By Linda Ge, TheWrap.com October 30, 2015 @ 10:13 am
Getty ImagesRNC suspends partnership in letter from Reince Priebus to Andy Lack
UPDATE 10:31 a.m. PT: NBC has responded to the RNC’s decision, saying in a statement: “This is a disappointing development. However, along with our debate broadcast partners at Telemundo we will work in good faith to resolve this matter with the Republican Party.”
The Republican National Committee (RNC) has suspended its partnership with NBC over the CNBC Republican debate the cable news network hosted Wednesday.
The announcement was made by Priebus in a letter to NBC News boss Andy Lack.
See the full letter below. More to come…
Dear Mr. Lack,
I write to inform you that pending further discussion between the Republican National Committee (RNC) and our presidential campaigns, we are suspending the partnership with NBC News for the Republican primary debate at the University of Houston on February 26, 2016. The RNC’s sole role in the primary debate process is to ensure that our candidates are given a full and fair opportunity to lay out their vision for America’s future. We simply cannot continue with NBC without full consultation with our campaigns.
The CNBC network is one of your media properties, and its handling of the debate was conducted in bad faith. We understand that NBC does not exercise full editorial control over CNBC’s journalistic approach. However, the network is an arm of your organization, and we need to ensure there is not a repeat performance.
CNBC billed the debate as one that would focus on “the key issues that matter to all voters–job growth, taxes, technology, retirement and the health of our national economy.” That was not the case. Before the debate, the candidates were promised an opening question on economic or financial matters. That was not the case. Candidates were promised that speaking time would be carefully monitored to ensure fairness. That was not the case. Questions were inaccurate or downright offensive. The first question directed to one of our candidates asked if he was running a comic book version of a presidential campaign, hardly in the spirit of how the debate was billed.
While debates are meant to include tough questions and contrast candidates’ visions and policies for the future of America, CNBC’s moderators engaged in a series of “gotcha” questions, petty and mean-spirited in tone, and designed to embarrass our candidates. What took place Wednesday night was not an attempt to give the American people a greater understanding of our candidates’ policies and ideas.
I have tremendous respect for the First Amendment and freedom of the press. However, I also expect the media to host a substantive debate on consequential issues important to Americans. CNBC did not.
While we are suspending our partnership with NBC News and its properties, we still fully intend to have a debate on that day, and will ensure that National Review remains part of it.
I will be working with our candidates to discuss how to move forward and will be in touch.
Sincerely,
Reince Priebus
Chairman, Republican National Committee
Not surprising that CNBC would pull a stunt like this because it (along with sister network MSNBC) is in the tank for the Obama regime and, as such, they’ll go out of their way to make the GOP candidates look bad. Serious lack of professionalism on their part.
Maybe this banning has more to do with Donald Trump’s cosy relationship with the RNC, and his axe to grind with NBC.
You can disagree with coverage by a network, but when you start network “shopping” for a network that YOU like, it makes a mockery of the whole media.
You right wingers are notorious for trying to control and manipulate the media, from Stephen Harper to George Bush and all the way down the food chain…
Maybe that’s why Trudeau junior is sitting on top and you’re “down there” looking up ?
“The Real Deal?” Talk about false advertising!
Nobody has to go out of their way to make the GOP look bad. They have that pretty much covered all on their own. None of these clowns is qualified for town dogcatcher let alone President of the United States.
And you ? bleeding heart, right winged (suck) radio announcer.
Republicans play the same victim card every election campaign. CNBC is the highest rated business channel in the U.S. because the corporate conservative Wall Street types watch it. In no way is that channel liberal and yet the ultra right wing has convinced themselves of that.
@ The Real Deal:
“You right wingers are notorious for trying to control and manipulate the media, from Stephen Harper to George Bush and all the way down the food chain…”
That’s exactly what the Left does and has done with the mainstream media for years, but it’s become prominent in recent years with the Obama regime in the US. Accusing conservatives of doing exactly what the Left does to get and keep power and control is nothing more than liberal projection.
“Maybe that’s why Trudeau junior is sitting on top and you’re “down there” looking up ?”
So I guess you voted for Mr. GQ, then. If so, that’s your choice, but remember this – those who voted for Trudeau based primarily on either his name or his looks (as many first-time voters did) will get what they voted for, but they’ll find in the long run that it won’t necessarily be pretty.
@ Gary:
“Nobody has to go out of their way to make the GOP look bad. They have that pretty much covered all on their own.”
That would actually be the RINOs (AKA Democrats Lite) that the Democrats control who make the GOP look bad. It’s those that the Democrats can’t control (the conservatives) that they go out of their way to smear with help from a complicit and willing MSM.
@ Chris:
“CNBC is the highest rated business channel in the U.S. because the corporate conservative Wall Street types watch it. In no way is that channel liberal and yet the ultra right wing has convinced themselves of that.”
Right, and I’m Wayne Gretzky.
@Vancouver tv guy
I’m happy to see that you are all worked up, as a result of my post. LOL
As stated elsewhere on this site, I DID NOT VOTE in the last federal election, having missed the polling station due to work comittments
So, nice try, trying to link me to Trudeau junior. For the record, I am a card carrying member of no political party. However, since I am a working journalist, no one expects a “cream puff” interview from the Real Deal.
You seem like an awfully negative piece of sh*t, trashing Trudeau Junior, even though he has not even been elected as Prime Minister, yet.
I think that all elected officials deserve the chance to prove themselves, first, Liberals included.
Regarding my choice of politician in the last election, it was actually a Conservative member (surprise, surprise).
Dan Albas (in my honest opinion) typifies the type of 21st century politician that we need in this country.
Young, family man, dedicated to serving the community with no strings attached
Polite, honest, respectful of the local media. Full of integrity at every step.
Albas said in a recent interview he respects Trudeau as the new PM.
That says more about Albas than you, isn’t it true ?
Unfortunately, you can’t say the same with other politicians, these days.
This is why I say, don’t vote for the party, but vote for the devil you know !
@ The Real Deal:
“Worked up”? Really? Judging by your long-winded reply, it looks more like you’re the one who’s worked up.
For someone who claims not to be a member of any political party, you sure are quick to stick up for the Liberals (and Trudeau in particular). And if you’re a “working journalist”, then I’m Donald Trump.
“You seem like an awfully negative piece of sh*t, trashing Trudeau Junior, even though he has not even been elected as Prime Minister, yet.”
Actually, he already has been elected, he just hasn’t been sworn in yet. As far as the “negativity” goes, it’s actually small-l liberals (like those who support the Liberals, the NDP, the Greens and the Democrats) who enjoy fomenting negativity and thrive on it, not conservatives, so you might want to reconsider your words there.
“That says more about Albas than you, isn’t it true ?”
It definitely says more about him than about you, that much is clear.
“This is why I say, don’t vote for the party, but vote for the devil you know!”
Exactly why I voted Conservative two weeks ago. They’re not perfect, no, but they were the best choice I had going to the polling booth.
@The Real Deal
Are you actually following the US election or just blabbing the usual talking points from the lefty wackos. Truth of the matter is that the RNC hates Trump and wants him out of the race. They have their own candidate (not Trump) they want to run and everything they do to blow away Trump doesn’t work.
I had to multi-task that night and could only listen to the CNBC debate. A couple of the questions were snarky, but the biggest surprise was how few business/economic queries were tossed to the candidates. Jim Cramer tried to engage Ben Carson on ways to improve the health system, but the good doctor didn’t have much to say.
Becky Quick was woefully unprepared to counter pushback from Donald Trump that he hadn’t disparaged Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg’s stance on immigration. Quick folded like a reed in the wind when Trump denied the claim. She actually apologized. When CNBC factcheckers fed her the info that Trump’s webside had indeed teed off on Zuckerberg, it was 20 minutes later and viewers probably didn’t even hear her low-key citation.
The door is wide open for Fox Business, led by ex-CNBCer Maria Bartiromo to really pry observations on the Federal Reserve, fiscal policy, health care, too-big-to-fail banks etc. from the candidates. Maybe I’m jaundiced, but doubt many of the candidates will go on the record with solutions. It’s too easy for politicians to pivot and yak about red-meat issues totally unrelated to the question.
It’s funny how everything is left, right, up, down…pro this anti that and then the arguments unfold which is what the powers that shouldn’t be have already put into play. It’s called divide and conquer. The truth is it’s just a manipulated sideshow and things have already been decided. Just like the late George Carlin once said, it’s a big club and we ain’t in it.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rsL6mKxtOlQ
@ The Real Deal:
Your even longer, rambling and more pointless post than the one you posted last time tells me just one thing right there – you’re definitely a liberal, because only liberals would post comments that run on and on and on irrationally without saying anything of substance.
“So, what tv station would want to hire a loser like you, except the red-necked, psycho teevee network.”
You should be asking that about yourself. This certainly casts doubt on your claims of even being a “working journalist” to begin with.
“Again, you need to stop getting worked up about people who comment, honestly, on forums like these and remember to take your medications in a timely manner. LOL”
Perhaps you should take your own advice and stop projecting. Incidentally, any liberal who posts “LOL” in their posts as you did only shows themselves to be immature – and using “LOL” in a post is like the written equivalent of the sound Jerry Mouse makes when he laughs in the Chuck Jones-produced Tom & Jerry cartoons from the 1960s.
“Your moronic, negative comments about Trudeau and your hatred of everything other than right on the political scale shows a certain inclination for the psych ward.”
That’s exactly what could be said about your comments against conservatives in general, and they have a name for that – Harper Derangement Syndrome (much like Fox News Derangement Syndrome), a condition that afflicts liberals and turns them completely irrational when it comes to anything non-liberal.
“Again, you got your right winged ass kicked good in the last election for a good reason, tv guy.”
Blame those first-time voters who chose to vote for Trudeau 2.0 based primarily on either his name or his looks, not necessarily on the issues at hand (evidently you don’t pay much attention to Rebel Media either, at least they tell the other side to the stories that the MSM won’t due to most of the MSM being in cahoots with the left-leaning parties).
“Canadians are tired of your right winged, bullshit propaganda and the gestapo tactics of Harper and his former gang of thugs.”
Translation – “Leftists are tired of the truth and don’t want to hear it because they hate and fear the truth.” Also just so you know, the Gestapo was actually associated with the Nazis, who were themselves far-Left (that’s right, far-Left – even Hitler and Goebbels admitted that the Nazis were leftist, just like the Communists).
“Harper will go down in history as the worst Canadian Prime Minister, ever, even worse than ‘Lying” Brian Mulroney.”
Try telling that to the folks in Alberta and the rest of the West who got shafted by the original Trudeau (and are now being shafted by the Rachel Notley-led NDP in Wildrose Country as I write this).
“Your attitude also says a lot about the sorry state of Vancouver television and about the idiots who currently work in television.”
With an attitude like yours, I doubt that any station on the South Coast (or anywhere else) would want to employ you anyway (if you ever even did work in the industry, that is).
Notice to the Real Deal or anyone else who tries to post without a validated email, it will NOT happen again. Besides that, I find your language and name calling totally unacceptable.