MSNBC said in a statement it was “unaware” Vice President Kamala Harris’s presidential campaign donated $500,000 to Rev. Al Sharpton’s National Action Network shortly before a friendly interview aired on October 20. Recent Federal Election Commission filings brought the revelation, raising new questions about ethics breaches in journalism.
The Harris campaign paid NAN $250,000 each in September and October. Sharpton was to host Harris on his show PoliticsNation just a few weeks later. Neither Sharpton nor MSNBC during the interview made any mention of the donations.
“MSNBC was unaware of the donations made to the National Action Network,” a network spokesperson said. They refused to say if Sharpton would be punished, citing personnel confidentiality.
The interview with Sharpton on Harris’s 60th birthday was a soft-question piece with glowing comparisons. The Society of Professional Journalists called the situation a “black eye” for MSNBC and journalism in general, saying that undisclosed financial entanglements harm credibility.
Further investigation uncovered more financial ties between the Harris campaign and other media friends. Payments were made to the tune of $350,000 to Nu Vision Media, an outfit run by journalist Roland Martin, and $2.5 million for events with Oprah Winfrey’s Harpo Productions.
MSNBC is in a bad spot as it was already reeling with record-low ratings after the 2024 presidential victory of Donald Trump. And it is becoming all the more unsure for the MSNBC employees with the recent announcement by the parent company Comcast to spin off the cable news networks.
This latest controversy doesn’t help matters for both MSNBC and Al Sharpton. Sharpton’s connection to the National Action Network, which has been criticized based on allegations of financial impropriety, has added to media calls for transparency and accountability generally.
MSNBC hasn’t openly said whether any policy had been broken, but there are times like these in which journalistic ethics are juxtaposed with political ties, shedding light on the constant tension that news organizations must endure to preserve their credibility.
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