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NBC Is Building A Trump Normalization Machine

NBC Is Building A Trump Normalization Machine

Reprinted with permission from Media Matters for America.

After running a proto-fascist campaign, President-elect Donald Trump will bring his hate, misogyny, and bigotry to the White House at the end of the month. And when he does, NBC will have a machine ready to normalize him. Morning Joe host Joe Scarborough is cozying up to Trump, the network is literally paying Trump through Celebrity Apprentice, and MSNBC is reportedly in talks to hire Greta Van Susteren, a longtime Fox News host with a history of treating Trump with kid gloves. And now Megyn Kelly, who famously buried the hatchet with Trump by lobbing him a softball interview and then withheld information about him until after the election, is also going to work for NBC.

By any measure, the Trump normalization effort at NBC begins at the top, with the network actually paying money to Trump as a result of his Celebrity Apprentice executive producer credit. The problem here is simple: NBC will have a fiduciary relationship with the president of the United States. The network now has an incentive to weigh aggressive reporting about the president-elect against what it might lose in revenue if Trump’s reputation is damaged. NBC, after all, is the network that had the hot mic tape of Trump bragging about sexual assault — but it’s not the outlet that broke that news.

The tangles of the Trump-NBC connection were reflected in Matt Lauer’s recent interview with new Celebrity Apprentice host Arnold Schwarzenegger, in which the two downplayed the conflict of interest posed by Trump’s role in the show. Far from raising concerns about a financial arrangement between a network and the president, Lauer instead teased the increasing personal involvement Trump could have on the show as the season goes on. That’s normalization, and it’s driven by a desire for profit margin, plain and simple. As the Trump administration draws nearer, we’re seeing signs that this approach could repeat itself in the news division.

Megyn Kelly

Megyn Kelly announced her move to NBC on Tuesday. Kelly’s schtick is old hat for those who watch Fox News closely. She’ll have one good moment that gets an absurd amount of press and defines the narrative, and she’ll follow it up by making numerous terrible remarks — often involving bigotry or race baiting of some kind — that mainstream journalists just seem to forget in the long run. In fact, promoting bigotry was something of a specialty for Kelly at Fox News, as she helped build her name by obsessively pushing the baseless conspiracy that the Obama administration had declined to pursue voter intimidation charges against the New Black Panther Party for racial and political reasons. She would later infamously declare that both Santa Claus and Jesus were white. As Gawker’s Sam Biddle put it, “To Megyn Kelly, black rage is pervasive when she wants you scared, insignificant when she wants you ignorant.”

The thing is, with a certain crowd of media elites, Kelly’s terrible remarks never stick the way the good moments do. Just look at all the mainstream positive puff pieces on Kelly. One is left to wonder how many of these people regularly watched her show.

Her experience with Trump during the 2016 election is typical Megyn Kelly: In the first presidential primary debate, she confronted Trump about his track record of insulting women. With that query, she cemented her reputation among two crowds: the media elites who loved it, and the “alt-right” misogynists who are railing against Kelly to this day.

But despite her very public feud with Trump, during the campaign, Kelly’s Fox News show was a perfect example of normalization. Even though she posed a tough question to Trump during the debate (and asked the occasional tough question to his surrogates), she also gave Trump a welcoming platform and reinforced the bigoted tropes that he built his campaign on.

Even weeks before the debate, Kelly had set the tone for her campaign, defending Trump’s racist remarks about immigrants by positively citing Ann Coulter’s book Adios America.

And then, just days after being showered with mainstream praise for her debate question, Kelly turned to disgraced former detective Mark Fuhrman for analysis about protests in Ferguson, MO. (Fuhrman is so racist that even Fox News host and Daily Caller founder Tucker Carlson has called him a bigot.) And in the weeks and months following the debate, while Trump raged about Kelly and the press ate it up, Kelly was mainstreaming a hate group, pushing bigotry against transgender people, complaining about a “thug mentality” in black communities, sneering at black protesters, and attacking a Department of Justice plan to address anti-Muslim rhetoric. Kelly blamed African-Americans who were the victims of police violence and even lashed out at one black protester for looking a police officer in the eyes. And all this was just in 2015, not to mention 2016. None of this behavior got the press that her big moment confronting Trump did.

And even when Kelly failed, it didn’t stick. Her prime-time show on Fox Broadcasting Co. last May was supposed to be a huge breakout moment. It was her chance to show she could be a “star” without the lower expectations that come with being a journalist on Fox News. Instead, the show was roundly considered a disaster, and it contained one of the worst Trump interviews of the entire election, up there with anything Sean Hannity aired. And yet, when news broke of Kelly moving to NBC, this catastrophe was largely forgotten.

That’s not all. Kelly met with Trump before the taping of that special and then withheld details about the meeting in order to make news with her book, Settle For More, released November 15. It was only after the election that Kelly revealed Trump was trying to bribe journalists behind the scenes. If Kelly’s secretive meetingwith Trump sounds familiar, it’s because her new colleague Joe Scarborough is playing the same game.

Joe Scarborough

Scarborough spent a good part of the election season carrying water for Trump. He questioned whether the timing of sexual assault allegations against Trump were “a coincidence.” He defended a Trump ad that the ADL condemned as anti-Semitic. He lied about Trump’s prior foreign policy positions. He mocked David Fahrenthold’s reporting for The Washington Post about the Trump Foundation. He called Trump’s racism and bigotry just part of a “character” that Trump was playing. He ignored Trump scandals. He excused Trump’s rhetoric, claiming Trump was “exhausted” from being on television. He credited Trump with a “dominating” debate performance. He dismissed Trump’s history of birtherism. He sneered at the idea that Trump was graded on a curve. He downplayed a comprehensive New York Times report on Trump’s treatment of women.

Like Kelly, when Scarborough and his co-host were given a high-profile prime-time interview with Trump, they completely dropped the ball, conducting a friendly chat rather than pressing him on any issue. (The casual tone continued when the cameras were off.) It’s no wonder that even a conservative radio host declared thatScarborough had “turned his show into a Trump Super PAC for six months.” An NBC pollster made a similar point. And Morning Joedevolved into a screaming match when Bill Kristol called out Scarborough for “rewriting history.”

From time to time, Scarborough was lucid about the danger Trump poses, even as late as August when Scarborough demanded the GOP ditch Trump as its nominee. Famously, Scarborough told viewers that Trump had allegedly asked during a security briefing why America cannot use its nuclear weapons. But Scarborough’s occasional Trump skepticism never lasted.

Since the election, Scarborough and Brzezinski have been all in for Trump. They have met with him in person and even boasted on air that they “speak frequently” with the president-elect. Scarborough said that he personally thinks Trump believes in climate science, despite evidence to the contrary. He also downplayed pro-Trump fake news, and he and Brzezinski both tried to whitewash the racism and bigotry out of Trump’s campaign.

Along with meeting with Trump and defending him on air, Scarborough and Brzezinski also regularly get scoops on his transition. In December, the pair, dressed in pajamas for their holiday show, broke the news that Trump was willing to start a nuclear arms race.

Scarborough also recently met with Trump at Mar-A-Lago during Trump’s New Year’s’ Eve party.

Scarborough denied being there for a party, telling CNN’s Brian Stelter that he was meeting with Trump to lobby for an on-air interview and that he was surprised to see people in tuxedos when he arrived. On Monday, he spoke with CNN’s Dylan Byers about the uproar over the incident, repeatedly invoking other reporters’ relationships with various politicians to defend himself.

Scarborough’s defensive answers to Byers give away one major problem with his close relationship with Trump: The need to protect Trump’s reputation can cloud Scarborough’s judgment. Morning Joe’s absurd defense of Trump’s position on climate change is a perfect example. With no proof in his favor, Scarborough simply asserted that Trump believes in climate science, ignoring mountains of evidence to the contrary.

Greta Van Susteren

Trump’s increasingly gushing coverage on MSNBC may soon not be limited to Morning Joe. MSNBC reportedly may hire former Fox News host Greta Van Susteren for its 6 p.m. hour (Update: Van Susteren’s move is now official). Van Susteren has given Trump a welcoming platform for years. Before the Republican primary, Trump appeared more times on Van Susteren’s On The Recordthan on the rest of the Fox News prime-time shows combined. During the Republican primary, Van Susteren had Trump on for over five hours, dwarfing other candidates. During these appearances, Trump pushed birtherism, claimed Obama didn’t write his own memoir, and made bigoted remarks about refugees. And Andrew Kaczynski chronicled more of Trump’s momentsfrom Van Susteren’s show.

To be fair, On The Record was not the worst on Fox News, and Van Susteren may well have been playing to the conservative audience. But the absolute worst Trump hagiographic moment during his campaign came during her “documentary” interview with his campaign. Here’s how the special looks when you take out the Trump family’s answers.

Onlookers harshly criticized the special, with MSNBC host — and potential future colleague — Chris Hayes declaring that it was reminiscent of state media under a dictator.

As of now, Van Susteren’s hiring is still a rumor and may not come to pass. But either way, a likely factor in MSNBC’s desire to add her to its lineup is her established track record of getting access to Trump, which she certainly didn’t accomplish because she subjected him to tough interviews.

What the future may bring

There are other problem spots on NBC News and MSNBC. Meet The Press fell for Trump’s spin on climate change, just as it bought his take on North Carolina’s anti-LGBTQ law. The show has also at various points ignored or glossed over stories like the Dakota Access Pipeline, the Trump University settlement, the investigation of the Trump Foundation, the proven lawbreaking at the Trump Foundation, the Democracy Spring protests, some of Trump’s sketchy ties to Russia, the EPA’s Clean Power Plan, and the nominationof Merrick Garland to the Supreme Court. The hosts did find time to let Iraq War architect Paul Wolfowitz relitigate the invasion. They also let Glenn Beck attempt to rehabilitate his reputation — twice. And it’s not just one show. The spectre of increasing Trump normalization talk on MSNBC brings to mind the network’s shady history in the first term of the Bush administration.

MSNBC’s prime-time voices like Chris Hayes, Rachel Maddow, and Lawrence O’Donnell are resisting efforts to normalize Trump. But it’s unclear whether they can win that fight with the leading voices at MSNBC and NBC News pushing the other way, much less with the network itself in bed with Trump. And if Trump puts net neutrality rules on the table, NBC’s parent company, Comcast, would surely have an interest.

All of this bears close watching. But the long and short of it is that the network seems primed to become a Trump normalization machine.

In short, Fox News finally has competition.

UPDATE: Greta Van Susteren’s MSNBC show “For The Record” will reportedly begin January 9.

IMAGE: Sarah Wasko/Media Matters

19 Things Trump Would Rather Do Than Attend Intelligence Briefings

19 Things Trump Would Rather Do Than Attend Intelligence Briefings

Nineteen things President-elect Donald Trump would rather do than attend the daily top-secret intelligence briefings:

1. Chat with Sean Hannity. Or Joe Scarborough, or Matt Lauer, or even Wolf Blitzer. Anybody who’ll put me on the air.

2. Hang out with my good friend Kanye West at Trump Tower. Get a photo taken with him in our spectacular lobby. Tell him how honored I am that he dyed his hair blonde, just like mine.

3. Sneak into Barron’s room while he’s at school and watch “Saturday Night Live,” which I secretly Tivo every week, even the reruns.

4. Go on Twitter and rant about how much I can’t stand “Saturday Night Live,” how incredibly NOT funny it is, especially the sketches where Alec Baldwin is supposedly playing me.

5. Call up my good friend Vladimir Putin to innocently inquire if he is aware of any wayward emails belonging to one “A. Baldwin” of midtown Manhattan. Also extremely important: Remember to thank the Vladster for recommending Rex Tillerson of Exxon Mobil to be my secretary of State.

6. Take Mitt Romney to dinner at another fancy restaurant, just to watch him grovel. Promise him he’s still in the running for a key post in my Cabinet.

7. Just for fun, go on Twitter and say how much I respect and admire Romney, and would be proud to have him on my team.

8. Call up Schwarzenegger to tell him he’s doing an amazing job on the new “Celebrity Apprentice.” Ask him if any of the contestants want to be in my Cabinet. Tell them they’ve got a better shot than Romney.

9. Jack up the rents in Trump Tower before the Secret Service signs its lease. Throw in a free gym membership for the agents assigned to protect me. Pence’s guys can use the Gold’s down the street.

10. Work on my official Enemies List. So far I’ve got Alec Baldwin, that loudmouth Carrier union guy from Indiana, some smart-ass college chick (no more than an 8!) who implied I didn’t respect women, and the 2.8 million people (most of them illegals, I bet!) who made me lose the popular vote to Hillary.

11. Continue my sincere outreach to worried minorities by asking Sofia Vergara or possibly Selena Gomez to drop by Trump Tower for a photo-op in our spectacular lobby. And if they want to do the blonde thing, like Kanye, that would be so amazing.

12. Attend my regular morning briefing about the occupancy rate at the new Trump hotel in Washington, D.C. Investigate why it’s not already booked solid for the next four years. Also extremely important: Leave a standing order that if Megyn Kelly ever checks in, put her in the noisiest room, the one next to the freight elevator and the ice machines.

13. Call up random foreign leaders and tell them how terrific they are. Remind Ivanka to help me with the pronunciations. Also, a map of the world might be useful.

14. Go on Twitter to rant about Boeing spending too much money on the new Air Force One 747s, since the damn things won’t even be finished in time for me to fly in them.

15. Pay Steve Bannon the five bucks I owe him after Boeing’s stock dropped like a rock. Ask him to make a list of other companies I should trash on Twitter late at night, when I can’t get to sleep.

16. Conduct regular staff meetings about my final Cabinet appointments. Ask if there are any remaining jobs I can pretend to discuss with Mitt Romney, just to jerk him around some more. See if we can get him to dye his hair blonde.

17. Continue talks with Donald Jr. and Eric about independently running my far-flung business empire while I’m president, to make sure there won’t be any conflicts of interest. Ha! Who am I kidding? I’m fond of those boys, but they’re not going to buy a box of paper clips without consulting me first.

18. Research the measurements of the Oval Office, to see if my tanning bed will fit.

19. Finish the guest list for my “Drain-the-Swamp Inaugural Ball.” Rent an 18-wheeler to deliver all those invitations to Goldman Sachs.

Also extremely important: Don’t seat those hicks from “Duck Dynasty” at the same table with Tom and Giselle Brady! Melania would cut me off for, like, ever.

IMAGE: Donald Trump greets supporters during his election night rally in Manhattan. REUTERS/Mike Segar

15 Things Trump Apparently Does—And Does Not—Have Time For

15 Things Trump Apparently Does—And Does Not—Have Time For

Reprinted with permission from AlterNet.

There are a finite number of hours in every day, making time the most precious commodity of all. That’s especially true for someone stepping into the role of leading a world superpower. Donald Trump, the guy who won the election, has 1,000 projects he cares deeply about— and 1,001 projects if you also count the presidency. Trump has to find ways to divvy up his time, prioritizing some things and letting others fall by the wayside. There are frivolous issues and issues of national importance, and Trump must choose which ones get his attention. If there’s anything we’ve learned since the election, it’s that he will absolutely, positively, always choose wrong.

Here’s a quick post-election look at the things Trump does have time to do, versus the things he apparently does not.

1. Does have time to: Meet with business partners.

Trump, who is as busy as all our children will be once his administration scraps the child labor laws, is juggling a lot. Last month, he barely had time to meet with his business partners on this sweet Indian luxury apartment deal they’re putting together. Somehow he made it to that meeting, “which included discussions… about possible additional real estate deals,” according to one of Trump’s business partners.

2. Does not have time to: Explain how he will divest from his many conflicts of interest.

Trump has hundreds of foreign and domestic business interests that almost definitely present dangerous and unprecedented conflicts with America’s interests. He’s had 18 months to explain how he plans to extricate himself from his various business holdings, but he is a very important person—the importantest—and he just hasn’t been able to find the time. Finally, he tweeted last month that he would be “holding a major news conference… December 15” aimed at clearing that whole thing up.

3. Does have time to: Meet with Kanye—instead of clearing that whole thing up.

Three days before the press conference, Trump apparently realized he was too busy to explain how he plans to divest from his holdings, probably because he has absolutely no plan to do any such thing. Instead, he cancelled the media briefing, and had his press person issue a vague statement about moving it to sometime in January. On Tuesday, he did manage to locate the time to met with Kanye West, bringing the world’s two most gigantic fragile egos together for a publicity stunt that surprised everyone for a nanosecond before making total sense. The Trump inauguration outfit has reportedly been trying to barter ambassadorships in exchange for inauguration performances from very famous musicians, and Kanye fits the bill. Kanye later tweeted that he and Trump met to discuss “multicultural” issues, which means they stared into each others’ eyes and mouthed the word “diversity” to one another for an hour.

4. Does not have time to: Tweet at his racist supporters to stop committing hate crimes.

A Trump victory wasn’t just a win for the KKK, David Duke, new-skool white nationalists, and other racists, all of whom were vocal supporters of his campaign. They represented a small minority of Trump voters. No, it was also a triumph for wholly unaffiliated racists, who made up the entirety of the rest of Trump’s white voters. All their hateful post-election exuberance has come at the cost of marginalized peoples’ safety, with nearly 900 hate crimes committed against Muslims, people of color, LGBT folks, immigrants and other vulnerable populations in just the 10 days following the election (and plenty more since then). Asked directly about the crimes during an interview with 60 Minutes, Trump offered a tepid, “Stop it.” Apparently, outside of that moment, he has not found a single minute to tweet a more emphatic condemnation.

5. Does have time to: Tweet complaints about Broadway plays, the media, retweet teenagers, block people who criticize him.

But he’s been able to find hours upon hours to send more than 100 other tweets, though! Since the election, Trump has used Twitter to harass stage actors, whine about bad restaurant reviews, retweet high schoolers, disrupt longstanding bipartisan foreign policy, voice opposition to constitutional rights, spread conspiracy disinformation, whine about how the media drives him to write his stupid tweets, and tell lie after lie, just like every time he opens his mouth IRL. He also he blocks everyday citizens who hurt his feelings because he is the world’s most uncomplicated narcissist.

6. Does not have time to: Release his taxes.

Trump said he was going to release his income taxes back in 2014, when he went on an Irish television show and declared, “If I decide to run for office, I’ll produce my tax returns, absolutely, and I would love to do that.” It’s so sad how secretly having a lot less money than you say you do, or being knee-deep in debt to the Russians, or not paying federal taxes for the last two decades has kept Trump from doing a thing he “would love to do” for all these years.

7. Does have time to: Watch every episode of Saturday Night Live.

Trump’s life is so hectic, it almost—almost—doesn’t leave him time to sit down every single Saturday night at 11:30pm sharp so he can catch SNL’s political cold open, featuring Alec Baldwin doing an impression of PEOTUS that Trump hates yet cannot bear to miss, feelings of arousal and anger simultaneously rising within him. Trump’s calendar is just a hair’s breadth away from being too crowded for him to get on Twitter before the episode is even over to hate-tweet at the show, enraged by its mockery and yet desperate for its negative attention.

8. Does not have time to: Explain Melania’s immigration violations.

Inconsistencies in Melania Trump’s immigration story, which officially holds that she followed the law to the letter when she arrived in the U.S. in the 1990s, have been covered by various outlets for months. In response, at a rally in South Carolina in August, Trump told an audience of supporters that Melania “has got it so documented” and that, to prove it, he would hold a “little news conference.” Unfortunately, both Trump and Melania got so slammed they didn’t have time for the press conference, and only had a moment to tweet out a letter written by the lawyer they keep on permanent retainer. (Here’s hoping that attorney invoices with regularity.) A November AP investigation found Melania took several early modeling jobs “before she had legal permission.” All of this would normally upset Trump supporters, who are notoriously xenophobic, but Melania is white so never mind.

9. Does have time to: Have useless revenge meetings with people out of spite.

Mitt Romney was very critical of Donald Trump during the campaign, saying he didn’t want to get behind “trickle-down racism,” and giving a speech in which he called Trump “a phony, a fraud” and lambasted his ideas as “flimsy” and “dangerous.” Then the election happened and Romney had a change of heart, for some reason. He was even reportedly being considered for the position of Secretary of State. Or maybe not. Roger Stone, a Trump adviser and longtime right-wing henchman who tweets stuff so racist even David Duke is impressed, now says the whole thing was just a big setup. “Donald Trump was interviewing Mitt Romney for Secretary of State in order to torture him,” Stone told (ugh) InfoWars. “To toy with him… Mitt Romney crossed a line.” The only souvenir from Trump and Romney’s peacemaking dinner is a photograph that captures the exact moment Romney’s soul exited his body.

10. Does not have time to: File and fight all those lawsuits he said he would.

During the pre-election period that was really just the start of our long national nightmare, Trump claimed he “never settles” lawsuits (lie). That’s why he planned to fight a fraud lawsuit against his failed university, which he maintained would be “an easy case to win.” After the election, Trump must have found that all his fighting time had dried up, and instead of heading to court decided to settle (like he almost always does). Trump did manage to scrape together the minutes to tweet, “The ONLY bad thing about winning the Presidency is that I did not have the time to go through a long but winning trial on Trump U. Too bad!”

11. Does have time to: Attend a costume party at a big-money donor’s house.

Robert Mercer is a billionaire hedge funder who gave $2 million to a pro-Trump super PAC run by his daughter, Rebekah, who also deserves credit for installing Steve Bannon and Kellyanne Conway on the team. Each year, the Mercers hold a very exclusive, lavish holiday party in Long Island, which Trump attended this year. The 2016 theme was “Heroes and Villains.” Trump stopped in for a few hours, wearing a super villain costume he made himself.

12. Does not have time to: Hold press conferences.

The last time Trump held a press conference was in July, when he graciously invited Russia to cyberattack Hillary Clinton and upset the democratic process. Since then he’s just been so swamped he hasn’t held a single press conference, a thing he and his team criticized Clinton for more than 70 times, not that hypocrisy means a damn thing to this administration.

13. Does have time to: Go on a ‘victory tour’ around the country.

Just after Trump’s win, the New York Times ran a feature that included this: “[Trump’s] aides say he has also expressed interest in continuing to hold the large rallies that were a staple of his candidacy. He likes the instant gratification and adulation that the cheering crowds provide, and his aides are discussing how they might accommodate his demand.” Staffers may have been concerned there wasn’t really much time for those rallies, considering Trump was so unprepared for his job Obama reportedly had to explain to him—this horrible orange nightmare who launched his political career by perpetuating a racist lie to undermine Obama’s presidency—what being president entails. But like he has so many times before, Trump cobbled together the hours and minutes, and is currently in the midst of needless “thank you” tour around the country. He found the time the same way anyone might—by doing a half-assed job at something else. In this case, leading the country.

14. Does not have time to: Attend daily intelligence briefings.

You do not have to make time for things you already know about, and Trump has said he already knows more than anyone else in the world about the U.S. military, ISIS and “the horror of nuclear.” This is why Trump doesn’t need to waste time with boring intelligence briefings every day—not when there are tweets to be sent and SNL to be rage-watched. Trump told Christopher Wallace recently that he doesn’t need to hear about the national security situation every day because he’s “like, a smart person.” Instead, his motto is, “Call me if something changes.” Which is just a really fantastic attitude for a president to have. Like, the best.

15. Does have time to: Executive-produce the reality TV show ‘Celebrity Apprentice.’

You might worry that with all he already has going on, Trump’s refusal to leave his position as executive producer of NBC’s “Celebrity Apprentice” might compromise the quality of his work on other projects, like being the president that 60 million idiots voted for. That’s a groundless worry, because Kellyanne Conway says Trump will do his “Apprentice” stuff in his “spare time.” What’s also cool about this—aside from the image it broadcasts to the world—is that NBC is now in a joint money-making venture with a president its news bureau is supposed to scrutinize. What could go wrong? Aside from everything?

Kali Holloway is a senior writer and the associate editor of media and culture at AlterNet.

IMAGE: U.S. President-elect Donald Trump speaks at a rally as part of their “USA Thank You Tour 2016” in Cincinnati, Ohio, December 1, 2016 . REUTERS/William Philpott

Ethics Experts Concerned Over NBC’s ‘Mind-Boggling’ Ties To Trump

Ethics Experts Concerned Over NBC’s ‘Mind-Boggling’ Ties To Trump

Reprinted with permission from Media Matters.

The Associated Press highlighted how President-elect Donald Trump’s financial ties to NBC have created new concerns among ethics experts about conflicts NBC might face when “a company that has a news division is covering the president of the United States who has an interest in a show on that network.”

Trump will remain an executive producer of NBC’s The Celebrity Apprentice, creating an unprecedented conflict of interest between a sitting president and a major news outlet. NBC News, MSNBC, and CNBC will be reporting on President Trump at the same time that their corporate parent will stand to benefit from Trump’s reputation and popularity. This places NBC’s journalists in an untenable position.

In a December 9 article, The Associated Press highlighted ethics experts and journalism professors who voiced concern over NBC’s ties to Trump. Marcy McGinnis, a former CBS News executive and journalism professor, explained the problem, calling it “a clear conflict of interest to me that a company that has a news division is covering the president of the United States who has an interest in a show on that network.” She termed the arrangement “mind-boggling on so many levels.” Aly Colon, an “expert in journalist ethics,” noted people’s desire to “believe in an independent news division not affected by business ties.” From the AP:

Donald Trump’s continued stake in television’s “Celebrity Apprentice” adds to questions about potential conflicts between his personal and public responsibilities, while raising new ones about NBC.

If it continues, journalists at NBC News will be covering a president for a corporation whose entertainment division retains ties to the man. The reality show, which returns to NBC’s schedule on Jan. 2 with Arnold Schwarzenegger replacing Trump as host, includes the president-elect as one of its executive producers.

[…]

“It’s just so mind-boggling on so many levels,” said Marcy McGinnis, a former CBS News executive who taught journalism at Stony Brook University. “It is a clear conflict of interest to me that a company that has a news division is covering the president of the United States who has an interest in a show on that network.

“How do you remain unbiased?” she asked. “The onus is on NBC to say, ‘we can’t do this.'”

People want to believe in an independent news division not affected by business ties, said Aly Colon, an expert in journalist ethics at Washington & Lee University who once worked in NBC’s standards department. He said he’s sure the issues are being considered at NBC.

“A lot of people find it difficult to believe there is a wall between news and entertainment,” Colon said.

The liberal watchdog Media Matters for America on Friday launched a petition drive calling on NBC to cut ties with Trump, saying reporters are put in an untenable spot and that no amount of disclosure is enough when a network is financially invested in the president.

Sign Media Matters’ petition telling NBC to Dump Trump.

IMAGE: Executive Producer and host Donald Trump (C) speaks about the NBC television show “The Celebrity Apprentice” during the TCA presentations in Pasadena, California, January 16, 2015. REUTERS/Lucy Nicholson