MSNBC president Rashida Jones informed employees that the left-leaning news network has no intention of featuring new NBC News contributor Ronna McDaniel on the cable outlet. The Wall Street Journal indicates in an internal memo that the news comes after NBC News hired former Republican National Committee chair McDaniel, resulting in outrage among MSNBC staff that spilled over onto social media.. The news comes after NBC News hired former Republican National Committee chair McDaniel as an on-air contributor, leading to rage among members of the MSNBC staff that spilled over onto social media.
There have been internal questions about whether McDaniel would appear on MSNBC. Several staff members expressed their concerns, including MSNBC columnist Marisa Kabas, who posted an email she had sent to NBC News management on social media, questioning McDaniel's hiring. staffers spoke out, including MSNBC columnist Marisa Kabas. She posted an email she had sent to NBC News management on social media, questioning McDaniel's hiring.
"I want to understand what kind of message this is supposed to send to us?" Kabas wrote in the email. "As columnists, we are held to strict standards of factuality and truth, and are expected to have a fundamental understanding of our democracy. McDaniel has proven time and again she adheres to none of those values, and lacks that very basic understanding."
The network had previously stated that McDaniel would appear on all NBC News platforms, including MSNBC, but the memo suggests that there is currently no immediate plan for her to be a contributor on the network.
McDaniel is scheduled to debut in her new role this Sunday on NBC's "Meet the Press." This is also set to be her first interview since leaving the RNC as McDaniel, the niece of Senator Mitt Romney, was replaced by Donald Trump's daughter-in-law Lara Trump.
Several MSNBC on-air hosts and other staffers objected to McDaniel's hiring, citing anonymous sources in the Wall Street Journal. Their concerns include McDaniel's history of supporting Trump's claims that the 2020 election was stolen.
If NBC had not hired McDaniel, she likely would have ended up at one of their competitors, as there were several networks competing to hire her after her recent RNC exit. She's also not the only former RNC chair who regularly appears on NBC News programming, as Michael Steele is a regular commentator on MSNBC.
Media critics, including journalism professor Jeff Jarvis of the City University of New York's journalism school, have also criticized Ronna McDaniel's hiring as an on-air contributor for NBC News.
