NewsBusters, the right-leaning media watchdog, identified MSNBC host Karen Finney as "half-black" in its criticism of her reporting, drawing the host's ire and taking the publication into the perilous territory of racial politics.
In a Thursday evening post accusing Finney of bias in her reporting on Republicans' legislative agenda in North Carolina, NewsBusters noted Finney's former position as a Democratic National Committee press secretary, saying that a segment on her Sunday show betrayed a liberal bias against conservative policies.
"Former DNC press secretary Karen Finney continues to use her MSNBC show to brazenly fly her partisan flag," On Sunday's Disrupt with Karen Finney, the half-black host slammed North Carolina as a state that showcases the Republican "agenda on steroids."
Finney tweeted at NewsBusters Friday, questioning why it had chosen to identify her race in the post.
What does my being half-black have to do with Bremmer's "analysis" @newsbusters ? http://t.co/7Vc8VwZn1l
— Karen Finney (@finneyk) August 23, 2013
Paul Bremmer, a Media Research Center intern and author of the post, declined to comment to National Journal on why he identified Finney's race, saying interns weren't authorized to speak to the media. He said he had been an intern at MRC since January.