MSNBC proudly shared a Los Angeles Times article on Twitter boasting its female-dominated daytime programming, along with a photo of its five female daytime anchors. It was not lost on the public that all the women in the image were white.
The LA Times article was entitled “The Women Warriors of NBC” and detailed how five women– Stephanie Ruhle, Hallie Jackson, Andrea Mitchell, Katy Tur, and Nicolle Wallace— came to dominate its daytime programming. The article points out that this directive comes in light of criticism of the network for its “sluggish” investigation of sexual harassment claims at NBC.
MSNBC captioned the tweet, “The five female anchors who now shape most of the daytime news programming at MSNBC.”
Almost all of the tweet’s nearly 2,000 replies pointed out its lack of diversity. Soledad O’Brien, who previously worked for MSNBC and now hosts a weekly talk show produced by Hearst television, quoted the tweet and added, “Zero women of color in this picture.”
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Wajahat Ali, an op-ed writer for the New York Times, quoted the tweet with the caption, “Congrats to all. They are great, sharp and this is well earned. But there are no people of color in this photo. It’s 2019. It’s America. There’s no excuses. And everyone should be embarrassed by it.”
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Many asked why Joy Reid, who hosts AM Joy on the weekends, wasn’t included in the photo. Another reply featured a gif of actress Viola Davis saying, “The only thing that separates women of colour from everyone else, is opportunity.”
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Albeit likely facetious, Right-wing commentator Ann Coulter last month blasted MSNBC for keeping its black hosts on the “low-rated weekend ghetto.”
*see full story by MEDIAITE