It's not just Ronna McDaniel: 5 other high-profile political figures who made a splashy transition to the media industry

Virginia Sherwood/NBCU Photo Bank/NBCUniversal via Getty Images via Getty Images

• In recent decades, there's been a very visible pipeline from politics to the media industry.
• Some critics have pushed backed against former political figures migrating to major news networks.

In recent decades, the politics-to-media pipeline has become an enduring phenomenon, with former party leaders and communications gurus using their previous gigs to become well-compensated hosts and pundits on network news programs.

But after former Republican National Committee chair Ronna McDaniel's controversial hiring as a paid contributor for NBC News, with high-profile network figures like Chuck Todd and Joe Scarborough panning the decision on-air, how entrenched is the popular transition from the political world to the media industry?

(On March 26, Puck News reported that NBC was set to drop McDaniel as a contributor, but the network has yet to confirm any developments.)

Here's a look at key figures who have made the jump over the past few decades: