NBC News’ Ronna McDaniel Problem Looms Larger: How Should Networks Cover Trump Republicans? | Analysis

Available to WrapPRO members

Journalistic integrity and access to the Trump-aligned GOP are at odds in our highly polarized political climate

Michael Steele, Donald Trump, Ronna McDaniel and Nicole Wallace.
Michael Steele, Donald Trump, Ronna McDaniel and Nicole Wallace. (Chris Smith/TheWrap)

The chaos surrounding the hiring and firing of former Republican Party chair Ronna McDaniel from NBC News has underscored the difficulties of covering Donald Trump and his party this year without simultaneously promoting those who enabled the former president’s lies about the 2020 election. 

Television news has long elevated voices from both of America’s major political parties. But in the current, highly polarized climate, networks are struggling to provide balanced coverage while upholding their journalistic integrity and not infuriating their staff in the process — as NBC was reminded this week.

“The only way that most news organizations are going to be able to include these kinds of contributors in the mix, if they choose to do so, is to find smart ‘contained’ ways to do so in their digital and streaming platforms and not high-profile TV news slots,” David Clinch, a consultant at Media Growth Partners, told TheWrap, adding that he would not “advise anyone to take that risk.”

Comments

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.