MSNBC's firing of Melissa Harris-Perry and minimization of José Diaz-Balart betrays network's values

Over the weekend Melissa Harris-Perry, professor, author and former MSNBC host of "Melissa Harris-Perry," wrote an email to her staff which was posted on Medium. In it, she explained her decision to not host any programming for her show over the weekend, effectively finishing a four-week process of freezing her out at the nominally liberal news channel. Studio executives, she explained, had ignored repeated e-mails and messages, leaving her feeling worthless. Moreover, after disapproving her choice to discuss Beyoncé's "Formation" video instead of covering the 2016 primaries, studio executives wrested editorial control from her and disinvited her from hosting the program. As Harris-Perry wrote in her email which would officially get her fired, "The purpose of this decision seems to be to provide cover for MSNBC, not to provide voice for MHP Show. I will not be used as a tool for their purposes. I am not a token, mammy, or little brown bobble head. I am not owned by Lack, Griffin, or MSNBC. I love our show. I want it back." The New York Times reported that "MSNBC, which significantly trails Fox News and CNN in ratings, is in the midst of an overhaul, pivoting away from its left-leaning identity toward hard news in the daytime hours."

As the Daily has sought to emphasize in this and recent semesters, good journalism necessitates a variety of voices, not just those of white, straight, cis-gendered men. The presence of people of color in newsrooms, like in music studios or television scripting sessions or the academy at the Oscars, pushes those organizations to report better and with a more intelligent ear to the truth. MSNBC is not only firing Melissa Harris-Perry, whose undoubted talent will go on to great things, but also has begun to freeze out José Diaz-Balart. MSNBC cancelled three of its shows this summer, with commentators such as Touré and Alex Wagner being disinvited from hosting and Reverend Al Sharpton being eased out of appearances. At best, these decisions at MSNBC are disappointing and, at worst, are indicative of one of the most disturbing changes in the world of television news right now.

MSNBC will obviously claim that there is no broader scheme against people of color at its channel -- it has been historically liberal--but facts are facts; two of its star hosts are in the process of leaving.

The New York Times' explanation is sound: in desperation, MSNBC is giving up on its so-called values in the name of "hard-hitting" news. What, one may ask, could be more pressing than discussing the deaths of black men and women at the hands of police, or the rights of immigrants and migrants, both inside the United States and coming to our borders? What is more in line with journalism's best traditions of excellent reporting in the name of muckracking justice than telling stories that others won't? MSNBC's decision to purge its ranks in order to copy a more commercially viable model may make economic sense, but when measured in terms of moral value and quality of journalism, their channel -- and their reporting -- will be found wanting.