Shortly before the former Democratic presidential candidate sat down for an interview with the MSNBC presenter, the Kamala Harris campaign disclosed funds to Al Sharpton’s nonprofit organization, which infuriated MSNBC staff members.
The Harris campaign paid two large gifts to Sharpton’s group “National Action Network” before the “favorable” interview ahead of the 2024 elections, according to information obtained by Knewz.com.
A few weeks before to Sharpton’s interview with Harris, the vice president’s campaign donated $250,000 to the foundation on September 5 and again on October 1.
A representative for MSNBC claims that Sharpton failed to tell the network’s top executives or viewers about the large payments.
In an interview with Harris a few weeks later, on October 20, Sharpton praised the vice president’s campaign as “extraordinarily historic,” citing Shirley Chisholm, the first elected black woman to Congress, to characterize Harris’s campaign as “inhistorical.”
“Harris tried to emphasize certain points during the campaign trail, and [Sharpton’s] questions closely matched those points. According to sources, Sharpton addressed the concerns of black voters, particularly black men, regarding Harris’s prosecutorial record in California, where she was dubbed “Kamala the Cop.”
Harris was also asked by Sharpton if the guys who opposed her were “misogynistic.”
Sharpton reportedly alluded to Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump as “hostile and erratic,” despite appearing to hold Harris’s candidacy in high regard.
Notably, the Washington Free Beacon stated that the Harris interview and the donation Sharpton accepted “clearly constitute participation in a political campaign” and “violate basic journalistic ethics guidelines regarding financial relationships with sources or interview subjects.” Thank you.
In a statement to the publication about the issue, the Society of Professional Journalists stated:
Credibility is difficult to regain once this type of entanglement damages the journalist’s, the news organization’s, and journalism’s overall credibility… Many viewers regard Sharpton as a journalist, even though he may not.
“When TV news broadcasters do not report their conflicts of interest, or conduct their work in ways that run counter to ethical journalism, it builds distrust among their audiences and places a black eye on both their network and the profession,” the statement continued.
Days after the Harris campaign raised a total of $500,000, Sharpton posted a video of the Vice President wishing him a happy birthday on the MSNBC weekend show PoliticsNation with Al Sharpton on October 3.
Although MSNBC has previously disciplined hosts for similar infractions, the network has not yet disclosed its decision in Sharpton’s instance.
Phil Griffin, the president of MSNBC, reportedly suspended hosts Keith Olbermann and Joe Scarborough in 2010 for contributing to political causes. At the time, MSNBC’s policy on the subject was as follows:
“Anyone working for NBC News who takes part in civic or other outside activities may find that these activities jeopardize his or her standing as an impartial journalist because they may create the appearance of a conflict of interest.”
“Participation in or donations to political campaigns or organizations that support divisive viewpoints are examples of such behaviors. The policy also said, “You should notify the president of NBC News or his designee in advance of any such potential conflicts and get their prior approval.”
Whether the network’s policy has changed since then is unknown.
The covert payments, which were only made public in the Federal Election Commission records after Harris lost the 2024 presidential election, have reportedly angered Sharpton’s colleagues.
In a statement to Fox News Digital, a former MSNBC staffer claimed, “No one is surprised that anybody at MSNBC was supporting Harris. This seems like even more absurdity. You must be fooling me, don’t you? This is strange.
“Harris had the option to interview Al Sharpton, and the outcome would have been the same… What are you paying for, though? The employee went on, “There’s no way that this can’t seem strange.”
There is widespread knowledge that Sharpton is allowed a “wide berth” and “not held to the same journalistic standard” as the other members of the MSNBC staff, the MSNBC employee added. The source believes that the situation still has the scent of a “pay-to-play” plan, though.
The worker made the following observation:
“This feels a little unclean.” These incidents occur, but they don’t frequently resurface on MSNBC. As if no one really cares… I would say that there is a deeper disappointment with this one. There’s a feeling that this is unnecessary. This has a gritty, disgusting vibe about it.
“Those I have spoken to have expressed a feeling that something is amiss and that action has to be taken. I have no idea what that thing is. A substantial sum of money! That is not a trivial issue. They said, “It just doesn’t sit well with people.”
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