(NewsNation) — There is a growing movement to turn MSNBC’s decision not to renew the contract of host Tiffany Cross into a racial issue.
According to these critics, it wasn’t his record of inflammatory remarks or wildly exaggerated rhetoric that got his show, “The Cross Connection” off the air. It wasn’t because his show has yet to live under the NBC News brand, which purports to present news.
No, it’s all because Cross is a woman of color. That had to be the reason.
And of course, that conveniently absolves Cross of any responsibility for the actual words he said. His rhetoric catered to the fringes of the extreme left. In particular, on multiple occasions, he asserted that the United States is currently in the middle of a civil war
.
A program from a major news organization said that the United States is currently in a civil war, and that is not hyperbole. The last civil war in the country caused more than 600,000 deaths. Y that is not the only time he has deployed violent rhetoric.
Just before her firing, Cross, as a guest on Comedy Central, went on a vulgar rant about Florida and Governor Ron DeSantis (or, as she called him, “Ron DeStupid”).
Is it really so far-fetched to think that a news organization that, despite its left-wing biases, at least tries to maintain a semblance of professionalism, might not want to be associated with comments like these?
And yet, in a column published this week, Washington Post columnist Karen Attiah wrote,
It was a startling announcement and, particularly for black journalists, a reminder that the rug can be pulled out from under us at any time. It wasn’t even given the dignity of a final farewell show…
It’s all a bad look, sending the message that we can be abruptly removed from the platform for stirring the right-wing media pot. Two years after the supposedglobal computation“About race, we’re still disposable…
If this can happen to Cross, all black journalists are on shaky ground.
Karen Attiah, Washington Post columnist
A group of 40 prominent black thought leaders sent a letter to MSNBC criticizing Cross’s firing. In it, they denounced what they called a “racist and misogynistic” attack on Cross by Fox News host Tucker Carlson, arguing that the network had an obligation to keep her on the air as a result.
“This decision was announced just two weeks after a targeted, racist and misogynistic attack on reports and the character of Ms. Cross by a known racist and anti-Semite, Fox News host Tucker Carlson.
“Her intentional misrepresentation of her platform amounted to nothing less than a direct attack, and should have drawn immediate defense and support of Ms. Cross from her parent network,” the letter continues.
It is true that some of Carlson’s attacks on Cross were exaggerated and inappropriate. fair criticism.
But if cable news anchors have the right to stay on the air while being unfairly attacked by their rivals, then every anchor is a job for life.
Cross herself has now cited the race for her dismissal. In a statement the day after she was fired, the former MSNBC host said: “Fresh off a ‘racial reckoning,’ as many have called it, we see that with progress, there is always backlash.”
But Cross and all his defenders are overlooking some very inconvenient facts.
For starters, the president of MSNBC, the person who made this decision, is a black woman, Rashida Jones. The buck stops with her on MSNBC. And in the past two years alone, NBC News has promoted 20 non-whites to host shows on its various platforms, compared to far fewer whites.
Make no mistake: MSNBC is a liberal activist network.
And then there’s the huge issue of ratings. Many of his fans have referred to his ratings as strong, or even as one major outlet claimed, the highest-rated weekend show on MSNBC.
Except here’s the reality: Most of MSNBC’s shows finish a solid second behind Fox News, but Cross’s show finished third behind Fox News and CNN in the category of total viewership and demographic group. from 25-54 coveted by advertisers.
And Cross’s ratings were less than half of what her predecessor, Joy Reid, got in the same slot.
It’s not always a sinister agenda. Sometimes a show or presenter just doesn’t work. Sometimes it just isn’t a fit.
I had a show that was canceled on MSNBC in 2008. Why? I could claim that it was unfair or that there were people who persecuted me, but the reality is that my show just didn’t work on MSNBC at the time. He was too politically moderate for an increasingly liberal network.
Look, it’s not just Tiffany Cross. I would support Fox News in firing certain far-right extremist hosts who have also crossed the line. These networks should feel an immense responsibility as to who they put on the air. But with MSNBC going to great lengths to add liberal and racially diverse hosts, trying to play the race card against them feels ridiculous.