‘Morning Joe’ backlash is latest mess for NBC and Comcast executives
CNN
Cesar Conde has found himself — yet again — on the receiving end of a stinging on-air rebuke from his high-wattage MSNBC stars.
Cesar Conde has found himself — yet again — on the receiving end of a stinging on-air rebuke from his high-wattage MSNBC stars. For the second time in only a few months, questions about the NBC News Group chairman’s leadership were raised in extraordinary fashion, with the “Morning Joe” team on Tuesday publicly expressing dismay that NBC brass had the day before pulled their broadcast from the air in wake of the assassination attempt on former President Donald Trump. Joe Scarborough, speaking alongside co-hosts Mika Brzezinski and Willie Geist, offered viewers a peek behind the curtain into the conspicuous decision-making process that transpired over the weekend. Scarborough said that the “Morning Joe” team had been informed Sunday evening that all of MSNBC’s opinion-oriented dayside lineup would be pre-empted for a single NBC News feed covering the attempt on Trump’s life. But, as Scarborough noted, “That did not happen.” Instead of high-profile NBC News anchors, such as Lester Holt and Savannah Guthrie, anchoring special coverage, MSNBC aired two hours of “MSNBC Reports” and two hours of its streaming service’s programming, NBC News Now. And oddly enough, no other MSNBC shows were pre-empted. Only “Morning Joe.” “We don’t know why that was that didn’t happen. Our team was not given a good answer as to why that didn’t happen,” Scarborough said. “But it didn’t happen.” Scarborough, who said the entire “Morning Joe” team was “very surprised” and “very disappointed” in the turn of events spurred by NBC brass, even went as far to offer network leadership an ultimatum. “Next time we are told there is going to be a news feed replacing us, we will be in our chairs,” he said. “And the news feed will be us, or they can get somebody else to host the show.”
Nippon Steel is expected to re-file its application for a national security review by American regulators of its $15 billion takeover bid of US Steel, sources familiar with the matter told CNN on Tuesday, buying Japan’s largest steelmaker an additional 90 days to close its acquisition of an American rival after political opposition emerged in an election year.
So far, the attacks that targeted Iran-backed Lebanese militant group Hezbollah members through their pagers have had devastating consequences. At least nine people, including an eight-year-old girl, were killed, and at least 2,800 were wounded. Over 150 of those injured are in critical condition, according to the Lebanese health minister.