part in some desperate attempt to keep access is amusing. Given the size of this operation, they probably didn’t know or had input, but they can experience the penalties derived from the ‘guilt by association’ game, which their side treats as gospel.
Some people don't agree with liberal America, NBC. Deal with it. Sadly, the main character for this episode was McDaniel.
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