There’s still a red line for journalists. The Ronna McDaniel mess proves it

Just three days after her first on-air appearance, NBCUniversal announced that former Republican National Committee Chair Ronna McDaniel “will not be an NBC News contributor.”

It’s a rare victory in the fight against disinformation and what may be most charitably described as “bullshit artists” being further integrated into a broadly distrusted news media. It’s also an even rarer victory in the fight between journalists defending their integrity versus management more interested in boosting ratings at a time when the loss of journalism jobs continues at a record pace.

It seems likely that McDaniel, who was awarded a two-year contract, will receive around $30,000 per minute for her single paid appearance on “Face the Nation.” Let’s hope that cutting a $600,000 check to someone who probably spent more time in the makeup chair than in front of the cameras might prompt NBC News’ management to think twice about their next stunt hire.

For the moment, there still seems to be a red line that the owners and managers of news outlets cannot cross. Paid pundits who support the overthrow of our government and an end to democracy will have to go back to their natural home: Fox News.