It’s been a tough week for NBCUniversal News Group chairman Cesar Conde, whose meteoric rise to run the legendary news brand after a career at Telemundo and Univision has hit a major speed bump: the revolt of his on-air talent over the hiring of former RNC chair Ronna McDaniel.
The fiasco — involving on-air scoldings from marquee anchor Rachel Maddow and veteran Chuck Todd before a reversal of the decision — marks a major blunder for Conde, who has only been in his current role for four years, and who has been lauded as the first Hispanic to lead a major English-language television news organization.