Just three days after her first on-air appearance, NBCUniversal announced that former Republican National Committee Chair Ronna McDaniel “will not be an NBC News contributor.”
It’s a rare victory in the fight against disinformation and what may be most charitably described as “bullshit artists” being further integrated into a broadly distrusted news media. It’s also an even rarer victory in the fight between journalists defending their integrity versus management more interested in boosting ratings at a time when the loss of journalism jobs continues at a record pace.
It seems likely that McDaniel, who was awarded a two-year contract, will receive around $30,000 per minute for her single paid appearance on “Face the Nation.” Let’s hope that cutting a $600,000 check to someone who probably spent more time in the makeup chair than in front of the cameras might prompt NBC News’ management to think twice about their next stunt hire.
For the moment, there still seems to be a red line that the owners and managers of news outlets cannot cross. Paid pundits who support the overthrow of our government and an end to democracy will have to go back to their natural home: Fox News.
McDaniel had no reason to think that she shouldn’t cash in on her connection to Trump. After all, she would hardly be the first.
Fox News has, as might be expected, been a regular jobs program for former Trump staffers and officials. That includes former press secretary Kayleigh McEnany and former Trump administration economic adviser Larry Kudlow, both of whom were rewarded with their own shows.
In 2022, CBS hired former Trump chief of staff Mick Mulvaney as a pundit, despite confusion and protests from journalists at the network. Mulvaney infamously admitted that Trump held up aid to Ukraine over demands that Ukraine announce investigations into Democrats, then tried to deny he ever said that. He also joined Trump in downplaying the danger of COVID-19 and accused the media of trying to “instill fear” by reporting on the virus.
As an MSNBC columnist wrote at the time, “One can only assume that the CBS newsroom leadership has suffered a mass amnesia event. That is the only reason I can come up with to hire Mulvaney, a partisan hack devoid of any sense of ethics who lacks the authority to offer credible analysis on his own breakfast, let alone fiscal policy.”
None of that kept Mulvaney from keeping his job at CBS. It also didn’t stop “the Tiffany network” from hiring former Trump national security adviser H.R. McMaster. And despite claims that the network took “heat” over these decisions, CBS stuck to its guns.
The big difference between CBS sticking with Mulvaney and NBC having to swallow their payment to McDaniel is simple: Journalists put themselves on the line to fight the McDaniel hire.
It wasn’t just the long and excellent tirade from skilled commentator Rachel Maddow (though Maddow’s willingness to absolutely go there certainly made any thought of McDaniel making another on-air appearance seem ludicrous). McDaniel can also credit her ticket out of town to others who were willing to publicly condemn an action taken by their bosses. That includes Chuck Todd, whose milquetoast run as host of “Meet the Press” would not put him at the top of anyone’s list of journalistic firebrands, but who set the tone for McDaniel’s chilly reception.
That “don’t hire lying insurrectionists” red line might as well have Todd’s name inscribed on it.
Taking their grievance over McDaniel’s hiring and making public, on-air statements that were 180 degrees opposed to their management was an act of journalistic bravery by Todd, Maddow, and others. That brave act was also largely enabled by the name recognition and status that both Todd and Maddow enjoy. Had either of them sat quietly, it’s not clear how many others would have been able to stand up.
CBS kept Mulvaney because the reported fight there stayed largely behind the scenes. NBC could not afford to keep McDaniel because the on-air talent took their disagreement with management in front of the cameras, causing very public embarrassment. Even for big names, that’s an act of high chutzpah.
When it comes to defining that red line, Chris Hayes did a pretty good job.
President Joe Biden’s approval ratings have been improving since his fiery State of the Union speech—as we predicted. At the same time, the Republican Party cannot stop the infighting, even as Donald Trump’s takeover seems to be complete. Markos and Kerry get into Biden’s improving fundamentals as the race to save America heats up.