Well, well, well. NBC News Chairman Andy Lack is resigning and will be replaced by a Telemundo executive. No reason given for the resignation besides ‘restructuring’. Uh huh.:
CNN:
NBC said in a press release that Lack "has decided to step down and will transition out of the company at the end of the month."
Lack was previously expected to step aside after the 2020 election season.
So stepping down a bit early, eh. Wonder why?
Palmer Report
It was fairly clear that certain MSNBC hosts felt confident in breathlessly hyping the phony Biden scandal – even as it was completely falling apart – because they felt that it was what the MSNBC bosses wanted them to do. Now that the entire thing has blown up in MSNBC’s face, and its audience is outraged, that “boss” is suddenly resigning. Again, NBC will continue to paint this as being mere coincidence. But let’s see if there’s a shift in on-air tone today at MSNBC, now that the debacle appears to have cost the network’s chairman his job.
Sure, some of us will shrug at this take. But Palmer has a point. These on-air personalities have to have the okay for their stories. A select few, like Maddow (or conversely, Hannity at Fox) have enough pull to call their own shots, but these folks are rare. At any point someone becomes a liability, as LEGAL, they’re out. Look at how many times this has happened at Fox News, Trish Regan being the most recent example.
Fox News Is Preparing to Be Sued Over Coronavirus Misinformation
MSNBC has been an absolute poopshow lately in regards to the Biden allegations, and the pushback has been strong. Make no mistake, there are very real legal repercussions to what MSNBC and other media outlets have been doing with pushing these uncredible allegations. Just like the Trump/Ukraine debacle, there is a desperation to risk everything in order to discredit Biden.
It doesn’t help that NBC/MSNBC has had past issues when it comes to sexual harassment/assault:
Daily Beast 2018:
NBC News Chairman Andrew Lack has been under fire for his handling of sexual-misconduct allegations at the network, including one against his ex-friend and former star anchor, Matt Lauer. But years earlier at another company, Lack protected a male employee who sexually harassed multiple women, sources tell The Daily Beast.
Lack has also been directly blamed for NBC News’ decision to stop working on former MSNBC host Ronan Farrow’s investigation of disgraced Hollywood mogul Harvey Weinstein—a story that went on to win the Pulitzer Prize.
Well, how about that. But who’s surprised?
We have seen this pattern over and over again. The projection, the gaslighting, as those most guilty make every effort to accuse others of what they themselves should be be held accountable for.
Resignations like this don’t happen if ratings are strong and the narrative direction successful with viewers.
I get the feeling this is just the tip of the iceberg.
EDIT: There seems to be some ‘correlation doesn’t imply causation’ pushback in the comments. Fair enough. It is entirely possible that an exec with problematic assault/harassment allegations under their leadership has chosen to resign earlier than expected coincidentally while their network is under criticism for reporting of allegations against the presumptive Dem nominee. I find that stretching credulity, but hopefully we’ll find out more.
UPDATE from Ronan Farrow:
Please note “after public protests calling for leadership change...”