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Ronna McDaniel Out at NBC News [UPDATED]

By Mark Mwachiro 

Image of former RNC chair Ronna McDaniel

UPDATE—6:11 p.m. ET: Following reports that NBC News was dropping Ronna McDaniel as a political analyst, the former Republican National Committee chair is officially out at the company.

In a memo to staff on Tuesday, Cesar Conde, chairman, NBCUniversal News Group, announced that McDaniel—who only joined the company on Friday—”will not be an NBC News contributor.”

“No organization, particularly a newsroom, can succeed unless it is cohesive and aligned. Over the last few days, it has become clear that this appointment undermines that goal,” Conde wrote.

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The NBCU News Group chairman went on to apologize to staff who felt let down, adding, “While this was a collective recommendation by some members of our leadership team, I approved it and take full responsibility for it.”

See the full memo below:

Hey all,

There is no doubt that the last several days have been difficult for the News Group. After listening to the legitimate concerns of many of you, I have decided that Ronna McDaniel will not be an NBC News contributor.
 
No organization, particularly a newsroom, can succeed unless it is cohesive and aligned. Over the last few days, it has become clear that this appointment undermines that goal.
 
I want to personally apologize to our team members who felt we let them down. While this was a collective recommendation by some members of our leadership team, I approved it and take full responsibility for it.
 
Our initial decision was made because of our deep commitment to presenting our audiences with a widely diverse set of viewpoints and experiences, particularly during these consequential times. We continue to be committed to the principle that we must have diverse viewpoints on our programs, and to that end, we will redouble our efforts to seek voices that represent different parts of the political spectrum.
 
Take Care,
Cesar

PREVIOUSLY: It looks like NBC News is reversing course on its decision to bring in former Republican National Committee chair Ronna McDaniel as a political analyst, according to a new report.

After two days of heavy criticism from NBC staff and MSNBC personalities, Puck’s Dylan Byers reports that NBC News executives plan to “drop” McDaniel as a paid contributor. Byers also reports that McDaniel is looking for legal representation to help deal with the unfolding situation.

NBC News did not immediately return a request for comment.

The company announced McDaniel’s hiring on Friday, with a source familiar with the matter telling TVNewser that McDaniel’s role represented an ongoing commitment to feature a variety of voices across the political spectrum and that each network leader within the NBCU News Group unanimously supported the decision.

However, following the announcement, criticism rolled in across the NBC portfolio.

MSNBC president Rashida Jones notified staff recently that McDaniel would not appear on the network, and Chuck Todd was the first personality to vocally and visually express his displeasure with the hiring on Sunday’s edition of Meet the Press with Kristen Welker.

“There’s a reason why there are a lot of journalists at NBC News uncomfortable with this because many of our professional dealings with the RNC over the last six years have been met with gaslighting, have been met with character assassination,” Todd said.

Morning Joe hosts Joe Scarborough and Mika Brezinski joined in on Monday, criticizing the network for bringing McDaniel into the fold.

“We learned about the hiring when we read about it in the press on Friday,” Scarborough said. “We weren’t asked our opinion of the hiring, but if we were, we would have strongly objected to it.”

The furor crescendoed on Monday evening, with even more personalities chiming in, including Nicole Wallace, Joy Reid, Rachel Maddow and Lawrence O’Donnell.

“The fact that Ms. McDaniel is on the payroll at NBC News, to me, that is inexplicable,” Maddow said. “And I hope they will reverse their decision.”

Maddow, who dedicated a significant portion of her show to the issue, added, “I want to associate myself with all my colleagues at MSNBC and NBC News who have voiced loud and principled objections to our company for putting on the payroll someone who hasn’t just attacked us as journalists, but someone who is part of an ongoing project to get rid of our system of government.”

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