MSNBC

Employees at MSNBC, the 24-hour cable news channel with a slate of prominent liberal anchors, said on Thursday that they planned to form a union representing about 315 workers including producers, bookers, writers and fact checkers. The announcement is the latest example of a workers’ rights movement that has swept major media organizations, as print, digital and broadcast journalists seek to unionize amid a precarious outlook for their industry.

In a wide-ranging interview, Rashida Jones talks about leading MSNBC through a post-Trump ratings slump and a period of increasing social discord.

Rashida Jones, the first Black woman to run a major cable news channel, hopes streaming will cultivate the next generation of news junkies.

NBCUniversal News Group launches Inspiring America as a multiplatform franchise that starts with a primetime television event honoring extraordinary individuals who have made an impact during these difficult times.

MSNBC’s Rachel Maddow Show ranks first among programs, while CNN scores a demographic win and Fox News tops primetime in total viewers.

The FCC has officially approved requests from CNN, Fox News, MSNBC and ESPN to be exempt from audio description rules that are required of top national non-broadcast networks, based on the amount of non-live linear programming the networks offer per calendar quarter. However, there is an exception available for networks that don’t air at least 50 hours per quarter of primetime programming that is not live or near-live.

In February, cable TV news networks continued to see a tightening of the viewership race for top total day and prime-time honors — a change that started with the November election. Fox News Channel fell 30% in primetime ratings (to 2.5 million) in the month as its two rival networks posted strong gains, with MSNBC growing 23% to 2.2 million and CNN seeing the most improved results — up 61% to 1.7 million.

A tape of the seige on the Capitol, compiled from several sources by the House impeachment managers, offered a chronological view of the former president’s statements on Jan. 6 and the actions by a mob of his supporters as they broke into the Capitol. It included several examples of rough language, including a chant, “f—- the blue,” apparently directed at police officers, and use of the word “motherf——-” by a rioter. The footage was aired on ABC, CBS, NBC, CNN, Fox News Channel and MSNBC as part of live coverage of the trial’s first day.

CNN led the way in cable news ratings during Wednesday’s impeachment of outgoing President Donald Trump, according to early Nielsen Media Research data. According to Nielsen, from 12:30 p.m. ET to 4:45 p.m. Wednesday, CNN brought in a total of 3.804 million average viewers. MSNBC was in second place among the big three cable news networks, pulling in an average of 2.581 million. Fox News delivered 1.391 million average total viewers in that time period.

As the Murdoch tabloid navigates a fraught political moment, high-level editors instructed reporters not to base articles on reporting by four news outlets that President Trump has falsely labeled “fake news.”

Fox News will finish the year again at top of the news channels in primetime, with an average of 3.6 million viewers, up 45% from the same period the previous year. MSNBC averaged 2.2 million, a boost of 24%. CNN saw an even greater increase, as it was up 85% to average 1.8 million.

Ratings have hit new highs, but executives and journalists at both networks are uneasy about the year ahead.

Fox News Channel and MSNBC have asked that the FCC exempt them from the list of top five non-broadcast networks. That is because that exempts them from the commission’s audio description (formerly “video description) rule, which applies to cable and satellite operators carrying the top five cable channels.

Rashida Jones will succeed the retiring Phil Griffin as president of MSNBC on Feb. 1, 2021, the network announced on Monday. She’s the first Black executive to lead one of the major cable networks. Cesar Conde, the new chairman of the NBCUniversal News Group, has made diversity one of his top priorities.

Getting return video to talent in the field, particularly those working from at-home studios, has been one of remote production’s biggest challenges. Japan’s Techno Mathematical Co. (TMC) is using low-latency encoding and decoding technology that has become indispensable for the likes of NBC and CBS stations. Above, By using a TMC encoder, WCBS New York is able to keep the end-to-end delay low enough to allow meteorologist Lonnie Quinn to present the weather map remotely from his home Weather Barn.

Fox News, CNN and MSNBC saw record ratings under President Trump, who is not yet done reshaping the cable news landscape.

Rachel Maddow said today that she is quarantining at home and will not be in studio for tonight’s MSNBC coverage of the vote count in the 2020 presidential race. Maddow said on Twitter that she tested negative for COVID-19 after a close contact tested positive. She said that she will be at home “’til it’s safe for me to be back at work without putting anyone at risk.”

MSNBC’s election night coverage featured a bevy of the cable newser’s all-stars, including Rachel Maddow, Brian Williams, Joy Reid and Nicolle Wallace. But, as was clear to anyone watching Tuesday night, the breakout of the evening was political correspondent Steve Kornacki, master of the interactive touchscreen map that has become a staple of TV news political coverage.

Washington correspondent Kasie Hunt will revive the Way Too Early news program that will air at 5 a.m. ET on weekdays, leading into Morning Joe. MSNBC is also starting two new weekend evening shows on Sept. 19 that will ensure the network is on live both Saturday and Sunday until 10 p.m ET.