The relationship between the New York Times and MSNBC has reportedly become tense after the Times decided not to allow reporters to appear on “The Rachel Maddow Show”.
Executives from the two news organizations met last week hoping to resolve the issue but were unable to come to any agreements.
The rocky relationship began after reports from Vanity Fair revealed that the Times explicitly instructed their reporters to “steer clear” of TV show appearances that are deemed to be “too partisan,” which includes Maddow’s nightly show on MSNBC.
“We have always had a rule saying reporters should be wary of going on very clearly opinionated shows,” Times Executive Editor Dean Baquet told the Daily Beast. “It isn’t meant as a commentary on any show, just our view that hard-hitting stories like the ones we are doing should stand on their own.”
Vanity Fair also reported that “The Last Word with Lawrence O’Donnell” and “CNN Tonight with Don Lemon” have additionally been deemed “too partisan” for the Times’ standards.
“I do not get the sense that they are banning reporters from my show. But, I don’t work for the Times so I can’t be sure,” said Lemon. “However, it would be extremely shortsighted if they are when journalism is under attack. We should support each other. Period.”
Tensions have only increased in recent days after Fox commentators such as Sean Hannity have criticized NBC’s decision to select Maddow as one of the five moderators for the upcoming Democratic presidential debate.
“Tinfoil hat-Maddow,” Hannity remarked is “the single-biggest liar, conspiracy theorist in the country.”
The Times also noted how “opinion journalists” are not often selected as moderators for these debates.
Many reporters for the New York Times are also paid contributors to both MSNBC and CNN, making it more unclear as to how and if the two organizations will be able to reconcile their differences on “reporting” versus “opinion.”
