For the consumer, call it a mixed bag. On one hand, we can savor the speediness of Fox-in-henhouse Ronna Romney McDaniel’s departure from 30 Rock. (Hopefully, on a sharp, splintery rail.)
On the other hand, the NBC top brass who had the gall to foist her specter on us remain in place. They reportedly include two women of note.
One, Carrie Budoff Brown. To her eternal shame, in this decisive-for-democracy election year, the network veep for politics called McDaniel’s “voice” just the thing America needs. (Shame.)
Two, the spiny (yet oddly spineless) head of NBC’s “progressive” cable outlet. Lest we forget, Rashida Jones evidently sacked the lucid, informed, sedition-smiting, sorely needed Mehdi Hasan. This (let it be stressed) before reportedly falling in line with the suits who Trump-eted McDaniel’s advent.
History repeats. Two decades ago, some prior MSNBC bigwigs canned the competent, highly rated Phil Donohue- then claimed they did so not to quash his candor on George W. Bush’s follymongering in Iraq, but due to “low ratings.” (Boo. Hiss.)
Alas, imbecility has consequences. With NBC/MSNBC so strapped that said brass lately had felt compelled to lay off some 75 workers, they opened their hearts and the company’s coffers to McDaniel. Now, she’s gone but not forgotten (in a notably bad way). Don’t look now, but she’s lawyered up- and set to reach deep into the pockets that somehow could not afford to keep scores of rank and file on payroll. (Ouch.)
This is no small beer. Tapes of the effectively McDaniel-endorsed J6 coup attempt show our body politic on life support. Not to mince words: they reveal a one-sided civil war that Big News should NEVER feel free to ‘both sides.’
As ever (in this case, re the Orange Ogre’s cult), truth has been our first casualty. So, let’s freely and fairly (and early and often) make bold to ask: which side has NBC looked to be opting to boost?