After criticizing MSNBC’s Gaza coverage on-air Monday, Palestinian journalist Rula Jebreal says she’s unsure of her future with the network.
“I have no idea…I still don’t know” she said on “Democracy Now” today when asked if she’s lost her job as an MSNBC contributor (watch after the jump).
“My contract is up, and we’re negotiating still,” she continued, also claiming that following her heated interview with Ronan Farrow Monday, where she criticized Andrea Mitchell’s coverage in particular, producers cancelled her upcoming appearances.
This afternoon, MSNBC issued a statement on Jebreal’s contract status and cancellation claims.
Regarding the claim of cancelled appearances: Jebreal’s pre-booked daytime appearance on Tuesday was bumped to accommodate the re-airing of Chris Hayes’ exclusive interview with Tariq Abu Khdeir, a 15 year old Palestinian American beaten by Israeli forces. Jebreal was a guest on “All In” with Chris Hayes on Tuesday night. While we don’t publicly discuss contract specifics, Jebreal’s contributor deal with MSNBC officially ended last month when she said she wanted to pursue new opportunities. We’ve welcomed her back on MSNBC several times since. Her voice is one of many Palestinian voices on MSNBC.
On why Jebreal was labeled an MSNBC contributor during Monday’s interview with Farrow if her contract ended last month, MSNBC tells TVNewser: “She was labeled incorrectly on Monday’s show due to a production error and we corrected that for Tuesday’s ‘All In’ appearance.”
During that appearance, Chris Hayes offered to take viewers “behind the curtain of cable news” to explain why a TV news guest who slams a network on its air might might draw the ire of staffers.
“If you appear on a cable news network, you trash that network and one of its hosts by name, on any issue…the folks at the network will not take kindly to it.”
He then invited Jebreal on to debate MSNBC’s–and the mainstream media’s-coverage of the Gaza conflict. Hayes opened by defending Andrea Mitchell’s credentials.
WATCH: