Oh, what a tangled web they weave when they practice to deceive! Welcome to MSNBC, where the news isn’t news—it’s just the latest episode of “Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?” With Al Sharpton at the helm, or should I say, behind the pulpit, we’ve struck gold in the ethics department, or should I say, in the grand canyon of ethical breaches.
So, Kamala Harris, in her infinite wisdom, decided to drop half a million dollars into Al Sharpton’s collection plate, sorry, I meant his “non-profit,” National Action Network. And what do you know? Just like magic, Sharpton conducts an interview with Harris that could only be described as an “infomercial” for her campaign. But wait, there’s more! MSNBC claims they were “unaware” of this transaction. Unaware? In a world where every coffee purchase is tracked for tax purposes, they somehow missed a $500,000 donation? Sure, and I’m the next president of the United States.
Ed Morrissey, November 27, 2024: MSNBC on Kamala Payment to Sharpton: Huh?
Ho hum, nothing to see here, just a little payola between friends.
One has to wonder at MSNBC’s identity as a news and current affairs channel. It had been well over two weeks since the Washington Free Beacon’s Chuck Ross first revealed that Al Sharpton’s nonprofit National Action Network received $500,000 from Kamala Harris’ campaign. The money came in two separate $250,000 remittances, one on September 5 and the other on October 1.
Just coincidentally, Sharpton then gave Harris airtime to wish him a happy birthday on October 3, and then conducted an infomercial on MSNBC’s air disguised as a news interview.
Paying a show host for air time has a particular term in broadcasting: payola. Technically, MSNBC isn’t a broadcast channel, so the law may not apply, but that’s debatable. What’s not debatable is that Sharpton conducted a corrupt act with this undisclosed personal benefit for his organization after taking a cool half-million bucks in donor money from Team Kamala for this infomercial. And MSNBC still holds itself out as a news organization, operating for the moment under the purview of NBC News.
So what has MSNBC done about it? Two weeks later, the answer appears to be … nothing much. They claim to have been unaware of the payment at the time, but it sounds as though they’re still largely unaware of it still. Maybe they don’t read the news?
Let’s break it down, shall we? Al Sharpton, the self-proclaimed reverend and MSNBC’s poster boy for “journalism,” takes a hefty donation from a political campaign, then lo and behold, conducts an interview so soft it could be used as a pillow at the next DNC convention. This isn’t journalism; it’s a transaction, a pay-for-play so blatant you’d think they’d at least try to hide it behind a fig leaf of subtlety.
MSNBC, you claim ignorance. You, who have the gall to lecture the world on ethics, transparency, and the sanctity of journalism, are caught with your pants down, or should I say, your checkbook open? This isn’t just an ethical breach; it’s an ethical sinkhole where you’ve thrown all pretense of journalistic integrity.
And Al Sharpton, oh, the irony! The man who’s made a career out of calling out corruption now stands accused of being the very thing he’s fought against—or at least pretended to fight against. What’s next, Al? A sermon on the virtues of honesty while pocketing another donation from the next politician needing a friendly chat on air?
To the viewers of MSNBC, congratulations! You’ve been treated to what might be the most expensive infomercial in history, disguised as news. But hey, at least you can sleep well knowing your news network is leading the charge in innovative ways to fund political campaigns.
MSNBC’s leadership, take a bow. You’ve managed to turn your newsroom into the modern-day equivalent of a medieval marketplace where the highest bidder gets the air time. This isn’t just a bridge too far; it’s an entire continent of ethical lapses.
So, here’s to MSNBC and Al Sharpton, for showing us all just how wide the gap between what they preach and what they practice truly is. Bravo, you’ve redefined hypocrisy on a grand scale.