THE DAILY NEWSLETTER – WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 25, 2021

MEDIA WINNER: Richard Engel 

“You can look at this as … a moment of American humiliation.”

When NBC’s Richard Engel delivered that assessment on Tuesday, it was spoken with a gravity that few correspondents and anchors on television can even approach.

Why? Because he’s spent the past decade covering Afghanistan without fear or favor. He’s spent years in dangerous war zones, and has earned the administration and trust of viewers to report on some truly harrowing events.

That includes what is happening in Kabul right now — with a Joe Biden-set, Taliban-threatened deadline of Aug. 31 to evacuate U.S. citizens and Afghan refugees from the nation.

Yet despite the precariousness of the predicament facing him and his crew, Engel is still on the ground in Kabul — acting as America’s eyes and ears at a time when so much is unknown. The correspondent actually returned to Afghanistan after boarding a military plane last week to Qatar.

Undoubtedly fatigued, Engel and crew are logging serious hours — with appearances across NBC News platforms from the Today show right through NBC Nightly News and beyond. All to bring viewers the story on what’s happening in Afghanistan at all hours of the day.

When Richard Engel speaks, America is listening. His exemplary work at this vital hour demands nothing less than full attention.

MEDIA LOSER: Max Kellerman

First Take is one of ESPN’s most successful shows. Stephen A. Smith is the network’s most recognizable face. If you’re being untethered from a network’s most popular show and their biggest on-air personality, it can only be categorized as a demotion. Sorry, Max Kellerman.

After five years as Smith’s sparring partner on First Take, ESPN announced Kellerman will soon be removed from the show.

ESPN can spin it as a good opportunity for Kellerman, captaining their morning drive radio program alongside Keyshawn Johnson and Jay Williams, while also being handed a yet to be announced TV show in the afternoon as a parting gift. Make no mistake, this is a significant demotion.

Smith has been on First Take since 2012. Not only is he the show’s unquestioned leader, but Smith’s stardom vaulted him to become the face of the entire ESPN brand. This is Stephen A.’s world now. And if the $12 million per year man wanted Kellerman on First Take, the show’s roster would have remained unchanged.

Kellerman knows the importance of staying in the spotlight with ESPN. In 2004, the former host of Around the Horn couldn’t reach an agreement with Disney’s sports brand. After bouncing around on Fox Sports and even working with Tucker Carlson on MSNBC, Kellerman eventually made his way back to ESPN. Now, he’s being knocked off the pedestal again and it’s up to him to work his way back up.

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