Not only did NBC debate moderators give California Sen. Kamala Harris extra time during its June debate, it turns out twelve executives from NBC Universal and parent company Comcast gave her campaign cash too.
NBC was ready to crown Harris the victor after its two-night, Democratic debates June 26 and 27. In various programming the network heaped praise on the “
breakout star,” calling her “brave” and
“powerful.”
But NBC’s moderators broke their own debate rules by giving Harris more time than she was supposed to get, some of which she used to attack former Vice President Joe Biden and accuse him. The resulting exchange caused MSNBC host Chris Matthews to wonder if Biden could survive Harris’ “amazing night in history.”
Now, recently released Federal Election Commission data revealed Harris had another kind of help from NBC.
Money.
At least 12 NBCUniversal/Comcast executives donated to the Harris campaign in the months leading up to the debate. The FEC data included March and April 2019 donations, raising concerns about potential conflicts of interest.
Five news-related executives were of particular concern including three
executives who
provide oversight to NBC News and
two others who are in charge of Comcast’s political advertising sales.
...
The Society of Professional Journalists Code of Ethics clearly
states that journalists should “Avoid conflicts of interest, real or perceived. Disclose unavoidable conflicts.”
It also states that journalists should refuse credibility-harming “special treatment” and should “Avoid political and other outside activities that may compromise integrity or impartiality, or may damage credibility.”
NBC Universal had not responded to Media Research Center’s request for comment as of July 23, 2019.
NBC’s rules for the debate were that “candidates will have 60 seconds to answer questions and 30 seconds to respond to follow-ups. And there will be no opening statements, though candidates will have a chance to deliver closing remarks.”
In reality, there were multiple instances where moderators Chuck Todd and Rachel Maddow broke those rules.
...(article cites specific instances)...
Data released in July from
the Federal Election Commission revealed that at least 12 executives from NBC Universal or its parent company, Comcast Corporation, donated to the Harris campaign between January and early June 2019.
...(article goes into specifics of those executives)...