Last week, NBC decided to hire former Republican National Convention Chair, Ronna McDaniel, to be a member of their news team to provide a different perspective on American politics than that normally espoused by their current on-air anchors and commentators. In principle, that is not a bad idea to have a more balanced examination of the facts.
The problem is that McDaniel is a highly conflicted representative who has denied the facts of American elections, personally participated in efforts to subvert the stated will of electors, and otherwise served to support the unsupportable. In essence, she was about as far away from a principled analyst as one could find.
Her appointment was met with resounding rebukes from almost all of the NBC and MSNBC news staff. Ultimately, McDaniel appointment was rescinded...but by then the damage was done.
Now I have always said that you should not be afraid to try something new or different. I encouraged members of my team to take risks, to explore avenues that had not been taken in the search for better ways. I had two caveats. The first was that the cost of failure must be less than the value of what was learned in that attempt. The second was that failure must not be fatal to the entire organization.
Cesar Conde, the executive who ultimately signed off on the McDaniel hire, has failed on both counts. He, and the rest of his executive team whose input brought McDaniel in the fold, were so myopic in their analysis that one wonders if they could even find their way to the washroom without a white cane.
The backlash was so intense...and so predictable...that any junior manager would be severely criticized for even proposing such a move, let alone actually moving forward with it. The decision, and its’ reversal, have tarnished the entire NBC/MSNBC enterprise and, by extension, the reputation of their owners and other on-air personalities.
It will take more than a simple apology and mea culpa to put things back together. It is not a “Humpty Dumpty had a great fall" moment. The King’s men will put it back together again. But it will look cracked for a long time.
Heads should roll but that may create too many other questions in the executive chain of command. My guess is that the folks in charge will admit their mistake, say that they reversed the offence, and look to move on. Nothing more to see here!
That would be wrong. But in the rarefied air that is pumped into corner offices, might is right. And it will be left to the rank-and-file public facing personalities who will be left to answer the question ‘...things that make you go...hmmm...’
