The top brass of MSNBC’s soon-to-be former parent company, Comcast, issued a rare public reprimand on Friday, two days after one of MSNBC’s premier paid contributors appeared to say that Charlie Kirk’s “hateful” thoughts and words led to the attack on him.  .

Less than an hour after Kirk was shot, before his death was announced, paid MSNBC contributorMatthew Dowd linked the popular commentator’s words to his shooting, saying, “Hateful thoughts lead to hateful words, which then lead to hateful action. And I think that’s the environment we’re in that, that people just can’t stop with these sort of awful thoughts you have and then saying these awful words and not expect awful actions to take place, and that’s the unfortunate environment we’re in.” The comment sparked outrage, and hours later, Mr. Dowd apologized. He was fired later that night. 

Mr. Dowd’s comments were made to the star, anti-Trump MSNBC personality Katy Tur, host of “Katy Tur Reports,” who herself made controversial remarks predicting that President Trump would exploit Mr. Kirk’s shooting for nefarious purposes.

On Friday, the CEO of Comcast, Brian Roberts, headlined a memo also signed by Mike Cavanagh, the Comcast president and by Mark Lazarus, who will be CEO of  Versant – the company that is being spun off from NBC Universal and will be the new home of MSNBC, which will be renamed MS NOW.

“The tragic loss of Charlie Kirk, a 31-year-old father, husband, and advocate for open debate, whose faith was important to him, reminds us of the fragility of life and the urgent need for unity in our nation. Our hearts are heavy, as his passing leaves a grieving family and a country grappling with division. There is no place for violence or hate in our society,” the memo said.

The executives said, “You may have seen that MSNBC recently ended its association with a contributor who made an unacceptable and insensitive comment about this horrific event.”

“That coverage was at odds with fostering civil dialogue and being willing to listen to the points of view of those who have differing opinions. We should be able to disagree, robustly and passionately, but, ultimately, with respect. We need to do better,” they added. “As employees, we ask you to embody our values in your work and communities. We should engage with respect, listen, and treat people with kindness.”

The memo downplayed Mr. Dowd’s role at MSNBC. A former top strategist for President George W. Bush who later became a Democrat and harsh critic of the conservative movement, Mr. Dowd joined MSNBC in 2022 as the network bolstered its ranks ex-conservatives (his first MSNBC appearance was with another ex-conservative and Bush aide turned MSNBC personality, Nicolle Wallace). 

At MSNBC ,Mr. Dowd was given an unusually expansive role for a contributor, with the remit to “go into the field across the country to report on the state of democracy in the lead-up to the 2022 midterms,” as part of MSNBC’s posture that Mr. Trump was a threat to democracy.

Despite the condemnation from executives, Mr. Dowd has doubled down on his comments. In a post on Substack, he insisted his words were taken out of context, writing, “When the anchor came to me to comment on the ‘national environment’ the only thing known at the time was shots were fired and there was no reporting yet that Kirk was the target or had been shot at.”

“I said in the moment that we needed to get the facts because we have no idea what this could be and that it could easily be someone firing a gun in the air to celebrate the event. Remember Kirk is a diehard advocate of the 2nd amendment,” he added.

Mr. Dowd also blamed the “Right Wing media mob” for the outrage and said MSNBC “reacted to that mob.”

“Even though most at MSNBC knew my words were being misconstrued, the timing of my words forgotten (remember I said this before anyone knew Kirk was a target), and that I apologized for any miscommunication on my part, I was terminated by the end of the day,” he said. 

The memo from Messrs. Roberts and Lazarus appears to be directed at MSNBC as a whole, as it did not just end with Mr. Dowd’s comments. The host who had Mr. Dowd on, Katy Tur, has also faced criticism for suggesting that President Trump would “use” Kirk’s death as a “justification” for the administration to do “something.”

While Mr. Dowd defended his words by noting the time, some conservatives have suggested that MSNBC should have simply stuck to what was known instead of offering commentary. The president of the Media Research Center, David Bozell, appeared on Newsmax and criticized Ms. Tur.

“In a breaking news situation, you look into the camera, you get the news in your earpiece, and you just stick to the facts and script as you know it,” Mr. Bozell said. 

The Comcast memo comes at an interesting time as MSNBC, soon to be MS NOW, will have to make decisions about its editorial voice and identity. MSNBC’s new president, Rebecca  Kutler, worked at CNN for 12 years as a lieutenant for that network’s then-CEO, Jeff Zucker, while it became a far-left, anti-Trump network. She has brought her anti-Trump programming playbook to MSNBC, and the network has lost much of the wonky, brainy tone it became known for under the sway of Rachel Maddow, who has significantly reduced her role.

The decision to jettison MSNBC from the NBC umbrella and strip the “NBC” part of its name, the “Peacock logo,” and its reliance on NBC News journalists has been seen as an opportunity for Ms. Kutler to move the network further to the left (Some NBC employees who have tried to maintain their credibility and image as unbiased journalists had long expressed discomfort with being connected to MSNBC and its left-wing commentary.)