Rashida Jones, the cable network’s president, seeks to address employee and talent backlash over the appointment of Ronna McDaniel as an NBC News contributor.
MSNBC Chief Rashida Jones Faces Challenges That Would Make Cable News Veterans Shudder
Jones is in just her first year as president of MSNBC, the NBCUniversal cable news network that makes the bulk of its revenue from a primetime lineup that tilts toward progressive politics, and that may be in flux in the not-too-distant future. It’s a scenario that even the most veteran news executive would rather not face.
MSNBC staffers are panicking over the direction of the cable news network under newly-minted President Rashida Jones, fearing that she’s gearing up for a costly and potentially disastrous battle with CNN.
Producers Kenya Barris, Rashida Jones and Aaron Rahsaan Thomas will be equity partners in the venture, which Aisha Summers Burke (l) has been tapped to lead.
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.
Exclusives
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.
Rashida Jones, an NBC News executive whose oversight of special programming has put her more in demand in recent months, has been placed in charge of MSNBC’s daytime schedule. Her appointment comes after she has organized several big-headline programs during a punishing news cycle that has included town-hall events, political debates and special reports centered on the 2020 election and the coronavirus pandemic.
