Additional Coverage:
On the first day of the Republican National Convention, tensions surged at MSNBC due to the network’s decision to pull its prominent morning hosts off the air, a choice directed by NBC News Group President Cesar Conde and MSNBC President Rashida Jones. This stirred significant internal frustration, with sources revealing employees were openly critical of the leadership’s handling of the situation.
Employees at 30 Rock expressed deep dissatisfaction, especially following Tuesday’s episode of “Morning Joe” where Joe Scarborough openly criticized MSNBC and NBC executives for the decision. According to Scarborough, the hosts were initially informed that a unified news feed would replace their program, but this was altered last minute to instead simulcast “Morning News Now” from NBC News Now, anchored by Samantha Sellars and Joe Fryer.
The discontent was evident when Scarborough remarked on the level of disappointment with leadership, threatening that next time there’s an attempt to replace them, they “will be in our chairs.” Meanwhile, sources blamed Conde, who has a background in business rather than journalism, for not grasping the audience needs of MSNBC nor managing the network’s editorial direction judiciously. This was also highlighted by his short-lived decision to hire former Republican National Committee chairwoman Ronna McDaniel as a contributor, a move that met with immediate backlash and led to her quick exit from the role.
Speculation among MSNBC staff suggested that the sidelining of “Morning Joe” could be an attempt to appease certain political pressures or align with potential future administrations. This theory is compounded by reports of NBCUniversal and Comcast’s political maneuverings, although an NBC News spokesman stated the programming decisions come solely from NBC News Group.
The situation illuminates broader concerns within the news industry about network executives navigating increasingly challenging electoral coverage while managing costs and resources, often at the expense of their on-air talent’s goodwill. This incident at MSNBC underscores the frictions and public dissatisfaction that can emerge when business interests clash with journalistic integrity and the expectations of both viewers and personnel.