Now NBC News must deal with the Ronna McDaniel fallout - Poynter

OK, pretty sure this will be the last time we lead the newsletter with the Ronna McDaniel-NBC News drama. I would promise, but in this wacky media world, you never know.

The former Republican National Committee chair is out as a contributor without ever really contributing to NBC News. Actually, that’s not true. She contributed plenty — she sparked an in-house mutiny and left NBC News in an unknown and awkward spot going forward. We’ll see how this plays out in terms of her getting paid and her future. (More on that in a moment.)

But let’s get back to this awkward situation. Getting rid of McDaniel will leave some aftershocks, starting with the fences that need to be mended between management and the journalists in the newsroom who felt blindsided and betrayed that McDaniel was brought on board in the first place.

The other question is: Could this impact NBC News’ political coverage? Or, maybe a better way to put it: Could this impact how many see NBC News’ political coverage?

The good news for many journalists at NBC News/MSNBC is that the McDaniel experiment ended almost as soon as it started. The former RNC chair, who helped perpetuate lies about the 2020 presidential election, will not be an NBC News contributor — mostly because so many journalists there spoke out against her hiring. And that’s a win for those journalists.

But there might be a downside to all of this. According to Semafor’s Max Tani, Shelby Talcott, and Kadia Goba, NBC News now might face a backlash from Republicans upset that one of their own has been run off by the network.

One NBC News journalist told Semafor, “Political reporters here didn’t take part in the backlash, nor did they get to give input on the hire. But they’ll be the ones who have to pick up the pieces with sources who are now dismayed with the organization.”

That’s true. Most of the on-air pushback came from commentators and analysts such as Chuck Todd, Rachel Maddow, Joy Reid and so forth.

Let’s be clear here. The issue wasn’t that NBC hired and then got rid of McDaniel. Parting ways was the right call because McDaniel has a serious credibility problem. No, the problem was that McDaniel was hired in the first place. If she was never hired then she could never be, essentially, fired.

The backtracking, even though it was the proper thing to do, is now only emboldening and galvanizing Republicans to accuse NBC News of being anticonservative.

Semafor wrote, “The conflict over McDaniel threatens to reverse some of the gains that top network figures believed that it had made to establish some credibility with members of the Republican Party.”

However, as Semafor points out, maybe NBC News caught a bit of a break that Donald Trump and hardcore MAGA supporters had soured on McDaniel. After all, Trump had run McDaniel out as RNC chair. So the backlash might not be as bad as it could have been.

Still, you know what the narrative will be from the right: NBC News hired a conservative voice, the staff there ran her off, and now they have no one to represent their thinking. Whether that’s actually true or not, that will be a narrative that is hard for NBC News to defend.

And, as that NBC News journalist told Semafor, NBC News’ political reporters might find it more difficult to deal with sources inside the Republican Party.

What a mess.

And, oh, more interesting tidbits from Puck’s Dylan Byers, who first broke the news that McDaniel was out at NBC News.

Byers wrote about how MSNBC’s on-air revolt was led by Joe Scarborough and Rachel Maddow, saying, “Indeed, the day-long pile-on evidenced a larger truth about the NBC News Group operation, and especially MSNBC, in the Maddow-Scarborough era: the talent runs the place. Their power is a testament to their own political influence and value to the brand, sure, but also to a convoluted organizational structure that (NBC News Group chair Cesar) Conde put in place over a year ago.”

Byers, who used to work at NBC News as a media reporter, gets into how McDaniel was brought aboard, how it all went south, and what shape it left the news division. Fascinating stuff.

Here are a few more links relating to the McDaniel-NBC mess …

The Washington Post’s Sarah Ellison and Josh Dawsey with this Wednesday evening news: “NBC offered Ronna McDaniel a better contract to appear on MSNBC.” The Post reporters write that MSNBC president Rashida Jones “participated in recruiting” McDaniel. Writing for The Bulwark, former USA Today political editor and reporter Jill Lawrence with “So You Want to Hire a Conservative Commentator …” Politico Playbook’s Rachael Bade with “McDaniel eyes big payout after NBC drama.” Bade writes, “McDaniel expects to be fully paid out for her contract — two years at $300,000 annually — since she did not breach its terms, according to a person close to McDaniel. That means that her single, not-quite-20-minute interview Sunday could cost NBC more than $30,000 per minute, or $500 per second.” The Wall Street Journal’s John McCormick with “Ronna McDaniel’s NBC Dismissal Shows How Election Denial Weighs on GOP, Media.” Veteran media reporter Brian Stelter weighed in for Fast Company: “NBC News’ Ronna McDaniel blowup was inevitable.” A royal drama

It has been a newsworthy few weeks surrounding the royal family. Speculation about Princess Kate especially ramped up a month or so ago when the internet ran wild with speculation about her health because she hadn’t been seen publicly since Christmas. In mid-January, Kensington Palace announced that Kate was recovering from a planned abdominal surgery, and she wouldn’t be making any public appearances for a while.

As rumors continued to spread, Kate put out a photo of her with her children earlier this month, and it was quickly discovered that the image had been photoshopped — something Kate admitted to doing not longer after several news outlets, including The Associated Press and Reuters, pulled the image from their sites.

That only drove more speculation. Then came the announcement that Kate was being treated for cancer.

I set that up to point to good work by Associated Press media writer David Bauder in “The British royal family learns that if you don’t fill an information vacuum, someone else will.”

Bauder wrote, “The episode offered the royal family — and everyone else — a lesson in the modern world of online media: If your silence leaves an information vacuum, others will rush to fill it. And the results may be messy.”

This isn’t meant to victim-blame a family that is going through a difficult time. And it especially should not be seen as a defense for the trolls and irresponsible amateur internet detectives for the wild conspiracy theories they came up with.

For sure, there was plenty of finger-pointing at everyone when the lighthearted game of “Where’s Kate?” turned out to be a serious medical situation.

After Kate announced her diagnosis, The Atlantic’s Helen Lewis wrote, “I Hope You All Feel Terrible Now.”

Lewis wrote, “Kate has effectively been bullied into this statement, because the alternative — a wildfire of gossip and conspiracy theories — was worse. So please, let’s not immediately switch into maudlin recriminations about how this happened. It happened because people felt they had the right to know Kate’s private medical information.”

However, read Bauder’s story to see how this story could have been handled better, and, perhaps, caused less pain.

Also, there’s this story: The New York Times’ Mark Landler and Adam Satariano with “Russian Group Spread Disinformation About Princess of Wales, Experts Say.”

Landler and Satariano wrote, “Martin Innes, an expert on digital disinformation at Cardiff University in Wales, said he and his colleagues tracked 45 social media accounts that posted a spurious claim about Catherine to a Kremlin-linked disinformation network, which has previously spread divisive stories about Ukraine’s president, Volodymyr Zelensky, as well as about France’s support for Ukraine. As in those cases, Professor Innes said, the influence campaign appeared calculated to inflame divisions, deepen a sense of chaos in society, and erode trust in institutions — in this case, the British royal family and the news media.”

Prisoner of Putin

This week marks the one-year anniversary of Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich being arrested in Russia on bogus charges of espionage. The Journal vehemently denies Gershkovich is a spy and the U.S. considers him to be “wrongfully detained.”

The Poynter Report will have more on Gershkovich in Friday’s newsletter.

I did want to point you to a special, “Prisoner of Putin,” which debuts today on Fox Nation — Fox News’ streaming service. The special looks at Gershkovich’s life, arrest and detainment. It includes contributions from Fox News senior correspondent Steve Harrigan, Gershkovich’s Wall Street Journal colleagues Gordon Fairclough and Paul Beckett, as well as Jeremy Berke and Sam Silverman, close friends of Gershkovich.

Scorsese teams up with Fox Nation

Here’s another Fox Nation announcement — and one with a serious name drop.

Academy Award-winning director Martin Scorsese has signed a deal to partner with Fox Nation on an eight-part docuseries called “Martin Scorsese Presents: The Saints,” which begins airing in November. The series will be hosted, narrated and executive produced by Scorsese, whose extensive filmmaking career includes such films as “Taxi Driver,” “Raging Bull,” “Goodfellas,” “The Departed” and a slew of other classics.

This series for Fox Nation was created by Matti Leshem, and dramatizes the stories of eight saints, including Joan of Arc, Francis of Assisi, John the Baptist, Thomas Becket, Mary Magdalene, Moses the Black, Sebastian and Maximillian Kolbe.

In a statement, Scorsese said, “I’ve lived with the stories of the saints for most of my life, thinking about their words and actions, imagining the worlds they inhabited, the choices they faced, the examples they set. These are stories of eight very different men and women, each of them living through vastly different periods of history and struggling to follow the way of love revealed to them and to us by Jesus’ words in the gospels. I’m so excited that this project is underway, and that I’m working with so many trusted and talented collaborators.”

The series is being directed by Elizabeth Chomko and written by Kent Jones.

Media tidbits Vanity Fair’s Charlotte Klein with “‘Complacency, It Really Frightens Me’: Inside Politico’s Ambitious, Anxious Drive to Stay on Top.” He doesn’t talk to the two main figures for this LateNighter story, but Andrew Buss still has a fun piece: “An Oral History of Madonna’s Infamous 1994 David Letterman Appearance.” James Brown, host of CBS’s “The NFL Today,” will receive Lifetime Achievement honors at the 45th Annual Sports Emmy Awards ceremony in May. Brown has hosted the Super Bowl a record 12 times. Speaking of NFL pregame shows, The Athletic’s Andrew Marchand reports that ESPN is pursuing recently retired Philadelphia Eagles center Jason Kelce (brother of Travis) for its “Monday Night Football” pregame show. Marchand writes that Kelce could end up replacing Robert Griffin III on the broadcast. He also reports that ESPN isn’t alone in wanting Kelce as a broadcaster. NBC, CBS and Amazon Prime Video also are interested. From WBUR, Khari Thompson and Tiziana Dearing with a segment talking to the legendary Boston Globe sports columnist: “Bob Ryan reflects on a lifetime in sports media.” Hot type

Major League Baseball’s real Opening Day is today, so this will get you ready:

ESPN’s big season preview: “2024 MLB predictions: Playoffs, World Series, MVPs and more.” The Athletic’s Jayson Stark with “MLB in 2024: 25 numbers that define baseball and set the stage for this season.” The Washington Post’s Scott Allen and Neil Greenberg with “12 bold predictions for the 2024 MLB season.” More resources for journalists Subscribe to PolitiFact’s weekly newsletter. Get facts delivered straight to your inbox. Poynter Producer Project (Seminar) (June 4-Sept. 10) — Apply by April 14. Reporter’s Toolkit (Seminar) (May 7-June 11) — Get equipped with the tools you need to be successful and receive one-on-one coaching. Apply by April 28. Got a story you’d like to write for Poynter? Email [email protected] with your idea, approximate timeline and word count.

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