Nancy Snyderman's mandatory Ebola quarantine is set to end early this week, but her problems may just be beginning. NBC's chief medical editor was with ABC before hopping over to NBC in 2006, and over the years she had become a trusted voice in educating the public about a variety of medical topics. She and her crew were in Liberia reporting on the Ebola crisis when a cameraman, Ashoko Mukpo, contracted the virus. In response to his diagnosis, Snyderman told viewers she and the rest of her team were returning to the States and would voluntarily quarantine themselves. A week later, they were spotted getting take-out food in New Jersey, a decision that led to a mandatory quarantine and backlash from the general public.
Snyderman issued a statement that kind of passed the buck rather than apologizing for her careless missteps and that caused many negative posts on her social media sites. While Snyderman insisted the chance of her crew being infected was extremely low and it appears all of them have dodged a proverbial bullet, that is not mattering much in the court of public opinion.
She is no longer considered a trusted voice and a go-to person for NBC because fans are likely to believe exactly the opposite of whatever she says.
The network is in a tough spot because it knows Snyderman cannot cover Ebola again in the foreseeable future, but the real question is whether or not it should let her go completely. The reaction to Snyderman is so negative at the moment that at the least NBC will likely push her to take a leave of absence while it decides her future with the network.
It is a question of whether or not the general public will trust her guidance on anything at all again. Do you think Snyderman needs to be fired for her bad judgment and unapologetic apology? Tell us your thoughts in the comments below.
