Controversy Continues Over NBC Hiring of Ronna McDaniel

Facts

• NBC might face an employee boycott after it hired former Republican National Committee (RNC) chair Ronna McDaniel as an on-air political analyst, causing backlash at the network.¹
• McDaniel served as head of the RNC for the past seven years, pushing former Pres. Donald Trump's claims that the 2020 presidential election was rigged and even urging two Wayne County, Mich., officials not to certify the county's election results.²
• The former RNC leader, who will reportedly earn $300K per year, debuted Sunday in a previously scheduled interview on "Meet the Press," during which she said that Pres. Joe Biden won the 2020 elections and people convicted of violent acts on Jan. 6, 2021 shouldn't be freed.³
• Shortly after her interview, NBC News chief political analyst Chuck Todd told Meet the Press host Kristen Welker that their bosses at the network owed her an apology for putting her in "this situation."⁴
• Though top network executives are said to have unanimously agreed to hire McDaniel, internal backlash began Friday on text chains and Slack channels after an email was sent announcing that she would appear "across all NBC News platforms."⁵
• On Monday, MSNBC "Morning Joe" hosts, former GOP congressman Joe Scarborough and Mika Brzezinski, said on air that the network should hire "conservative Republican voices" to balance its election coverage, not what they called "an anti-democracy election denier."⁶

Sources: ¹Newsweek, ²Forbes, ³Boston Herald, ⁴WSJ, ⁵POLITICO and ⁶Associated Press.

Narratives

• Left narrative, as provided by The Atlantic. McDaniel's lies while serving as RNC chair give her no credibility. And her stint at the RNC was marked by failures, including the 2022 midterm elections. She brings little value to NBC viewership and even her fair share of criticism from MAGA viewers. If NBC wants to bring in an alternative voice, it could do much better than someone furthering institutional, anti-democratic rhetoric.
• Right narrative, as provided by PJ Media. In a democracy, it's important to represent various points of view, especially on national news networks. It's not surprising that liberal voices at NBC are droning their intolerance for McDaniel, but hopefully, the news executives will stand up to the resistance and allow McDaniel to provide her side of the news events that will be affecting the nation.
• Cynical narrative, as provided by X. There are likely financial reasons behind this deal as McDaniel's hiring is drawing fire from both the MAGA right and the left. Whether this involves potential corporate mergers or dynamics between the political operatives and media outlets is unclear, but McDaniel shows that the cross-pollination between the pundits and politics is way too much.

Predictions