MSNBC will lean into its progressive roots in Trump era

[BumRushDaShow]

Source: Axios

17 mins ago


MSNBC's new president Rebecca Kutler plans to announce broad programming changes to the network that elevate some of its most progressive voices, sources told Axios.

Why it matters: The changes signal the network's intent to double down on its liberal bend instead of moving toward the center in a new Trump era.

State of play: The programming shifts, which will impact dayside, weekend and primetime programming, include moving former White House press secretary Jen Psaki, currently the host of the weekend show, "Inside with Jen Psaki," to anchor one of the primetime hours during the week.

Psaki could be named anchor of MSNBC's 9 p.m. hour, which Rachel Maddow currently helms, sources told Axios. Maddow has returned to the anchor chair five times per week during the first 100 days of the Trump administration. She plans to return to anchoring just once per week on Mondays after that.

Alex Wagner, who had been anchoring MSNBC's 9 p.m. hour Tuesday-Fridays since 2022, will remain with the network as a correspondent, sources said.

Pskai, who joined the network in 2022, served in the Obama and Biden administrations. Her show has become the network's most-watched weekend program.

Zoom in: Symone Sanders Townsend, Michael Steele and Alicia Menendez, the trio of co-hosts that currently anchor MSNBC's weekend program "The Weekend," will move to anchor a weekday program in the 7 p.m. hour, sources added.

Menendez would be the first Latina woman to host a primetime cable news program on MSNBC.

Steele, formerly the chairman of the Republican National Committee, would join MSNBC anchor Nicole Wallace and "Morning Joe" host Joe Scarborough, a former Republican Congressman, as a host of a daily program on the network.

Read more: https://www.axios.com/2025/02/23/msnbc-maddow-trump-programming-changes

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Saw this earlier this morning - https://www.democraticunderground.com/100220062100

[2naSalit]

1. By cancelling Joy Ried?

Really?

[FakeNoose]

22. If enough viewers complain, maybe they'll bring her back

Joy could have been moved to Morning Joe's slot, and it would have been a major improvement.

Just sayin'

[2naSalit]

23. That's what I was thinking.

Seems they are making some bad decisions.

[GPV]

26. Exactly

[happy feet]

35. Exactly

I call bull

[Hotler]

2. Wouldn't they have to get rid of Morning Joe to do that?

[mahina]

3. They just fired Joy Reid

[jmbar2]

7. Oh no!

First I've heard of it. I hope they keep her on in some capacity. We need strong Black voices and viewpoints.

[coffeenap]

4. Dumbest headline ever??

[jmbar2]

5. I like it!

On a side note...

A couple of months ago, when the blitzkreig of Mump horrors started to gain momentum, I wrote to Rachel Maddow and the network pleading with them to scrap ads that scream at the audience. I told them that they were the only MSM progressive voice we had, but the screaming ads were stressful.

I documented how many times they were screaming at us in a 1-2 hour slot:
- "Fire it up Randy!!"
- Loan falcon/loan cannon
- Jacuzzi screaming woman
- Visionworks
- "She's sitting on a GOLD MINE!"
- The snot monster

I don't know whether I had anything to do with it, but a bunch of those ads have disappeared or been toned down. I am so grateful for it.

[Oopsie Daisy]

9. Interesting. Were those ads coming from MSNBC, or were they *

* ads inserted by local cable providers? Also, I've seen local ads being inserted into streaming content (I guess they figured out where I am by IP address).

[jmbar2]

11. Not sure

I don't have cable, but watch on an internet stream. I've used a couple of free streams and the same ads appeared so they may be placeholders for local/cable networks. Not sure how that works.

[Alice B.]

24. I stream. Part of it is an algorithm trying to serve you ads. I get those, too, but others may get something different.

[Bluetus]

19. The cable business is about nothing except ads.

They have no interest in the programming except as it is able to drive ad sales.

After years of knuckling under to Comcast's corporate priorities, it appears this is a package of changes intended to make the network more attractive as Comcast spins it off. There does seem to be at least a little effort to break the monotony of hour after hour with each host covering the same 3 stories. And with that format, Reid was reduced to "the black woman who will now give us the black perspective on every story." She is very bright and has some insights, but the premise of the show was hard to take. While there are many issues that involve systemic racism, not every story is mainly about racism. It was just too much.

Be that as it may, the really stupid program was Ari Melber's program, which is apparently continuing. Melber is supposed to be a lawyer and his program was supposed to provide a legal perspective. But instead, most nights, he makes it about rapper lyrics. It is a complete waste of time and should have been replaced with a real legal program long ago. Heck, give the hour to the Meidas Touch people. They are wrong more often then they are right, but at least they talk about the legal issues in an intelligent way.

[jmbar2]

33. Maybe he is the token "black" voice...

[Akoto]

6. I wish Maddow would stay where she is for the long term.

She's gotta have the life she needs to have, I get that, but it's now more than ever that people need someone who can explain things clearly without hitting that panicky chord.

[Magoo48]

8. Will any corporate owned "news" ever be reliably progressive?

[groundloop]

10. Only when it pays well enough.

[pamdb]

12. oh no

Never been a fan of Joy Reid but she is one of the few black woman on MSNBC.

I really like the weekend show. Are they still going to be doing that? I doubt it. Ever since we dropped Joe and Mika after they bent the knee, I've taken to recording Rachel again to watch the next morning but it was nice to have a weekend show. I only watch maybe the first hour or so of Nicky, There's only so much I can take anymore. Thank goodness for blood pressure medication and gummies.

[Cheezoholic]

13. Bring back Keith!!! n/t

[Paladin]

16. +1000. The sooner the better. (nt)

[FakeNoose]

27. I think he burned his bridges at MSNBC

He was v-logging for the last few years. A couple months ago KO said he was "retiring" because he was receiving too many anonymous threats from rightwing nutjobs. He has other reasons too,

[regnaD kciN]

29. He said he was going to retire from his podcast IF Harris won...

Obviously, he’s still continuing it.

The big issue is that there must have been some kind of major falling-out between KO and Rachel Maddow, because he was originally the one to pressure MSNBC into hiring her, and, now, she’s the one blocking him from returning, apparently threatening to leave MSNBC if they allow him back on the air.

[Polybius]

32. Not gonna happen

I used to like Olbermann, but he went off the deep end over the past couple off years and has become a loose cannon.

[Mr. Mustard 2023]

14. Michael Steele is not a progressive

Joe Scarborough is an opportunist and blowhard in love with his own voice, a white boy who still thinks "Duh Free Market" is the answer & Ronnie Raygun was a Saint. I happen upon him once or twice a week, as I scramble to get him off my screen and he never fails to mention Saint Ronnie.

I sure hope they haven't fired Joy Reid, as she's their best if you ask me. She doesn't pull punches.

[travelingthrulife]

15. Gross. I no longer watch any of these shows so this works for me?

How is this more progressive?

[S/V Loner]

17. If they actually do it...a big if...

That would be a smart move.

[IrishBubbaLiberal]

18. Total BULLSHIT 'headline' "PROGRESSIVE" my ass!

Psaki. And Wagner are ‘ok’.
Are just “Ok”

…but when compared to Joy Reid and Laurence O’Donnel,,

Psaki and Wagner just do NOT have the drive, the passion, and soul that Joy and Laurence
have in abundance.

Joy Reid is an very PROGRESSIVE host,
And so MSNBC is thus NOT going in a PROGRESSIVE direction

On EDIT…..

Axios IS NOT A NEWS SOURCE I TRUST ANYMORE
Axios is more and more not for me, too leaning to the right Dark Side

[BumRushDaShow]

20. Most "news sources" are "right-leaning"

because they are owned by right-wingers. There are very few like a "Mother Jones" or maybe "The Guardian", that are subscriber-supported, along with some indie online outlets. You even have far-left news mags like "The Nation" that are basically Putin mouthpieces. One can only hope with the typical M$M, to get an article written by the few progressive/left-leaning reporters/journalists who haven't been co-opted by the likes of Putin.

Otherwise, until we OWN IT and stop hand-wringing about what might happen if we did (including whining about such putting us "in a bubble" ), then we have to scrape around for the lesser-biased and spun stuff.

[nwduke]

21. Dump MSNBC Trump bootlicker

Scarborough and the lump sitting next to him!

[LetMyPeopleVote]

25. NYT-Joy Reid's MSNBC Show Canceled in Major Shake-Up

I normally do not read the NYT but I saw this link.

Link to tweet

Here is a blueskye link

Joy Reid’s evening news show on MSNBC is reportedly being canceled in a major shake-up

— Phil Lewis (@phillewis.bsky.social) 2025-02-23T12:05:56.106Z

https://www.nytimes.com/2025/02/23/business/msnbc-joy-reid.html?unlocked_article_code=1.zE4.inGq.L7RUpnRIbgSK&smid=nytcore-ios-share&referringSource=articleShare

The final episode of Ms. Reid’s 7 p.m. show, “The ReidOut,” is planned for sometime this week, according to the people, who were not authorized to speak publicly. The show, which features in-depth interviews with politicians and other newsmakers, has been a fixture of MSNBC’s lineup for the past five years.

MSNBC is planning to replace Ms. Reid’s program with a show led by a trio of anchors: Symone Sanders Townsend, a political commentator and former Democratic strategist; Michael Steele, a former chairman of the Republican National Committee; and Alicia Menendez, the TV journalist, the people said. They currently co-host “The Weekend,” which airs Saturday and Sunday mornings.

An MSNBC spokesman, Richard Hudock, declined to comment. Ms. Reid declined to comment.

The programming shake-up is the first major change made by Ms. Kutler, who was appointed president this month. Ms. Kutler has been drawing up a new programming lineup to jump-start the network’s ratings, which have outperformed rival CNN but lagged behind the longtime ratings leader, Fox News.

I would love to see Rachel come back full time but I do like Psaki

That is no longer the case. Instead, MSNBC is planning to appoint a new anchor to fill Ms. Wagner’s spot, the two people said. A likely candidate for that hour is Jen Psaki, a former White House press secretary in the Biden administration, who hosts shows on Sunday at noon and 8 p.m. on Mondays, the people said, though adding that this decision hadn’t been finalized.

I am glad that Joy Reid is gone. I stopped watching her a while back when she got very negative on President Biden and the Harris campaign

[hannah]

28. Progressive

How are
Joe Scarborough, Nicole Wallace, Micheal Steel considered progressive? They are Republicans.

[spooky3]

30. Wallace at least calls herself a former Republican. I love her show

and her approach to interviews and to delivering content.

Can’t stand Scarborough.

[tulipsandroses]

31. 3 former republicans hosting a show is not fucking progressive.

Fuck MSNBC. I will support independent journalists.
I'm not a fan of Jen Psaki, but I won't trash her the way some so called democrats trash other hosts they don't like.

[Quanto Magnus]

34. It's still corporate media

they think there's money in it and I think it is just a bait and switch...

[DJ Synikus Makisimus]

36. MSNBC is Nixon liberalism.

The GOP has nearly eradicated them from their party in favor of Heritage Society/Federalist Society authoritarians. That expulsion has been a long time coming. It began with the Powell Memorandum* in 1971, gained momentum in the Reagan Administration, and now has emerged victorious. Nixon liberals mostly ended up in the Democratic Party. They say they are "socially liberal, fiscally conservative;" but in practice are neither - they're for a "kinder, gentler oligarchy." Their clearest voice is MSNBC, ESPECIALLY as re-presented daily by Joe Scarborough, Nicole Wallace and Michael Steele. What happens on MSNBC probably shouldn't concern progressives (who have no network media voice and won't get one), but it may concern some liberals.

BTW, Rachael Maddow self-describes her politics as "Eisenhower Republican." Eisenhower spend much of his presidency playing golf, leaving government in the hands of people like J. Edgar Hoover and the Dulles Brothers, all the while saying nothing about Senator Joe McCarthy (R-WI). You remember who the VP was under Eisenhower, right?

===================================================
*https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lewis_F._Powell_Jr.#Powell_Memorandum,_1971

[BumRushDaShow]

37. "You remember who the VP was under Eisenhower, right?"

I always tell people that Nixon came into the Presidency with a lot of experience (8 years as VP) and knew where the bodies were buried.

[DJ Synikus Makisimus]

38. Indeed!

He didn't know everything, however, and was enraged that he couldn't get J. Edgar's extensive Kompromat/blackmail files after Hoover's death - because Mark Felt burned them.

[BumRushDaShow]

39. Well he managed to get enough

to compile his infamous "enemies list"!

[LetMyPeopleVote]

40. Morning Joe needs to go

Link to tweet