91 Comments
User's avatar
Frank LaGrotta's avatar

NBC's hiring Ronna McDaniel is vile.

Vile because it shreds what little credibility that remains with corporate news.

Vile because it eliminates the already weak pretense of delivering facts without bias.

Vile because it announces to the world what we already suspected but strenuously hoped wasn't true:

These beancounters don't give a tinker's damn about what they tell us, as long as we're listening (and watching) them tell us.

What's next? Hannity doing guest spots on the Today show?

Or maybe Laura Ingraham can muscle in on Hoda and Jenna a few times a week?

It's bad folks....

Real bad.

Mike Hammer's avatar

That really sticks in my craw.

Charlie Austin's avatar

The talent at MSNBC should be raising pure Hell about this. It makes them all look like a bad joke.

Mike Hammer's avatar

I’m not convinced about msnbc.

Sam Urdank's avatar

They are certainly not heading the wisdom of Murrow...I would be surprised if the morons who made this decision even know who he was..As you pointed out in your earlier piece, the current anchors at NBC/MSNBC now must show us who they are..Or as you might put it.."who's side they are on"..

Gar Millar's avatar

"I would be surprised if the morons who made this decision even know who he was."

Agreed, and the most charitable read of this is sheer cluelessness. It's doubtful Ronna was hired as a punching bag, yet I can't imagine any of the current MSNBC anchors engage Ronna in conversation with a straight face. I anxiously await the next salvo, but this looks bad. Really bad.

Sam Urdank's avatar

"Really bad." Indeed Gar, take a look as The Hartman Report, also on Substack from this morning speaking of really bad..

Jerry Bier's avatar

In Hartmann I trust...

Deesy 58's avatar

If they do, they'll go the way of Mehdi Hasan . . .

BJ's avatar

Maybe. But there's been a lot of pushback about that crap-decision. And I don't see them parting ways with Rachel Maddow, aka she who has the power and guts to push back from the inside.

Sam Urdank's avatar

Insert Boxing metaphor..”The tail of the tape” is upon us..

Patricia Gilman's avatar

It’s quite a shit storm on the Internet. I don’t do X but threads. Oh my Lord I just wish anybody at MSNBC would say something. Particularly Rachel, Nicole, and Lawrence.

yesstef's avatar

Hoping that Rachel will address this on Monday.

BJ's avatar

Ali Velshi is fearless and speaks truth to nitwittery.

Patricia Gilman's avatar

Yes I forgot about him - i hope to hell he says something - they can't fire them all - they are going to lose so many viewers

MARY BULLINGTON's avatar

I do hope they lose a ton of viewers — they need punishment.

Lisa J. Miller's avatar

It's a shitstorm on X too believe me!!

SteveInSoCal's avatar

The shitstorm is the point on Xitter.

Lisa J. Miller's avatar

At times it can but I still fight for Democracy. I try to educate best I can but if the Magas get really nasty I have to block them.

Deesy 58's avatar

Don't count on it. They will remember Mehdi Hasan.

Patricia Gilman's avatar

Good point. Still pisses me off

BJ's avatar

As noted above, it would take some kind of tone-deafness and blindness to sever ties with Rachel. Which raises an interesting (possibly rhetorical) question: To what extent (if any) were anchors consulted or at least informed about this before the feces hit the fan?

Patricia Gilman's avatar

Well, when her contract was up there was talk about her leaving and i guess they agreed to the one night a week and the election coverage. I would bet money non of them were consulted. I can't imagine any of them, Mike, Joe, Nichole, Lawrence and Rachel - i don't know the others well enough - would have ever agreed (not that i know any of them!)

Carol Gamm's avatar

Thank you Steve. The failure of today’s MSM is a sad chapter on how little those who run the media care about the democratic future of our nation. History will not be kind.

James Vander Poel's avatar

Thank you. I've written to NBC, and to Lawrence O'Donnell. The first to castigate them for their decision. And to Lawrence to ask what he thought of McDaniel's hiring. I am going to watch his show on Monday and see what, if anything, he has to say about this situation. I hope he has the courage to give an honest opinion of the network management: I don't believe he approves. I'll also be interested in what Rachel Maddow has to say. And Chris Hayes. Those are the only ones I will continue to watch: the rest of the talking heads don't warrant my time. I look forward to having more free time for other pursuits: NBC won't be taking up as much of my time. And I'll be saving on electricity.

Truly Trying's avatar

And yet the very same network (though I don’t know if it is the same network heads) fired Keith Olbermann for speaking of how Fox News and Sarah Palin were “amplifying violence” in his reporting of the Jared Loughner shooting of Gabby Giffords. Unbelievable!

James Vander Poel's avatar

And Mehdi Hasan, one of the best they ever had. I'd give up Ayman, Velshi, Alex, Stephanie, and Symone first.

SteveInSoCal's avatar

When Mehdi left I thought, "Uh-oh. I wonder what's next?"

Now we know.

Libby JG's avatar

How can we contact the idiot Board chair, CEO, and COO of NBC and MSNBC to send letters or texts about what a travesty this is and how it harms any credibility those networks have had?

Bill Corbett's avatar

Here are their email addresses:

President, MSNBC: Rashida.Jones@nbcuni.com

Chairman, MSNBC: cesar.conde@nbcuni.com

President, NBC: Rebecca.Blumenstein@nbcuni.com

SVP of Politics: carrie.budoff@nbcuni.com

Tom Halstead's avatar

Thanks! I’ve emailed all of them.

Lisa J. Miller's avatar

Thanks so much. ❤️🇺🇸💙

Lisa J. Miller's avatar

Thank you. ❤️🇺🇸💙

User's avatar
Comment deleted
Mar 23, 2024
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Deesy 58's avatar

Wasted effort, IMO.

Jim T.'s avatar

Stunningly disgraceful to hire this moral-less, election liar and denier, who has been undermining our very Democracy's fundamentals by her fascistic and repugnant behavior as RNC chair. In her years as Chairman, she assaulted and damaged our society with her barrage of relentless cruelty and viciousness, her ceaseless lying as the "chaos agent" (Steve's wording) for Trump's authoritarian cult. She is supremely unfit to be anywhere near the hallowed hallways of NBC, where integrity and journalistic ethics are the sacred "North Star", not her firehose brand of B.S and disinformation. This hire wreaks and smells with a stench of epic proportion.

This is a slap in the face to the principled and honorable republicans at MSNBC like Chairman Steele, Nicole Wallace, and Joe Scarborough. It disrespects us viewers, who have counted on MSNBC for seeing people of honor, character and integrity. It disrespects Rachel Meadows, Richard Engel, and all of the other fine journalists who seek to be truthful and honorable at all times (things that Ronna gladly gave away in servitude to Trump world).

Management has disgraced their brand.

Shame on you, NBC News president Rebecca Blumenstein, NBC News chairman Cesar Conde and MSNBC president Rashida Jones for soiling your Networks' legacy of journalistic truth, integrity and character (none of these qualities Ms McDaniel processes). Shame on you..................

Marcia Naroditsky's avatar

@MSNBC must retract this offer.

Tom Halstead's avatar

That clash has long been settled. The public interest is irrelevant unless it can be convincingly shown to enhance profitability.

Capitalism has its limitations. Public interest isn’t among them.

D . O. Olson's avatar

Like your vacation picture..at least you don’t have a monkey on your back.. 🤡

Yuk yuk

Mr. D.'s avatar

I would think NBC/MSNBC could learn from CNN after allowing Trump the opportunity to spew his vile, hatred and bigoted lies on a sponsored and televised town hall.

I stopped watching CNN forever. Not that I was ever much of a viewer of them. Mostly during commercials on MSNBC. Now I record and skip through commercials to watch MSNBC.

My viewing will go the same way as CNN if Ms. Romney appears on MSNBC. It might be time to pull myself away from all the insanity laid down by Trump and his minions. I am positive Ms. Romney will be as honest as SmellyAnn Conherway(Kelly Ann Conway). Normally I give a person the benefit of a doubt before condemning them but she has already demonstrated by her actions, associations and comments, her true nature.

Deesy 58's avatar

Stop watching all of those twisted TV news channels and their talking heads. Start watching the Midas Touch Network on YouTube! Start learning the truth!!

Mr. D.'s avatar

If you want to watch 15-20 minutes of fluff to get to their 3-4 minutes of decent information, go ahead. I stopped watching after suffering through a dozen, bloated, over hyped, non-informative talk postings.

Kay Adams-Fleig's avatar

The book on the Murrow Boys was very good. It all comes down to capitalism influencing truth versus dictatorships defining truth. It is a heavy slog to spread truth when money and or madness is has more capital. Can the media and writers counter with good values, ethics and skill? I hope it swings back to ethical journalism and willing readers. Evolution and the survival of the fittest…

TRACY EVERITT's avatar

Probity is Steve P. Schmidt's middle name, as all here know.

But, why doesn't Mr. Schmidt ever mention Lawrence O'Donnell;s name as being an equal in News Cast Journalistic PROBITY? Lawrence O'Donnell is the singular inheritor of the Edward R. Murrow mantle.

SteveInSoCal's avatar

NBC/MSNBC's hiring of Ronna McDaniel is like Newsmax hiring Mike Malloy or Jeff Tiedrich.