Get updates delivered to you daily. Free and customizable.
New York Post
CNN’s Jake Tapper rips MSNBC for skipping RNC: ‘We’re here live … some other networks just have a big LED’
By Alexandra Steigrad,
2024-07-19
CNN anchor Jake Tapper took a swipe at MSNBC’s controversial move to cover the Republican National Convention remotely — using big LED screens behind its anchors to make it appear as if they were broadcasting from the event.
From the convention floor in Milwaukee Thursday night, Tapper introduced Florida Senator Marco Rubio, who told the CNN panel: “Thank you guys, and you’re actually here live.”
“We’re live as opposed to some other networks that just have a big LED, who shall remain nameless,” Tapper said, taking a thinly veiled jab at MSNBC.
CNN’s Jake Tapper ripped MSNBC for not being at the RNC and instead using LED screens to appear that their anchors were broadcasting from the convention floor. MSNBC
While MSNBC did deploy some reporters to the convention floor, the network’s panel of hosts did not travel to Milwaukee and instead broadcast their commentary in front of a screen of showing the audience at the RNC, giving viewers at home the impression that they were live on location.
Several news outlets criticized MSNBC for making it appear as if the hosts such as Maddow, Jen Psaki and Joy Reid, were at the convention and accused the network of misleading viewers.
In an article titled on Wednesday , “Is Maddow in Milwaukee? No, That’s an LED Screen on MSNBC,” The New York Times wrote that “MSNBC’s decision to place its Manhattan-based anchors in front of a live feed of the convention floor created some odd, and arguably misleading, moments.”
“If news organizations don’t represent where they are clearly, then how is the audience to have faith and confidence in the actual content of the reporting?” media veteran and former CNN Washington Bureau Chief Frank Sesno told the outlet.
MSNBC’s Rachel Maddow (right), Joy Reid (center) and Jen Psaki (left) broadcast their RNC coverage from New York, using an LED screen that made it appear as if the trio was at the convention. MSNBC
“It can feel like a frivolous thing — oh, well, gee, we’re just using the pictures behind them — but there’s something profoundly important here,” he added.
A rep for MSNBC rejected suggestions that the remote set was misleading to viewers, explaining that “at the top of every broadcast, hosts identify themselves as being in New York or at MSNBC headquarters.
CNN sent a slew of anchors and reporters to the RNC, unlike MSNBC, which dispatched a handful of reporters. MSNBC
MSNBC only sent anchors Stephanie Ruhle, host of the 11 p.m. nightly show “The 11th Hour with Stephanie Ruhle,” and Katy Tur, the daytime host of “Katy Tur Reports,” to the convention at Fiserv Forum.
MSNBC reporter Jacob Soboroff was also in Milwaukee, where he was told to “just get out of here” by Donald Trump Jr during a heated interview about immigration during Monday opening night. The president’s son blasted the network as “clowns.”
The thin roster of on-site MSNBC journalists paled in comparison to rival CNN’s hefty presence in the key battleground state. Jake Tapper, Dana Bash, Anderson Cooper, Kaitlan Collins, Chris Wallace and other panelists are providing coverage and analysis.
For top headlines, breaking news and more, visit nypost.com.
Get updates delivered to you daily. Free and customizable.
It’s essential to note our commitment to transparency:
Our Terms of Use acknowledge that our services may not always be error-free, and our Community Standards emphasize our discretion in enforcing policies. As a platform hosting over 100,000 pieces of content published daily, we cannot pre-vet content, but we strive to foster a dynamic environment for free expression and robust discourse through safety guardrails of human and AI moderation.
Comments / 0