NBC News faces internal blowback from decision to cut Ronna McDaniel

The ramifications of NBC News' decision to cave to internal outrage and cut ties with Ronna McDaniel are already taking shape.

As Semafor reported, the "backlash to the backlash" has begun, and rank-and-file journalists — those NBC News employees not upset about McDaniel joining their network — are feeling the heat.

"Political reporters here didn't take part in the backlash [against McDaniel], nor did they get to give input on the hire," one NBC reporter told Semafor. "But they'll be the ones who have to pick up the pieces with sources who are now dismayed with the organization."

More from Semafor:

Four NBC News staffers expressed concern that instead of fixing the problem, hiring and then firing McDaniel had only alienated liberal viewers while confirming Republican fears. Two Republican aides told Semafor they’d texted their NBC News contacts to express their anger with the decision.

The truth is that a small minority of prominent voices at NBC News and MSNBC — Chuck Todd, Rachel Maddow, Joe Scarborough, etc. — led the outrage against McDaniel's hire, which NBC News executives unanimously approved, according to multiple reports.

But the hasty decision to appease the small minority of loud voices will reverse inroads the network has made to appeal to Republican viewers, solidifying perceptions that NBC News is not a fair media source, Semafor noted. Ultimately, the long-term impact on NBC News' credibility of hiring then firing McDaniel could be a net negative.

That's why Republicans are declaring victory.

Stephen Moore, a Republican economist, said it's a "good day for our team, because it makes [Democrats] look ridiculous." Mick Mulvaney, moreover, said the incident "allows [NBC News] to completely shed their image as a legitimate news outlet, once and for all."

In a memo to NBC News staff, Cesar Conde, chairman of the NBCUniversal News Group, said that "no organization, particularly a newsroom, can succeed unless it is cohesive and aligned" and that "it has become clear that [McDaniel's] appointment undermines that goal."

It's true that any successful company needs to be aligned behind a central mission.

But it appears the decision to fire McDaniel days after hiring her had nothing to do with NBC News' company mission. If that were the case, executives would never have hired McDaniel, let alone unanimously.

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