MSNBC president exiting network amid ratings tailspin
Rashida Jones, the president of MSNBC, has announced she is stepping away from the network after four years at the helm.On Tuesday, Jones sent a letter to staff, announcing her departure and thanking them for their work."The people here at MSNBC are what make this place truly special, and our shared mission is what has always united us: to keep our viewers, readers, and listeners well-informed, provide critical context, ask tough questions, speak hard truths, say the quiet part out loud, and always adhere to the facts, without fear or favor," Jones wrote, according to the Daily Beast.Jones' resignation as president is effective immediately, though she will remain on board in an advisory capacity until March.Rebecca Kutler, a 45-year-old Pennsylvania native who spent two decades at CNN, will serve as Jones' interim replacement. Jones wooed Kutler away from CNN in 2022.'The media business were taking a cold, hard look at who we are, and what are we doing, and who’s making the decisions, and how can those things be changed.'In a statement to staff, Mark Lazarus — the incoming chief executive of the new MSNBC spinoff company, SpinCo — praised Jones and her contributions to the network: "Rashida has expertly navigated MSNBC through a years-long, unrelenting, and unprecedented news cycle, all while driving the network to record viewership and making investments in nonlinear businesses. MSNBC is well-positioned for the future."Jones first joined MSNBC in 2013 and slowly worked her way up to overseeing its daytime and weekend programming. In February 2021, she was tapped to be president.At the time, just months after the death of George Floyd and the BLM riots of 2020, MSNBC anchor Jonathan Capehart hinted that the network may have been factoring DEI into hiring and promotion decisions. "What we had was an enormously capable television producer and executive who was rising at a time when the nation and the media business were taking a cold, hard look at who we are, and what are we doing, and who’s making the decisions, and how can those things be changed," Capehart said.NBC News, the Daily Beast, the Washington Post, and USA Today all mentioned in their respective reporting that Jones was the first black woman to head a major TV news network. The AP likewise referred to her as "the first Black executive to lead a cable news network."When Jones first took the reins, MSNBC enjoyed stellar ratings in the wake of Joe Biden's ascension to the presidency and the Jan. 6 melee. Jones then notched further success by convincing star host Rachel Maddow to continue on at the network, albeit on terms heavily favorable to Maddow, who earned $30 million for appearing on air just one hour per week.Jones also brought on board former White House press secretary Jen Psaki as well as Ronna McDaniel, who left almost as quickly as she came after other network personalities openly questioned her credibility on air.Following the re-election of Donald Trump, however, ratings at MSNBC tanked, dropping 22% overall from October to November. Two weeks after the election, Maddow saw her lowest ratings in a decade, garnering just 86,000 viewers from the coveted 25-54 demographic. Her race-obsessive fellow leftist at the network, Joy Reid, also hemorrhaged viewers, losing 47% of her total audience.The overall numbers were so grim that executives decided to spin off some of its cable properties, leading to the creation of SpinCo.Maddow's ratings have since rebounded, though she and Reid have also recently had to renegotiate their contracts. Maddow took a pay cut of $5 million, leaving her with $25 million and now having to host her show five nights a week. Reid reportedly took a cut and is now collecting $3 million.Like Blaze News? Bypass the censors, sign up for our newsletters, and get stories like this direct to your inbox. Sign up here!
Rashida Jones, the president of MSNBC, has announced she is stepping away from the network after four years at the helm.
On Tuesday, Jones sent a letter to staff, announcing her departure and thanking them for their work.
"The people here at MSNBC are what make this place truly special, and our shared mission is what has always united us: to keep our viewers, readers, and listeners well-informed, provide critical context, ask tough questions, speak hard truths, say the quiet part out loud, and always adhere to the facts, without fear or favor," Jones wrote, according to the Daily Beast.
Jones' resignation as president is effective immediately, though she will remain on board in an advisory capacity until March.
Rebecca Kutler, a 45-year-old Pennsylvania native who spent two decades at CNN, will serve as Jones' interim replacement. Jones wooed Kutler away from CNN in 2022.
'The media business were taking a cold, hard look at who we are, and what are we doing, and who’s making the decisions, and how can those things be changed.'
In a statement to staff, Mark Lazarus — the incoming chief executive of the new MSNBC spinoff company, SpinCo — praised Jones and her contributions to the network: "Rashida has expertly navigated MSNBC through a years-long, unrelenting, and unprecedented news cycle, all while driving the network to record viewership and making investments in nonlinear businesses. MSNBC is well-positioned for the future."
Jones first joined MSNBC in 2013 and slowly worked her way up to overseeing its daytime and weekend programming. In February 2021, she was tapped to be president.
At the time, just months after the death of George Floyd and the BLM riots of 2020, MSNBC anchor Jonathan Capehart hinted that the network may have been factoring DEI into hiring and promotion decisions.
"What we had was an enormously capable television producer and executive who was rising at a time when the nation and the media business were taking a cold, hard look at who we are, and what are we doing, and who’s making the decisions, and how can those things be changed," Capehart said.
NBC News, the Daily Beast, the Washington Post, and USA Today all mentioned in their respective reporting that Jones was the first black woman to head a major TV news network. The AP likewise referred to her as "the first Black executive to lead a cable news network."
When Jones first took the reins, MSNBC enjoyed stellar ratings in the wake of Joe Biden's ascension to the presidency and the Jan. 6 melee. Jones then notched further success by convincing star host Rachel Maddow to continue on at the network, albeit on terms heavily favorable to Maddow, who earned $30 million for appearing on air just one hour per week.
Jones also brought on board former White House press secretary Jen Psaki as well as Ronna McDaniel, who left almost as quickly as she came after other network personalities openly questioned her credibility on air.
Following the re-election of Donald Trump, however, ratings at MSNBC tanked, dropping 22% overall from October to November. Two weeks after the election, Maddow saw her lowest ratings in a decade, garnering just 86,000 viewers from the coveted 25-54 demographic. Her race-obsessive fellow leftist at the network, Joy Reid, also hemorrhaged viewers, losing 47% of her total audience.
The overall numbers were so grim that executives decided to spin off some of its cable properties, leading to the creation of SpinCo.
Maddow's ratings have since rebounded, though she and Reid have also recently had to renegotiate their contracts. Maddow took a pay cut of $5 million, leaving her with $25 million and now having to host her show five nights a week. Reid reportedly took a cut and is now collecting $3 million.
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Originally Published at Daily Wire, World Net Daily, or The Blaze
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