As its long downward ratings spiral accelerates, MSNBC is facing another problem that has plagued the news network for years: cleaning up after a highly incendiary comment by its on-air talent.
The Lean Forward network’s rapid response Wednesday to an attack on country music by Ebony editor Jamilah Lemieux suggests MSNBC would like to dial back some of the full-bore leftism that has consistently failed to find an audience.
During an appearance on the talk show “Now,” Lemieux reacted to a statement by presidential candidate Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, who recently said his appreciation for country grew after the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001.
“Nothing says ‘Let’s go kill some Muslims’ like country music,” said Lemieux, who was sitting on the MSNBC panel as a guest.
In a change from previous incidents, which saw MSNBC respond only after furious reactions from other media, guest host Ari Melber, substituting for Alex Wagner, frowned at Lemieux and quickly defended the popular musical genre. Shortly afterward, Melber disavowed Lemieux’s comment on behalf of the network.
“A few minutes ago on this program, a guest made a comment about country music that was not appropriate,” Melber said on the air, “and we want to be clear this network does not condone it.”
A spokeswoman for MSNBC told the Washington Examiner media desk that Melber’s disclaimer “should speak pretty forcefully to our view of the comments that were made by a guest on air.” She noted that Lemieux is “not a frequent guest” at MSNBC.
Lemieux did not return a request for comment.
There is a history of similar remarks made on MSNBC’s air, but in the past the network has been slower to respond to complaints about things said on its programs.
In 2013, then-MSNBC host Martin Bashir made crude comments about former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin, a Republican. It wasn’t until the next day that he apologized and not until two weeks later, after intense public outrage, that MSNBC President Phil Griffin released a statement that Bashir had resigned.
Later that same year, actor Alec Baldwin, host of a short-lived show on MSNBC, hurled apparently homophobic insults at a gay photographer who was snapping pictures of Baldwin’s family in public. Baldwin’s show, which had been struggling in the ratings, was canceled two weeks later.
Recent reports say MSNBC is attempting to tone down the fiery liberal commentary that the network is known for. Persistent rumors claim the network will move primetime host Al Sharpton to weekends, though MSNBC says there are no plans to do so. Two dependably left-leaning hosts, Ronan Farrow and Joy Ann Reid, saw their afternoon shows canceled in February and were designated to correspondent roles.
Throughout the ongoing changes, MSNBC has put a positive spin on things. In a late 2014 internal memo, Phil Griffin, MSNBC’s president, acknowledged that it “was a difficult year for the entire cable news industry and especially for MSNBC.” He said, though, that “these changes and challenges are a good thing for news consumers and for MSNBC.”
One MSNBC insider, however, suggested there is turmoil within the network. The source referred to the network as a “Potemkin Village,” alluding to MSNBC’s sickly interior.
Robert Thompson, a professor of TV and pop culture for Syracuse University, chalks up many of MSNBC’s woes to poor broadcast talent selection.
“I don’t think MSNBC has found their equivalent of [Fox News anchor] Bill O’Reilly,” Thompson said. “Rachel Maddow is the closest they get for a while. They thought it was Keith Olbermann but he’s got his own set of issues. So, much of this is getting people on shows that viewers are going to watch in spite of whether there’s breaking news. Fox has been very successful at that, love it or hate it. CNN and MSNBC have not been so successful at that.”
