2024 was a particularly momentous year in news between the historic victory of President-elect Donald Trump, the two assassination attempts against him and the sidelining of President Biden from the White House race in addition to devastating hurricanes, mysterious drones and unrest around the world.
It was, however, also a big year in news about the news industry. 2024 was filled with newsroom turmoil, scrutinized editorial decisions, and even an inappropriate election romance.
Here are ten of the biggest media controversies of 2024:
NBC’s hiring (and firing) of Ronna McDaniel
NBC News was engulfed in a firestorm fueled by its own staffers after the network announced in March it had hired former Republican National Committee chair Ronna McDaniel as a contributor.
The practice of major news organizations hiring ex-lawmakers, government officials and political insiders has existed for decades and has largely been non-controversial. But a chorus of NBC talent, particularly from its liberal cable arm MSNBC, publicly disavowed McDaniel’s hiring, citing her support for Trump and alleged actions in trying to block the certification of Michigan’s election results in 2020.
“We weren’t asked our opinion of the hiring, but if we were, we would have strongly objected to it for several reasons including, but not limited to, as lawyers might say, Ms. McDaniel’s role in Donald Trump’s fake elector scheme and her pressuring election officials to not certify election results while Donald Trump was on the phone,” MSNBC’s Joe Scarborough said on “Morning Joe” at the time.
Rachel Maddow, MSNBC’s biggest star, blasted NBC’s “inexplicable” decision to hire McDaniel and expressed hope that the network would reverse its decision.
The network’s liberal talent, including Chuck Todd, Nicolle Wallace, Joy Reid and Jen Psaki, also spoke out against the move in a coordinated on-air campaign. Todd memorably fumed on “Meet the Press” right after colleague Kristen Welker interviewed McDaniel, in what turned out to be her only appearance as a contributor.
“I think our bosses owe you an apology for putting you in this situation, because I don’t know what to believe,” he said.
One insider told Fox News Digital at the time, “I haven’t spoken to a single person who thinks it’s a good idea.”
Just four days after McDaniel’s hiring, she was terminated, putting an end to the embarrassing saga.
“There is no doubt that the last several days have been difficult for the News Group,” NBCUniversal News Group Chairman Cesar Conde told staff in a memo. “After listening to the legitimate concerns of many of you, I have decided that Ronna McDaniel will not be an NBC News contributor.”
Conde acknowledged McDaniel’s hiring had undermined the goal of a “cohesive and aligned” newsroom and offered an apology to his staff.
“I want to personally apologize to our team members who felt we let them down,” Conde wrote. “While this was a collective recommendation by some members of our leadership team, I approved it and take full responsibility for it.”
Veteran NPR editor blows whistle on left-wing takeover of newsroom
One of the most stunning media sagas of 2024 came courtesy of Uri Berliner, a veteran NPR editor who blew the whistle on the liberal dogma that had captured his news organization.
In a tell-all essay published in The Free Press in April, Berliner wrote about how NPR turned a “blind eye” to the Hunter Biden laptop scandal, its rejection of the COVID lab leak theory, its “troubling” avoidance of the growing antisemitism following the Oct. 7 terrorist attack against Israel, and how it turned to Rep. Adam Schiff, D-Calif., as an “ever-present muse” during Russiagate.
Berliner also put a spotlight on the lack of ideological diversity among its editorial staff, claiming registered Democrats outnumber Republicans in its Washington newsroom 87-0 according to his research of voting records. A spokesperson for NPR previously disputed his characterization and methodology to draw such conclusions.
Berliner was initially suspended for violating NPR’s policies on seeking permission to speak to the press. However, his colleagues lashed out against him and he was publicly rebuked by his boss, NPR CEO Katherine Maher, prompting his resignation.
Berliner has since joined The Free Press as a senior editor.
ABC debate moderators’ slanted fact-checking against Trump
All eyes were on ABC News on Sept. 10 as it secured the first and only presidential debate between former President Trump and Vice President Kamala Harris.
Debate moderators David Muir and Linsey Davis fact-checked Trump on five separate occasions while letting everything Harris said go unchallenged.
At one point, Muir even challenged Trump on whether the former president was being sarcastic as he claimed after he was asked about past comments admitting his 2020 defeat.
“I did watch all of these pieces of video. I didn’t detect the sarcasm,” Muir said to Trump.
Critics blasted the debate for appearing like a 3-on-1 sparring match. Even the liberal writers of NBC’s “Saturday Night Live” teased their rival network for being “biased.”
Olivia Nuzzi’s ‘sexting’ relationship with RFK Jr.
In September, New York magazine’s star reporter Olivia Nuzzi found herself at the center of a media controversy after it was discovered that she had been personally involved with Robert F. Kennedy Jr., whom she covered during his independent presidential bid. RFK Jr. is married to actress Cheryl Hines.
The alleged “sexting” relationship emerged as tabloid fodder, dominating media industry gossip when it became public knowledge. Among the chatter was a much-circulated Puck report that Nuzzi sent “demure” nude photos to Kennedy.
“Earlier this year, the nature of some communication between myself and a former reporting subject turned personal,” Nuzzi said in her initial statement. “I did not directly report on the subject nor use them as a source. The relationship was never physical but should have been disclosed to prevent the appearance of a conflict. I deeply regret not doing so immediately and apologize to those I’ve disappointed, especially my colleagues at New York.”
A Kennedy spokesperson also previously denied any sort of physical relationship and said he had only met Nuzzi once.
It was also revealed that Nuzzi’s engagement with Politico’s chief Washington correspondent and Playbook co-author Ryan Lizza was called off amid the revelations. Lizza had taken a leave of absence from Politico.
Nuzzi was suspended by New York magazine as it conducted an investigation into whether her coverage of the 2024 presidential race was affected by her inappropriate relationship with RFK Jr. Both the magazine and an enlisted law firm concluded they found “no inaccuracies nor evidence of bias.”
Nuzzi and the magazine parted ways in October.
CBS News’ internal uproar over the Dokoupil-Coates interview
In October, left-wing staffers at CBS News lashed out at their colleague, “CBS Mornings” co-host Tony Dokoupil, over his tough interview exchange with progressive author Ta-Nehisi Coates.
Dokoupil, who is Jewish and has children living in Israel, grilled Coates, whose vehemently anti-Israel book “The Message” has been rebuked by the Jewish state’s defenders for its shallow analysis of a complicated conflict.
“The content of that section would not be out of place in the backpack of an extremist,” Dokoupil told Coates about one portion about his trip to Israel and the Palestinian territories, asking him, “Why leave out so much,” and “What is it that so particularly offends you about the existence of a Jewish state that is a Jewish safe place?”
CBS leadership reassured offended staff members that following a review, they concluded that the interview did not meet the company’s “editorial standards,” the Free Press reported, which obtained audio of the staff meeting.
While a source familiar with the matter told Fox News Digital that Dokoupil would not be punished over the interview, he was forced to meet with the network’s in-house Race and Culture Unit following complaints. According to The New York Times, the conversation “focused on Mr. Dokoupil’s tone of voice, phrasing and body language” during the interview.
The New York Post also reported that Dokoupil expressed regret to staffers at a meeting, with one network insider describing it, “There were tears. [People were] very upset.”
Some rallied to his defense, like CBS News legal correspondent Jan Crawford, who went to bat for him during a network conference call, and Shari Redstone, chair of CBS News’ parent company Paramount Global, who called the network’s handling of Dokoupil a “mistake.” CBS CEO George Cheeks issued a memo standing by the news network’s leadership.
‘60 Minutes’ sparks confusion with Kamala Harris interview
CBS’ long-running magazine show “60 Minutes” was plagued by a strange controversy involving its interview in October with Vice President Kamala Harris and the two responses she appeared to give to the same question.
In an exchange with veteran correspondent Bill Whitaker, Harris was asked why it seemed like Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu wasn’t listening to the U.S. as the Gaza conflict rages. A preview clip that aired on “Face The Nation” showed one response, which was mocked by conservatives as “word salad.” The primetime election special that aired the following night showed an entirely different answer.
“Well, Bill, the work that we have done has resulted in a number of movements in that region by Israel that were very much prompted by, or a result of, many things, including our advocacy for what needs to happen in the region,” Harris responded in the “Face the Nation” clip that aired Oct. 6.
A shorter, more focused answer from the vice president was shown to the same question the following night.
“We are not going to stop pursuing what is necessary for the United States to be clear about where we stand on the need for this war to end,” Harris said in the primetime special.
CBS News has not offered answers to the discrepancy and refused to release the full transcript of the Harris interview. Trump called for CBS to lose its broadcasting license and even filed a lawsuit accusing the network of election interference.
“Former President Donald Trump is accusing 60 Minutes of deceitful editing of our Oct. 7 interview with Vice President Kamala Harris,” the show said in a statement in October. “That is false. 60 Minutes gave an excerpt of our interview to Face the Nation that used a longer section of her answer than that on 60 Minutes. Same question. Same answer. But a different portion of the response.”
LA Times and Washington Post implode over non-endorsements
Some of the country’s most prominent newspapers made their own headlines by ending their decades-long practice of endorsing presidential candidates, much to the chagrin of progressive staffers.
The Los Angeles Times kicked off the movement with a decision made by its owner, Dr. Patrick Soon-Shiong, for the paper to not make any endorsement in the 2024 race. That led to a slew of resignations, including by Times editorials editor Mariel Garza and editorial board members Robert Greene and Karin Klein.
Times columnist Harry Litman offered his resignation in December, citing the paper’s “shameful capitulation” to Trump after Soon-Shiong made overtures to moderate the paper, like bringing aboard conservative commentator Scott Jennings to its revamped editorial board.
Days after the Times, The Washington Post announced it would no longer make endorsements in presidential races. The paper’s billionaire owner Jeff Bezos halted the editorial board’s planned endorsement of Harris as well – the Post had endorsed the Democrat in every presidential election since 1976, except for when it omitted any endorsement at all in 1988.
That move sparked outrage from the Post’s union to its prominent columnists, 20 of whom signed an open letter denouncing the paper’s decision. Multiple editorial board members stepped down, and the Post’s editor-at-large Robert Kagan resigned.
The paper also reportedly lost 250,000 paid subscribers as a result, another financial blow after it was already on track to lose $77 million this year.
Bezos penned an op-ed defending the decision, citing growing distrust in the media.
“By itself, declining to endorse presidential candidates is not enough to move us very far up the trust scale, but it’s a meaningful step in the right direction,” he wrote. “I wish we had made the change earlier than we did, in a moment further from the election and the emotions around it. That was inadequate planning, and not some intentional strategy.”
Sharpton’s ‘pay to play’ scheme ahead of Harris interview on MSNBC
MSNBC host Rev. Al Sharpton raised eyebrows after it was discovered that his nonprofit National Action Network had received $500,000 from the Harris campaign ahead of a friendly Oct. 20 interview with the Democratic nominee just weeks before the election.
Following Harris’ defeat to President-elect Donald Trump, FEC filings revealed the Harris campaign gave two $250,000 donations to Sharpton’s nonprofit organization in September and October. However, the MSNBC weekend host did not disclose to viewers the apparent conflict of interest before or after the interview. Neither did he disclose the donations to his bosses at the network, according to the Washington Free Beacon.
MSNBC told the Washington Free Beacon that the network was “unaware” of the payments to Sharpton’s nonprofit.
Despite being caught in what’s been dubbed a “pay to play” scheme, Sharpton continues to host his weekend show and make regular appearances on other MSNBC programs.
MSNBC’s ‘Morning Joe’ hosts face backlash over Trump meeting
In the days following the presidential election, Joe Scarborough and Mika Brzezinski, the co-hosts of MSNBC’s “Morning Joe,” shocked their liberal audience by revealing they met with President-elect Trump at Mar-a-Lago, the first time they had done so in seven years.
“For those asking why we would go speak to the president-elect during such fraught times, especially between us, I guess I would ask back — why wouldn’t we?” Brzezinski said. “Five years of political warfare has deeply divided Washington and the country. We have been as clear as we know how in expressing our deep concerns about President Trump’s actions and words in the coarsening of public debate.”
The disclosure by the MSNBC stars ignited a firestorm from their liberal viewers, many of them vowing to boycott the show. Even their own colleague, MSNBC contributor Jennifer Rubin, fueled the movement and trashed the co-hosts.
Scarborough and Brzezinski remained defiant, defending the Trump meeting after one of their frequent guests, The Atlantic’s David Frum, suggested they were living in “fear” with Trump returning to the White House.
“Let me tell you something, you can talk to anybody that’s worked in the front office of NBC and MSNBC over the past 22 years, [they’ll] tell you I’m not fearful. You talk to anybody who served with me in Congress, they will tell you, not fearful of leadership. Now? Not fearful,” Scarborough said.
ABC News pays Trump $15 million in defamation settlement
ABC News was forced to pay Trump a whopping $15 million and issue an apology as a result of a landmark defamation settlement.
Trump sued the Disney-owned network earlier this year after an exchange anchor George Stephanpoulos had with Rep. Nancy Mace, R-S.C., on the Sunday morning news program “This Week” in March.
During the interview, Stephanopoulos claimed ten separate times Trump was found “liable for rape,” when the jury in the E. Jean Carroll civil case actually determined him to be liable for “sexual abuse,” which has a distinct definition under New York law.
Initially, Stephanopoulos was defiant in the face of Trump’s lawsuit, telling CBS late-night host Stephen Colbert that he wouldn’t be “cowed out of doing my job because of a threat.”
“Trump sued me because I used the word ‘rape,’ even though a judge said that’s in fact what did happen. We filed a motion to dismiss,” Stephanopoulos told Colbert.
A judge ultimately tossed ABC News’ motion to dismiss Trump’s lawsuit and settled with the president-elect in December before entering a costly trial.
According to the settlement, ABC News will pay $15 million as a charitable contribution to a “Presidential foundation and museum to be established by or for Plaintiff, as Presidents of the United States of America have established in the past.” Additionally, the network will pay $1 million in Trump’s attorney fees.
Stephanopoulos and ABC News also had to issue statements of “regret” as an editor’s note at the bottom of an article on ABC News’ website. The note reads, “ABC News and George Stephanopoulos regret statements regarding President Donald J. Trump made during an interview by George Stephanopoulos with Rep. Nancy Mace on ABC’s This Week on March 10, 2024.”
Liberal critics from rival networks including CNN, NBC and MSNBC accused ABC News of “bending the knee” to Trump and setting a bad precedent.
“This was stunning to me and absolutely a gut punch to anybody that works at a major media company, because I think it does set a precedent that is going to be very difficult to get out from under potentially,” NBC’s Chuck Todd said in an interview.
