Ronna McDaniel fiasco reveals chaos in upper ranks at NBC: ‘A head needs to roll’
NY Post
Media executives and industry experts close to NBC said the Ronna McDaniel fiasco exposed the chaos in the upper ranks at the Peacock network — with one top honcho telling The Post that “a head needs to roll.”
The hiring and abrupt firing of the former chair of the Republican National Committee under intense pressure from NBC and MSNBC talent, led by Chuck Todd and Rachel Maddow, revealed the power vacuum at the network, multiple sources told The Post on Thursday.
“Someone needs to pay for the clear lack of leadership on this issue,” said one media bigwig, who spoke to The Post on the condition of anonymity. “A head needs to roll.”
“There are some serious conversations happening in Philadelphia,” the source added, referring to the headquarters of NBC-parent Comcast. “If I’m [Comcast president] Mike Cavanagh, I’d be like what the f-k!”
A possible fall guy could be NBC News Group Chairman Cesar Conde, who took “full responsibility” for signing off on the reported two-year, $600,000 deal that landed McDaniel as an on-air contributor at NBC and MSNBC last Friday.
Four days later, his tune changed after Maddow, MSBNC’s most bankable star, called the hire “inexplicable,” Todd returned to “Meet the Press” to denounce McDaniel’s “credibility issues” and Mika Brzezinski of “Morning Joe” slammed her as an “anti-democracy election denier.”
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