NEW YORK, NY – Tension are high at MSNBC‘s Manhattan studios this week as staffers gear up for the network’s 2024 Super Tuesday primary coverage. But according to reports, an unexpected guest could derail the entire operation – bed bugs.
Just hours before voters in multiple states head to the polls, the New York Post is reporting that an internal NBC memo revealed an “unidentified insect” was spotted in Studio 3A – home to MSNBC’s marquee programming like The Rachel Maddow Show. Panic ensued as additional studios on the third floor were shuttered “out of an abundance of caution.”
“They are scrambling,” an NBC insider told the New York Post amid the chaos. With prime studio real estate suddenly off-limits, the network found itself pressed to secure alternative broadcast locations for its Super Tuesday election coverage.
Bed bugs, tiny parasitic insects that feed on human blood, are notoriously difficult to eradicate once they’ve infested an area. Their presence at 30 Rockefeller Plaza raised urgent health concerns given the hundreds of staffers and talent that frequent the 3rd floor TV studios and office space on a daily basis. Bites from the pests can cause itchy welts and rashes in humans.
According to the memo, MSNBC swiftly launched countermeasures, calling in a professional exterminator to treat the affected studios, green rooms, and control rooms. But that was just the first step – the memo revealed plans to enlist a “K-9 detection team” to ensure the remediation efforts were complete by sweeping “extended areas of newsrooms” on the third floor.
As the minutes tick down to Super Tuesday, it’s unknown whether anchors will be clear to return to the primary studio before results start trickling from all 15 states participating in Super Tuesday 2024.
“Studio space is tight,” the NBC source admitted. In recent weeks, some MSNBC programs had already been borrowing space from local affiliate studios to accommodate their broadcast needs.
The MSNBC bed bug crisis underscores the immense pressure and high stakes facing major news organizations during critical live events like Super Tuesday. Besides delivering comprehensive results and analysis, staff at NBC News and 30 Rock operations must now confront an array of facilities management challenges from the bed bugs that could sabotage their coverage.
But for MSNBC, the scourge of bed bugs will probably do little to dampen its pivotal Super Tuesday programming. As they say in show business, the show must go on… even if your TV studio is crawling with bed bugs.
Yikes! Is a MSNBC bed bug invasion causing chaos at @nbcnews just before the network's #SuperTuesday coverage? #BedBugs #Politics #Crisis #msnbc #nbcnews Share on X
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