NBC News has been in the headlines for all the wrong reasons recently, after the network’s decision to hire — and subsequently fire — former RNC chair Ronna McDaniel. The division’s chief — Cesar Conde — shared his thought process on the decision and the business as a whole in a recent profile.
In an interview with former CNN media reporter Brian Stelter for Fast Company, Conde stated his belief that NBC News has a business interest just as much as it has a journalism interest.
“We’re a business,” he said. “On the other hand, we also have this public trust and public mission that we take extraordinarily seriously.”
“We’re constantly balancing both,” Conde added. “And the reason I say that is because I tell people, if we are not financially sound, we cannot do great journalism.”
Stelter noted that he spoke to Conde before the controversy surrounding McDaniel, but shared that executive’s vision for the network was one of an all-encompassing view of the political sphere.
“Our philosophy is that we want to make sure we have something for everyone,” Conde said.
