Good network, if you can get it
Wiley’s MSNBC gigs upset mayoral race
Maya Wiley left a cushy contributor job at MSNBC in July so she could launch her campaign for New York City mayor, but you’d never know she exited the leftleaning network.
Since departing from her official role at the channel, the former counsel to Mayor de Blasio has made no fewer than 18 appearances — enraging her mayoral primary rivals and earning criticism from media ethicists.
A Post review of clips found Wiley, 56, appears on shows across the network, mornings and evenings and on weekends. She is frequently introduced as a “legal expert” or professor at the New School. Her work for de Blasio comes up from time to time, but in some instances she is identified by anchors as a mayoral candidate.
“She is getting more airtime than most of the other figures that have declared or said they’re interested,” NYU journalism professor Mohamad Bazzi told The Post. “It’s a problematic leveraging of the relationship that she previously had with MSNBC.”
Wiley most often appears as a pundit to comment on current events and offer up liberal red meat.
In an Aug. 27 appearance titled “Maya Wiley corrects Giuliani’s depiction of ‘lawless’ NYC in RNC speech,” she offered her view of the Republican National Convention. In a Sept. 20 video appearance, she warned of the legal ramifications following the death of Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg. On Sept. 24, she talked about the threat of President Trump potentially not accepting the results of the 2020 election.
When she is identified as a mayoral candidate, softball questions from ex-colleagues soon follow.
During an Oct. 13 interview about her campaign on “Morning Joe,” Wiley told host Mika Brzezinski, “I couldn’t imagine a better person to be discussing this with.”
The host allowed Wiley to practically monologue about her campaign and policy positions.
“Joining us now: @mayawiley who has announced she is running for mayor in New York City,” the “Morning Joe” Twitter account posted that day.
The network has not granted comparable airtime to Wiley’s leading opponents in the race. City Comptroller Scott Stringer has not been on once since Wiley left. Brooklyn Borough President Eric Adams appeared on air in July, but not since.
The field for the June 22, 2021, Democratic primary for mayor has well over a dozen declared candidates.
Wiley worked as a legal analyst for the network, appearing on multiple shows each week, from August 2018 until July, when she set up her campaign committee. The former chair of the city Civilian Complaint Review Board formally announced her mayoral run in October.
Her arrangement on MSNBC has become a source of increasing irritation to Wiley’s rivals. At least one major campaign has already complained to network management about the Wiley situation, a rival campaign staffer told The Post, requesting anonymity.
“With New York facing so many challenges, all media outlets should make the effort to give equal time to all candidates so that New Yorkers can make informed decisions on their vote for mayor,” Councilman Carlos Menchaca (inset above left), another mayoral aspirant who’s gotten no MSNBC airtime, told The Post. MSNBC declined to comment. “Maya Wiley is a well-known, nationally recognized civil-rights expert, and is happy to share her insights with audiences when she’s asked,” a Wiley campaign spokesperson told The Post.