MSNBC

For a left leaning viewpoint on the Israel-Palestine conflict, we analyzed MSNBC and its various programs and social media accounts over the past year.  In an interview discussing media and politics with Esquire, former President Bill Clinton jokingly remarked about MSNBC, “Boy, it really has become our (liberal) version of Fox” (Mirkinson, 2012).  No doubt that this notion galls those involved with the network, but it is an astute albeit humorous observation on the part of the former Head of State. MSNBC has carved out a niche of left leaning viewers since it’s launch in 1996. As such, it would not be farfetched to expect MSNBC to exhibit a propensity for favorable coverage on Palestine and negative coverage for Israel. Yet, it does not suffice to say that MSNBC has a pro-Palestinian lean. When compared with other networks like Fox, of course MSNBC displays a much more liberal lean on the issue. In the American market for news MSNBC is the most pro-Palestinian network, but they do not go far enough to be neutral or even pro-Palestine by the standards of some contributors.

Taking a look at MSNBC’s choices involving correspondents and contributors certainly exposes a possible disconnect between the network’s idealized stance on the Israel-Palestine conflict versus its practical business stance. The summer of 2014 and the month of July in particular presented MSNBC with several touchy situations pertaining to the issue.  The July 21 edition of MSNBC’s “Ronan Farrow Daily”, featured Rula Jebreal, an Italian-Palestinian journalist who frequently contributed to MSNBC (Wemple 2014).  During the Monday broadcast, Jebreal lambasted MSNBC for what she considered to be pro-Israel bias. “We are disgustingly biased on this issue,” charged Jebreal. Mrs. Jebreal was given another chance to rehash her views on MSNBC’s bias on a July 22nd sit down with anchor Chris Hayes. Jebreal was referred to as a “Palestinian Journalist” by the on screen graphic. This designation differs greatly from her label a mere day before, “MSNBC contributor” (Wemple 2014).  

Ayman Mohyeldin would be an obvious choice for any network who needed a correspondent on the ground in the Arab world. He is fluent in Arabic, he has maintained a network of numerous contacts in the region, and he has a favorable reputation that has earned him a large following online. He has contributed on MSNBC and other NBC networks numerous times. He covered Israeli airstrikes in 2012 for NBC News, and most recently he gave an emotional report on an Israeli attack that killed four Palestinian children on a beach. Why then did NBC decide to pull Mohyeldin out of Gaza right before the IDF’s July offensive aimed at rooting out Hamas, the answer according to NBC, “Safety Concerns”.

Mohyeldin is unashamedly pro-Palestinian. As recently as 2012 he has been calling for the U.S. to “rein in Israel” and to acknowledge Hamas as a legitimate entity of governance (Schwartz 2012).  He rejects the notion that Hamas uses human shields and echoes Hamas reasons for fighting in the manner they do. NBC caught serious flak for pulling him out of Gaza (Calderone, 2014). The network took their pro-Palestinian voice out of Palestine, and that seems a bit counterintuitive to some and outright pro-Israeli to many more. As of November 20th 2014 Mohyeldin confirmed via Twitter that he will join MSNBC in New York to serve as a fill in anchor and frequent correspondent (Stetler 2014).

NBC Universal knows its market. It has mainstream networks like NBC and CNBC, which cater to most of its consumer base, and then it has MSNBC for the portion of its base that respond favorably to a leftist tilt. Rula Jebreal and Ayman Mohyeldin are of course not the only foreign correspondents that have been the subject of controversy, but they are the most recent. They do not line up with the majority of the American public on the issue of Israel and Palestine according to this July 2014 Gallup Poll (Beauchamp 2014).

That is why correspondents like Jebreal and Mohyeldin are relegated to MSNBC, the liberal arm of NBC Universal. They do not shock as many people on MSNBC because the viewers share their sentiments. Jebreal’s attack on MSNBC for their pro-Israel bias proves that there are exceptions to this, however.  NBC just like every other network indexes its coverage to match the popular stance taken by respected political figures. They will not lead the dissent on the issue, the most they will do is echo disagreement expressed by opposition forces that have political clout. (Graber 306.) They know that on MSNBC they have to lean left for their viewers, but when that lean is as unpopular as supporting Palestine in favor of Israel what is a network to do? Very simply, give off the appearance of leaning left by keeping journalists like Mohyeldin and Jebreal on your network. On the issue of Israel and Palestine MSNBC knows where its bread is buttered, and so they are more biased towards Palestine than other networks, but overall they wisely lean pro-Israeli in their coverage.