Not only is McDaniel seeking $600,000 in two years of salary owed but she's also exploring "potential defamation and hostile work environment torts" after MSNBC’s top talent blasted her on air. McDaniel will get the $600,000 for certain (that's just how those types of contracts are made) as she did not breach the terms. The lawsuits against MSNBC might also be won, or simply settled to spare the expense of going to trial. It's likely then that the Ronna McDaniel hiring will set NBC Universal back a minimum of $1,000,000 when all is said and done. Not a bad payday at all for less than 20 minutes work.
Source: Politico
Will it be the $600,000 interview?
The ramifications of NBC’s decision yesterday to part ways with former RNC Chair Ronna McDaniel just two days after her paid network debut on “Meet the Press” are just starting to shake out. But they could be expensive.
McDaniel expects to be fully paid out for her contract — two years at $300,000 annually — since she did not breach its terms, according to a person close to McDaniel. That means that her single, not-quite-20-minute interview Sunday could cost NBC more than $30,000 per minute, or $500 per second.
That might be just the beginning of the fallout following yesterday’s announcement from NBCUniversal News Group Chair Cesar Conde that the deal, first announced on Friday, would be canceled. McDaniel spoke yesterday with Bryan Freedman, renowned lawyer to the estranged cable-news stars, to discuss legal options even beyond recouping the dollar value of her contract.
While no arrangement is final, the person close to McDaniel said, Freedman would be an obvious choice: He represented Megyn Kelly in her own acrimonious parting with NBC, as well as ousted anchors Chris Cuomo, Don Lemon and Tucker Carlson in disputes with their respective former networks.
McDaniel, the person said, is exploring potential defamation and hostile work environment torts after MSNBC’s top talent — momentarily her colleagues — took turns Monday blasting her on air.
Hugh Hewitt is certifiable, but at least in this one instance, he's not wrong. McDaniel has nothing to lose and NBC would almost certainly settle just to make this unfortunate incident go away. It's just things are often done.
Jonah Goldberg, another conservative with a bit more sense than Hewitt, disagrees.
I think that misses the point though. Whether McDaniel has a case or not isn't as important as how much NBC wants the matter ended, and for that reason alone McDaniel could sue, just to further her payday.
