What You Need to Know: Friday, April 5
Ronna McDaniel is out at NBC, Easter and Transgender Day of Visibility overlap, the solar eclipse inspires weird theories, and bird flu is back in the news
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What happened to Ronna McDaniel?
The hiring On March 22, NBC News announced that Ronna McDaniel, the former chairwoman of the Republican National Committee, would be hired as a political analyst. McDaniel announced her resignation from the RNC in late February following scrutiny over her “handling of party finances and grassroots efforts,” as reported by NBC News. Upon hiring McDaniel, one NBC News executive told staff, “It couldn’t be a more important moment to have a voice like Ronna’s on the team,” reflecting the media outlet’s desire to engage both conservative and liberal voices on their network.
The firing On March 26, just five days after NBC News announced her hiring, McDaniel was removed from her contributor position. When announcing the decision, NBC Universal News Group Chairman Cesar Conde “apologized to staff members who felt let down by the hire, acknowledging he had signed off on it,” but insisted the network “remained committed to centering “voices that represent different parts of the political spectrum.” NBC’s hiring of McDaniel sparked considerable backlash from hosts of MSNBC’s “Morning Joe” and MSNBC’s Rachel Maddow, who compared the hiring to “a mobster [working] at a D.A.’s office.” MSNBC staff criticized McDaniel’s statements surrounding the attempts to overturn the 2020 election. While McDaniel never explicitly endorsed Trump's claims of election theft, she had previously expressed doubts about the fairness of Biden's victory. Staff members expressed disappointment at what they saw as NBC’s complacency with McDaniel’s election integrity claims. Since McDaniel did not breach the terms of her contract, she likely expects to be paid the signing rate of $300,000 for two years annually, according to Politico.
How are media outlets supposed to navigate diverse perspectives? As noted by the New York Times, McDaniel’s hiring and subsequent firing reflects media outlets’ struggle to navigate an increasingly polarized political climate. Specifically, media outlets are juggling monetary concerns and journalistic obligations while covering a political landscape where 2020 election denialism remains a prominent topic of discussion.
Tune into this episode of the New York Times, The Daily, to hear more about Ronna McDaniel and NBC News
What is Transgender Day of Visibility, and why was it controversial this year?
What happened? On March 29, President Biden released a statement proclaiming March 31 Transgender Day of Visibility, calling “upon all Americans to join us in lifting up the lives and voices of transgender people throughout our Nation and to work toward eliminating violence and discrimination based on gender identity.” This calendar year, March 31 overlapped with Easter. Transgender Day of Visibility has been celebrated on March 31 since 2009, while Easter falls on a different date each year.
What was the response? Several prominent Republican and right-affiliated individuals disapproved of President Biden’s statement, claiming Easter should be reserved for the Christian celebration, leading to an increase in anti-trans rhetoric across social media platforms this week. House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) called Biden’s statement “outrageous and abhorrent,” claiming that the “Biden White House has betrayed the central tenet of Easter.” Karoline Leavitt, the Trump campaign’s press secretary, stated, “We call on Joe Biden’s failing campaign and White House to issue an apology to the millions of Catholics and Christians across America who believe tomorrow is for one celebration only — the resurrection of Jesus Christ.” LGBTQ+ advocacy group GLAAD pushed back against criticism, claiming, “The date of Easter moves each year, while Trans Day of Visibility is always recognized on March 31.”
Wait…Why are there solar eclipse conspiracy theories?
When is the solar eclipse? On April 8, a total solar eclipse — the covering of the sun entirely by the moon — will start at 1:07 pm EDT in Mexico and end in Maine around 3:30 pm EDT. A partial eclipse will be visible across the United States for those not in the eclipse's direct path. Medical professionals advise individuals viewing the eclipse to wear proper protective glasses, as vision loss can happen within a few hours or days after looking directly at the sun.
And we’ve got conspiracy theories about it? InfoWars host Alex Jones, in light of the upcoming eclipse, warned followers on X: “Major Events Surrounding The April 8th Solar Eclipse. Masonic rituals planned worldwide to usher in New World Order.” The post received over 3,000 reshares and one million views. In another post, Jones claimed that several counties in Texas and Oklahoma would utilize the solar eclipse to “usher in a billionaire-led new world order.” While it is true that these counties did issue cautionary statements in preparation for the eclipse, the warning serves as normal public health messaging. Other social media users claimed that nefarious actors would engage in satanic worship during the eclipse to initiate a totalitarian world order. There is no evidence of these conspiracy theories and Jones is a well-known promoter of disinformation.
Bird flu…. again?
What happened? On April 1, the Texas Department of State Health Services announced that one individual working on a dairy farm in Texas was infected with the H5N1 strain of bird flu after cows tested positive the week before. However, it remains uncertain whether the worker’s infection originated from the cows or the animal that infected the cows. The infected individual’s main symptom was pink eye. This is the second human case of bird flu detected in the United States. The first case occurred in 2022 and involved a man in a Colorado state prison who was exposed to the virus while working on a poultry farm. According to the CDC, the transmission of this particular strain of bird flu to humans is rare, but fatal in over 50 percent of infections.
Should I be worried? Researchers attribute the recent uptick in avian flu cases among livestock to birds carrying out spring migration patterns, noting, “These birds are doing their spring migration. They may be shedding the virus.” Researchers also note, "Right now, the H5N1 strain does not appear to be airborne, and the virus does not appear to have mutated to spread between cows, which is important.” Health officials maintain that the risk to humans remains relatively low and advise against eating raw or unpasteurized dairy products. The CDC also has a stockpile of vaccines to treat bird flu and a ready supply of antiviral drugs such as Tamiflu, which is effective against avian flu.