MSNBC producer likens TV network to ‘cancer’ in resignation letter

A former producer at a major news network has released an extraordinary and detailed post explaining why she quit.

Pekary says Alec Baldwin advised her to quit over her ideological concerns.

A former producer at a major news network has released a scathing letter after quitting her job, accusing the company of being a “cancer” that “blocks diversity of thought” and “amplifies fringe voices”.

Ariana Pekary worked at the US-based network MSNBC on The Last Word with Lawrence O’Donnell, which she claimed placed ratings above content value.

“This cancer risks human lives, even in the middle of a pandemic,” she wrote on her personal website under a post titled “Personal news: why I’m now leaving MSNBC”.

“The longer I was at MSNBC, the more I saw such choices – it’s practically baked into the editorial process – and those decisions affect news content every day.

“Likewise, it’s taboo to discuss how the ratings scheme distorts content, or it’s simply taken for granted, because everyone in the commercial broadcast news industry is doing the exact same thing.”

Pekary worked at the network for seven years, originally on the late night show hosted by movie star Alec Baldwin.

She criticised the news company for forcing “skilled journalists to make bad decisions on a daily basis”.

“The model blocks diversity of thought and content because the networks have incentive to amplify fringe voices and events, at the expense of others,” Pekary said.

“All because it pumps up the ratings.

“You may not watch MSNBC but just know that this problem still affects you, too.

“All the commercial networks function the same – and no doubt that content seeps into your social media feed, one way or the other.”

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The former producer claims the media focuses too much on politics. Picture: Olivier Douliery/AFP

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Pekary said the network focused on political drama despite the US being impacted by a devastating pandemic and the recent civil rights issues which sparked the latest Black Lives Matter movement.

Rather than focus on the development of a vaccine to treat the coronavirus or present diverse voices, the attention turns to how President Donald Trump reacted.

“This cancer risks our democracy, even in the middle of a presidential election,” the former employee wrote.

“Any discussion about the election usually focuses on Donald Trump, not Joe Biden, a repeat offence from 2016 (Trump smothers out all other coverage).”

Pekary said another producer defended the decisions of the network, telling her, “our viewers don’t really consider us the news. They come to us for comfort.”

But others agreed with her behind closed doors, she says.

“We are a cancer and there is no cure,” a TV veteran allegedly told her. “But if you could find a cure, it would change the world.”

Pekary said numerous colleagues agreed with her ideological position, including Alec Baldwin who once told her to “just quit”.

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Pekary says Alec Baldwin advised her to quit over her ideological concerns.

She said she doesn’t know what she’s going to do now she’s resigned, but she knew she “simply couldn’t stay there anymore”.

“Now maybe we can’t really change the inherently broken structure of broadcast news, but I know for certain that it won’t change unless we actually face it, in public, and at least try to change it.”

In response, an MSNBC spokesperson said the network takes the “public trust granted to us very seriously and even more so in today’s unprecedented news environment,” according to the New York Post.

“It’s our responsibility to cover stories that are critical to our viewers.

“They rely on our hosts, correspondents and contributors to go where breaking news and the facts lead, asking tough questions and digging into stories with deep analysis. We encourage debate and differences of perspectives in our newsroom because it makes the product better.”