NBC thinks Rachel Maddow is too partisan, but they promoted former Republican congressman Joe Scarborough to senior NBC political analyst and contributor to Meet The Press.
If you watched Chuck Todd’s Meet The Press debut, you saw some promises that Meet The Press was going to be getting some new sets and segments. Later in the show, there was something else. Joe Scarborough as a contributor to Meet The Press. The same NBC News that has been suggesting off the record for years that MSNBC host Rachel Maddow is too partisan to be a regular part of Meet The Press has promoted a former Republican congressman to regular Meet The Press contributor status.
Here is how NBC political director/Meet The Press producer/moderator Chuck Todd described Scarborough’s promotion, “Joe has one of the best political minds in the NBC family. His love of politics and passion for debate will guarantee the kind of robust conversation that has always been a hallmark of Meet the Press, and I look forward to the reported analysis he’ll bring to the table.”
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Joe Scarborough doesn’t do reporting. He also doesn’t do analysis. Joe Scarborough is a Republican talking points machine. There were reported that Scarborough was outraged because he thought that he was next in line to host Meet The Press. If that’s the case, it looks NBC gave him a promotion and a regular slot on Meet The Press as a way of smoothing things over.
The fact that NBC News views Joe Scarborough as senior political analyst material, while keeping Rachel Maddow (PhD.) banished to the sinking ship that is MSNBC should tell viewers everything that they need to know about the partisan priorities of NBC News. It has been speculated that when NBC News calls a host too partisan that is network code for no host of an opinion show on MSNBC will ever be seriously considered for a promotion to NBC News.
It is impossible to reconcile the idea that Maddow is too partisan with Scarborough’s recent promotion. MSNBC’s inside the Beltway three-hour morning fluff fest is hosted by the ultra-partisan Scarborough. If Maddow is too partisan, then Scarborough should never ever see the light of day on Meet The Press.
Is Maddow being passed over because she is a woman? Is she being passed over because she is a liberal, or could it be the fact that Sunday morning talk shows are still the domain of male, heterosexual conservatives? No matter what the real answer is, it’s clear that Meet The Press is going even more to the right. It is also obvious that if Chuck Todd doesn’t boost the ratings, the next moderator of Meet The Press will be Joe Scarborough.
Jason is the managing editor. He is also a White House Press Pool and a Congressional correspondent for PoliticusUSA. Jason has a Bachelor’s Degree in Political Science. His graduate work focused on public policy, with a specialization in social reform movements.
Awards and Professional Memberships
Member of the Society of Professional Journalists and The American Political Science Association
