Psaki rumors, Mulvaney hire trouble journalists
NEW YORK – The hiring of non-journalists as contributors to television news organizations isn’t new. Far less common is seeing pushback to such decisions from journalists working there, as has happened recently at CBS and NBC News.
Discontent emerged over CBS’ hiring of former Trump administration official Mick Mulvaney as a commentator and discussions about current White House press secretary Jen Psaki working at MSNBC when her time in the Biden administration is through.
In both cases, journalists have been quiet publicly about their concerns over the decisions. Because of concern about Psaki – which has raised ethical issues for the press secretary – NBC News President Noah Oppenheim was compelled to address the discussions in a phone meeting with Washingtonbased staff, first reported by CNN.
While both cases are different, the fact that these internal complaints surfaced illustrates some of the pressures many journalists feel under, said Mark Whitaker, a former executive at NBC News, CNN and Newsweek. They already work in a hyper-partisan time and face accusations of promoting “fake news,” he said.
“There’s a feeling of ‘this just makes our job harder when we’re under attack anyway,’ ” Whitaker said.
Each case is more complex than rubbing elbows at the water cooler with a partisan.
Neither MSNBC nor Psaki have publicly confirmed their talks about a role there. MSNBC has already hired Symone Sanders, former chief spokeswoman for Vice President Kamala Harris, for a job that begins in May. NBC News has taken pains to draw distinctions between its journalists and MSNBC, which has beefed up its opinion programming, although that’s awkward when journalists like Andrea Mitchell and Chuck Todd both have shows on the cable network.
At least until the situation becomes
clearer, NBC News journalists are put in the uncomfortable position of having professional contact with someone who may soon become a colleague.
NBC White House correspondent Kristen Welker asked Psaki about her status at a recent White House briefing, saying “is it ethical for you to keep conducting this job while negotiating with a media outlet?”
Without confirming or denying those talks, Psaki said she had already gone “over and above” stringent ethical requirements. Welker followed up twice, asking “how can you be an effective briefer if you do, in fact, have plans to join a media outlet?”
Psaki said she has taken steps to make sure there is no conflict. While the situation is still in flux, CNN reported that she is not expected to do any on-camera interviews with NBC News or MSNBC personnel, and won’t be involved in decisions about booking administration officials on the networks.
CBS News said Mulvaney’s signing was part of the network’s buildup of its roster of contributors in advance of the 2022 midterm and 2024 presidential elections. The news division’s copresident, Neeraj Khemlani, said in a staff meeting prior to the announcement that CBS is making sure that it hires contributors that ensure the network has access to officials in both parties with a midterm election looming, according to a tape of that meeting provided to the Washington Post.