Is there any rational person who still believes that the National Broadcasting Company is in any way a reliable source of news?

The network of Chet Huntley, David Brinkley, Harry Reasoner, Roger Mudd, and Tom Brokaw has now abandoned all pretense of impartiality. This is thanks to their atrocious treatment of former RNC chair Ronna McDaniel.

It has been quite obvious that all of the original networks tilt to the Left and have done so quietly for many years if not decades. But NBC is unique in that it also produces MSNBC, an unabashedly leftist news/commentary product. Its commentators often move back and forth between the main network and the upstart. The hiring of Ms. McDaniel by NBC proper was probably considered a good move to maintain a thin veneer of bipartisanship.

On the surface, she looked like a good fit. Though not openly disloyal to ex-president Trump, as the niece of NeverTrumper Mitt Romney, her loyalty to the party was suspect among some Republicans. Her failures in the 2020 and 2022 elections ultimately forced a change in party leadership more clearly aligned with the Republican nominee. As an NBC contributor, I think she would have probably felt comfortable offering both support and criticism to her party. This should be what the network would want.

But then the wildly Left-leaning on-air talent at MSNBC had a “hissy fit” and demanded her firing. This was said to be due to her (tepid) support of President Trump's voter fraud claims for the 2020 election. The protesters included Chuck Todd, who is NBC’s “Chief Political Analyst” and the former host of that sacred bastion of impartiality “Meet the Press.” Good luck with getting any reasoned political analysis from NBC.

I was one of a significant plurality of Trump voters (as well as some Democrats) who have had doubts over the integrity of the 2020 election. I remember thinking that the Republican Party and many of its members seemed sanguine about the result, and were not unhappy with the change of administration. Ms. McDaniel had to walk a thin tightrope in the aftermath.

In a rational media environment, her concerns for the election would appear to be a decidedly venial sin for a former Republican chairperson. But this is no rationality on the Left. The MSNBC team threatened to boycott her as a guest on any of their shows, clearly limiting her utility. After this revolt from the MSNBC talent, NBC reconsidered and released her after three days of employment. I look forward to the legal bloodbath.

Of course, those on the Left will excuse this by pointing to Fox News as the corresponding conservative version of their hyperpartisan media organization. Certainly, Fox obviously tilts conservative, particularly during prime time, but many of its anchors will deviate from the MAGA dogma quite often (”Fox and Friends” hosts Brian Kilmeade and Steve Doocy are good examples).

 It is also a given that Fox employs liberal Democrats as on-air talent.

I think of commentators such as Alan Colmes, Juan Williams, Harold Ford, and Jessica Tarlov. They All have represented the liberal viewpoint on Fox shows by assignment. Though the resulting arguments can be heated, these Democrats generally seem to be treated courteously by their fellow talent and are well-supported for book promotion and other outside projects.

There is one other person that Fox hired and employed for some time. That would be Donna Brazile, the former DNC chairman. She is bright and well-spoken and an unabashed liberal. I would argue she carried a mortal sin on her resume, the fact that she leaked questions to Hilary Clinton for a 2016 CNN presidential debate that Brazile moderated. This was well established (she ultimately apologized for it). Despite this, there was no outcry from the conservatives at Fox who generally seemed interested in engaging with her. She worked there for two years and was a guest on many of their shows.

I bring this up not so much to promote Fox News, which has its problems, but to demonstrate how bizarre is the behavior over at NBC.

Fifteen to twenty years ago there was no mistaking the major networks for conservative outlets, nor Fox as liberal, but there was a semblance of fairness. Hyperpolarization of news outlets towards either side of the argument will inevitably be the source of untruths, either by direct misrepresentation or by strategic omission.

This leads to an even more polarized electorate that tolerates the lies and then wants more. As a result, the country is fragmented and thus weakened.

If you’re searching for truth, it won’t be found at the Peacock network.

Henry F. Smith MD is a Pulmonary and Sleep Physician.

He blogs at Henrysmithscottage.com

Image: Gage Skidmore