Independent media newsletter by ex-CNNer Oliver Darcy gets sponsored by progressive MS NOW

Status, which was founded by former CNN media reporter Oliver Darcy, has published several issues of its newsletter since Nov. 18 featuring a message that it's "presented by MS NOW." MSNBC formally became MS NOW on Nov. 15.

On Wednesday morning, the Status website was topped with a large MS NOW ad featuring liberal anchor Rachel Maddow. A Status spokesperson vehemently denied a conflict of interest. 

The Status slogan is, "Hard-hitting reporting. Uncompromising analysis. Zero spin," and its website declares it is the "definitive daily briefing that takes readers inside the corridors of media power, delivering fearless journalism that holds society's most influential leaders to account." 

MS NOW was known as MSNBC until earlier this month, when the network officially rebranded as part of Comcast spinning off its cable networks under a company called Versant. MS NOW launched a $20 million ad campaign this month to sell viewers on the change while signaling it remained committed to a progressive viewpoint: "Same mission. New name." 

A "message from our sponsor" in the Status newsletter reads, "Home to 'Morning Joe,' 'The Rachel Maddow Show,' 'All In with Chris Hayes,' and more voices you know and trust, MS NOW is your source for news, opinion and the world. Our name is new, but you'll find the same commitment to justice, progress and the truth you've relied on for decades."

A Status spokesperson told Fox News Digital that highlighting the MS NOW sponsorship "strikes us as a bad-faith attempt to question our journalism, which continues to cause discomfort to billionaires and those in power."

"The suggestion that Status would soften its coverage to appease an advertiser is categorically false and insulting. Status has never tailored its journalism for any sponsor, and we never will. Our reporting speaks for itself: tough, independent, and often uncomfortable for the very institutions that choose to advertise with us," the spokesperson told Fox News Digital. 

"Like every major media outlet - including Fox News - Status carries advertising to support its work, and it is sold by non-editorial staff. But an advertisement is not an endorsement, and it certainly does not buy influence. Our editorial independence is core to our mission and our values, and we would never jeopardize that for advertising dollars."

Status' editorial staff do not sell its advertisements, as Darcy has enlisted industry veteran Stacey Farish to sell spots on the media newsletter, the calendar for which is set well in advance of publication.

It's common for newsletters to have corporate sponsors. For example, Friday's editions of the Axios AM and Politico Playbook newsletters were respectively presented by Meta's Instagram and McDonald's.

An MS NOW insider told Fox News Digital that Darcy's on-air appearances are not tied to the advertisements, and the network does not expect favorable coverage as part of the deal. 

MS NOW did not immediately respond when asked for comment on the business relationship with Status. 

Fox News Digital's David Rutz contributed to this report.