Rachel Maddow and other top MSNBC hosts are reportedly covering the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee using LED screens from the liberal network’s studios in New York City.
Maddow, who has been directing the network’s coverage of the Republican Convention this week, has appeared on air multiple times with the convention in the background, leading the viewing public to assume she was on the ground in Milwaukee. But Maddow and many of her colleagues, including Nicolle Wallace, Jen Psaki, Joy Reid and other MSNBC anchors, were not even in the city, let alone at the convention site. The New York Times reported. Wednesday.
“Instead, they broadcast from a studio in midtown Manhattan, with LED screens behind them projecting live footage from the convention center,” the Times report said.
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To the average viewer this week, Rachel Maddow appears to be covering the Republican National Convention live from Milwaukee, but she and several other hosts are broadcasting from New York City. (Screenshot: MSNBC)
“The arrangement, which several veteran TV news producers described as unconventional, creates a kind of trompe l’oeil effect: A quick glance at the screen gives the impression that MSNBC’s top anchor is covering the convention in person,” the article continues, a French phrase used to describe highly realistic yet visually deceptive works of art.
MSNBC announced last week that Maddow and other top political anchors would not travel to Milwaukee for the convention. Instead, the network is sending “The 11th Hour” host Stephanie Ruhle and daytime host Katy Tur, The Times reported.
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Several NBC News reporters and correspondents were dispatched to Milwaukee for live coverage, including “Today” host Savannah Guthrie and “Nightly News” host Lester Holt. and Jacob Soboroff, a correspondent who clashed with Donald Trump Jr. during an interview at the convention that became a talking point. MSNBC is the left-leaning cable division of NBC.
The New York-based MSNBC hosts did not tell viewers they were in Milwaukee during the live broadcast, but “made subtle references to their location throughout the hours-long evening broadcast,” the Times reported.
Rachel Maddow sits with her fellow panelists on the second night of the Republican National Convention.
An MSNBC spokesman told The Times that “at the beginning of every broadcast, our hosts make clear whether they are in New York or at MSNBC headquarters,” but critics say live footage of the lively convention behind the hosts gives a different impression to viewers tuning in throughout the night.
“News organizations have to be very careful and very transparent about what they say and how they say it,” former CNN Washington bureau chief Frank Sesno told The Times. “It may seem like a trivial thing, like just using a background photo, but there’s something crucial here: If news organizations don’t clearly communicate their positions, how can viewers have trust and confidence in the actual content of the report?”
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Maddow said she and her colleagues were “at MSNBC headquarters” when the broadcast began at 7 p.m. ET on Monday. “About two hours later, she told correspondents, ‘Greetings from MSNBC headquarters in New York.'” At 8 p.m. Tuesday, Chris Hayes welcomed viewers with, ‘Good evening from New York,'” the report said.
At one point on Monday, Guthrie and Psaki were shown side by side on NBC as they gave their analysis to the parent network, giving viewers the impression that they were both on the ground, though only Guthrie was actually in Wisconsin.
When asked by the Times whether they thought the LED screens could be misleading, an MSNBC spokesman said “no.”
Screenshot: Rachel Maddow and Jen Psaki cover the second day of the Republican Convention on MSNBC.
The Times said that financial constraints were not the reason the anchors did not attend the convention, but noted that it is expensive to broadcast the convention live and that some networks have scaled back their coverage plans for the convention compared to 2016.
Former President Trump is scheduled to formally accept the 2024 Republican nomination on Thursday.
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MSNBC did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment.
