Let’s begin with some leftover thoughts from my Monday newsletter about NBC News hiring former Republican National Committee chair Ronna McDaniel as a contributor — and the backlash the hiring is receiving, including strong pushback from NBC News employees such as Chuck Todd.
In fact, I wanted to start with something that got a little lost in the drama on Sunday. McDaniel was interviewed on “Meet the Press” by moderator Kristen Welker. After the somewhat contentious interview, which Walker handled superbly and pointed out many of McDaniel’s contradictions, Todd then blasted away at NBC News during a “MTP” panel discussion, first saying Welker’s bosses owed her an apology for putting McDaniel on the show to be interviewed. Then Todd followed with, “I have no idea whether any answer she gave to you was because she didn’t want to mess up her contract.”
Politico’s Jack Shafer called Todd’s rant a “remarkable 2 minutes 21 seconds of television. First, because the first law of journalism was violated by allowing the program itself to become the story. And second, because it put a glaring spotlight on one of the fundamental flaws embedded in the modern news ecosystem, and cable news in particular: the toxic revolving door between political operatives and mainstream media.”
Todd briefly alluded to this in the middle of his criticism. I called it Todd’s acknowledgment of how the sausage gets made. Here’s what he said: “When we make deals like this, and I’ve been at this company a long time, you’re doing it for access. Access to audience. Sometimes it’s access to an individual.”
Break down what Todd is saying. Someone like McDaniel is ideally supposed to give NBC News “access to audience.” In other words, by adding a conservative voice to its newscasts, it is trying to attract more conservative viewers.
And by “access to an individual,” NBC News now might have a better peek into Donald Trump and other leadership in the Republican Party.
This is something news organizations often struggle with — finding voices that represent the cross-section of Americans, i.e. viewers, and especially conservative viewers.
Variety’s Brian Steinberg wrote, “McDaniel’s hire would raise even more eyebrows if NBC News hadn’t become so practiced in recent years at luring talent in bids aimed at winning over conservatives.”
Steinberg mentioned former Fox News host Megyn Kelly and Nicolle Wallace, who worked for both George W. Bush and John McCain, as NBC hires. (Kelly is long gone, but Wallace is at MSNBC.)
NBC News is hardly alone among networks trying to recruit voices from all across the political spectrum, especially from the right. And, you have to ask if another news organization would’ve hired McDaniel if NBC News hadn’t.
There is nothing wrong with wanting to add voices who bring different perspectives. So why did this move blow up in NBC’s face?
One of the arguments I heard from some Poynter Report readers on Monday was that McDaniel being hired as an NBC News contributor is no different than MSNBC hiring former Joe Biden White House press secretary Jen Psaki to host a show.
But Mediaite’s Colby Hall makes a great point: “It is completely different; to argue otherwise is to be poisoned by the partisan assumption that Trump is just another ordinary president. Trump is not ordinary. He is not like his predecessors or his successor. He is distinct in his mendacity and the disgraceful way he left office. Those who tried to help him remain in office should face far more scrutiny than those who did not.”
That includes McDaniel.
We should acknowledge that McDaniel is not a journalist. (Neither is Psaki, for that matter.) So what, then, is McDaniel’s value to a news organization such as NBC News?
Here’s a possible explanation, which should not be confused with a defense. From NBC News’ perspective, she is there to provide a point of view that even seasoned journalists cannot provide. She is (or was) an insider. She has been in the room with Trump. She can give insight into how he thinks, what he has done in the past and what he might do in the future. And NBC sees that as valuable because very few people, including even those who cover the White House, are privy to that kind of detailed information.
Think of McDaniel and Psaki and others who go from the political arena to a news desk as athletes who go from the playing field to the broadcast booth. ESPN and other sports networks hire ex-players to provide the kind of analysis that only ex-players can provide.
That’s all well and good.
But hiring someone such as McDaniel goes from savvy to sour when you realize all the credibility problems McDaniel brings. Even though she is not a journalist, she is expected to have credibility. That trust was broken when she knowingly and relentlessly pushed the idea that the 2020 election was rigged, and attacked the media for reporting accurately on that election.
Todd tweeted on Monday, “The issue isn’t about ideology, it’s about basic truth. Those trying to make this a left-right issue are being intentionally dishonest. This is about whether honest journalists are supposed to lend their credibility to someone who intentionally tried to ruin ours.”
Jon Ralston, CEO and editor of The Nevada Independent and MSNBC contributor, published a lengthy thread on X, which included him writing, “I don't think McDaniel will provide much insight, but neither do some MSNBC contributors on the other side of the spectrum. The lesson here is simple: Don't hire coup enablers, hire thoughtful people on both sides who can help voters see the truth. That should be the mission.”
The main problem is NBC News has put its stamp of approval on McDaniel by putting her on the payroll and placing an “NBC News contributor” tag under her name.
So, here she is at NBC News, and despite all the pushback, she likely will stay there. The reasons are many, but two stand out. NBC News wants to be able to connect with Republicans, especially Trump supporters. And if they were to part ways with McDaniel now, it very well could alienate Republicans and Trump supporters. (Although Trump essentially ran her out of the RNC, so it’s not like MAGA types will stop and listen to everything she says. But at least NBC can point to McDaniel and try to sell the idea that they are sensitive to the lack of conservative voices on their network. Maybe NBC News figures that she’s better than no one.)
Shafer writes this: “How did we get here? Print journalism, with the exception of a few columnist slots, does a good job of reporting the news without hiring political has-beens and hacks. Why do they abound on TV? The answer seems to be since the arrival of 24/7 cable, the news maw’s hunger for commentary has prompted the networks to hire newsmakers and former newsmakers and keep them in the network stall to comment on the news because it’s more economically efficient than finding fresh and knowledgeable unpaid sources every time a story needs reporting.”
Steinberg’s final point was a good one, and maybe explains why McDaniel is on NBC, and why networks hire those who come from the political machine: “It’s not clear that including hard-core partisans makes for great journalism, but it probably makes for good TV.”
