As a preview to a segment that’s going to air on Thursday night’s NBC Nightly News, NBC’s Today show hyped an interview between correspondent Cynthia McFadden and a disgruntled former Fox News guest booker, Abby Grossberg. Brushing over why the behind-the-scenes employee was fired without any details, the network lionized her lawsuits against cable’s number one news station. Something they refused to do when CNN fired their primetime poster boy Chris Cuomo and he sued them for $125 million.
“This morning, we are hearing from the former Fox News producer at the center of a legal battle over Dominion Voting Systems,” co-anchor Craig Melvin announced. “Abby Grossberg is suing the network alleging that she was pressured by Fox to give misleading testimony during a deposition in the case.”
NBC presented no evidence to support Grossberg’s claims.
In the soundbite pulled from the interview with Grossberg, McFadden brushes over why Grossberg was fired:
MCFADDEN: People said that you're a lousy journalist, that your behavior was shameful, because, among other things, you had said and replied to a question that you did not believe that it was your responsibility to fact check whether or not what someone was going to say on the broadcast was telling the truth?
ABBY GROSSBERG: It felt awful. I mean, it felt terrible, because I knew that I was bullied, intimidated, and coerced into saying that, just to keep my job and stay at the company. And a question a lot of people would have is, why would you do that?
MCFADDEN: Why would you do that?
GROSSBERG: Because I made the decision to keep my job, so that I could keep paying my bills. It seemed like the safer decision for me at the time.
If a loyal NBC viewer wanted to find out anything related to why Grossberg was fired, they would need to read down to paragraph 43 (of 48 total) in their online report. “Fox fired her last week, alleging she had disclosed privileged information in her legal claims despite being warned that she was ‘not authorized to disclose it publicly,’” was all they wrote about it.
While NBC did give airtime to CNN firing their highest-rated primetime anchor, Chris Cuomo on December 4, 2021, as they should have, they failed to give oxygen to his $18 million lawsuit to recover the rest of his contract, which was announced two days later.
In March 2021, that figure was revised upward to $125 million to account for the loss of future earnings. NBC didn’t give the amendment airtime either despite Cuomo also suggesting he was wrongfully terminated.
What’s the difference? Fox outperforms NBC’s sister network MSNBC, while CNN is in a distant third place behind them.
It will be interesting to see what more NBC chooses to share on air from McFadden’s interview. And also what got left on the cutting room floor.
NBC’s hype for Grossberg was made possible because of lucrative sponsorships from Neutrogena and Verizon. Their contact information is linked.
The transcript is below, click "expand" to read:
NBC’s Today
March 30, 2023
9:03:58 a.m. EasternCRAIG MELVIN: This morning, we are hearing from the former Fox News producer at the center of a legal battle over Dominion Voting Systems. Abby Grossberg is suing the network alleging that she was pressured by Fox to give misleading testimony during a deposition in the case. In a broadcast exclusive, Grossberg spoke with NBC's Cynthia McFadden.
[Cuts to video]
CYNTHIA MCFADDEN: People said that you're a lousy journalist, that your behavior was shameful, because, among other things, you had said and replied to a question that you did not believe that it was your responsibility to fact check whether or not what someone was going to say on the broadcast was telling the truth?
ABBY GROSSBERG: It felt awful. I mean, it felt terrible, because I knew that I was bullied, intimidated, and coerced into saying that, just to keep my job and stay at the company. And a question a lot of people would have is, why would you do that?
MCFADDEN: Why would you do that?
GROSSBERG: Because I made the decision to keep my job, so that I could keep paying my bills. It seemed like the safer decision for me at the time.
[Cuts back to live]
MELVIN: Grossberg was fired by the network last week. And in a statement to NBC News, Fox News says in part, “We will continue to vigorously defend fox against Ms. Grossberg's unmeritorious legal claims, which are riddled with false allegations against Fox and our employees.”
You can see much more of Cynthia's interview with her tonight on Nightly News With Lester Holt.
