MSNBC executives have told talent “We need to do better” in the wake of the company firing analyst Matthew Dowd for his comments in the immediate aftermath of Charlie Kirk’s assassination.
In a letter addressed to Comcast NBCUniversal employees sent Friday morning, Comcast CEO Brian Roberts, Comcast President Mike Cavanagh, and NBCUniversal spin-off VERSANT prospective CEO Mark Lazarus wrote the following:
“You may have seen that MSNBC recently ended its association with a contributor who made an unacceptable and insensitive comment about this horrific event,” they said. “That coverage was at odds with fostering civil dialogue and being willing to listen to the points of view of those who have differing opinions. We should be able to disagree, robustly and passionately, but, ultimately, with respect. We need to do better.”
During MSNBC’s coverage of the Charlie Kirk shooting Wednesday afternoon, Dowd, 64, first suggested someone could have been “firing their gun in celebration.” He then said of the 31-year-old Kirk, “He’s been one of the most divisive, especially divisive younger figures in this who is constantly pushing this sort of hate speech aimed at certain groups.”
He added, “I always go back to hateful thoughts lead to hateful words, which then lead to hateful actions. I think that’s the environment we’re in… You can’t stop with these awful thoughts you have and then saying these awful words and then not expect awful actions to take place.”
Republican politicians were quick to pounce on Dowd’s comments.
The executives praised Kirk in their letter, saying, “Regardless of whether you agreed with his political views, his words and actions underscore the urgency to maintain a respectful exchange of ideas—a principle we must champion.”
There has been vocal disagreement online about how the media has covered Kirk in the wake of his killing. Ezra Klein wrote an obituary for The New York Times titled “Charlie Kirk Was Practicing Politics the Right Way” that similarly characterized Kirk as an organizer who wanted to “maintain a respectful exchange of ideas.”
Dowd believes MSNBC brass catered to right-wing mob attacks. In a Substack article published Friday, Dowd wrote that he couldn’t believe his thoughts could be misconstrued, and added “The Right Wing media mob ginned up, went after me on a plethora of platforms, and MSNBC reacted to that mob.”
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