Erik Wemple at The Washington Post reports that when the Rev. Al Sharpton was negotiating with MSNBC in 2011 for a nightly program, he made clear right away he wouldn’t stop agitating through his National Action Network (NAN). MSNBC President Phil Griffin proposed a nightly gig for Sharpton, the controversial figure stipulated, “I said, well, I’m still going to run NAN, I’m still going to be an activist.”
He said Griffin replied, “Put it in the contract. We’d never interfere with what you’re doing, your civil rights work.” The reverend ended up with a “carve out” from NBC News’s policies against political participation, unlike Joe Scarborough and Keith Olbermann.
This news surfaced last night during a Sharpton appearance at the Martin Luther King Jr. Library in Washington at an event to promote his new book, "The Rejected Stone: Al Sharpton and the Path to American Leadership." Wemple (and most others) don’t seem to realize Sharpton is referring to himself as Jesus with the “rejected stone has become the cornerstone” line in Scripture.
Dressed in a gray suit and blue tie, Sharpton discussed how he ended up in talks with MSNBC: Paula Madison, the since-departed chief diversity officer for NBCUniversal, suggested to Sharpton that he do on MSNBC something along the lines of what Jesse Jackson had done at CNN, where Jackson had hosted a weekly program, "Both Sides," from 1992 to 2000.
Sounded good to Sharpton, who got a series of tryouts.
After he'd proven himself a bit on air, Sharpton had breakfast with Griffin. "He said, I'm going to be very honest with you, Reverend. I don't like to do things that's already been done. He said this idea of doing what CNN did with Jesse 20 years ago - I don't like that," recalled Sharpton in last night's event. That meant no weekly current-affairs program, but rather a daily one.
When he found out he'd gotten the 6 p.m. slot, Sharpton was delighted. "Great! All the people who rejected me get off work at about 5:00," Sharpton said. By 6 p.m, he said, they'd be "looking at me, the rejected stone."
