Big news changes at MSNBC Posted on September 28, 2021 at 01:54:07 PM by Reposter
From "TVNewwCHECK's website (I deleted the photos but the link is here:
https://nypost.com/2021/09/26/staff-at-msnbc-are-panicking-over-networks-direction-under-rashida-jones/?utm_source=Listrak&utm_medium=Email&utm_term=MSNBC+Staff+Said+To+Be+Worried+Over+Network|6|3039%3bs+Direction+Under+Rashida+Jones&utm_campaign=Millions+Tuned+Into+WWL%e2%80%99s+Streaming+Content+During+Hurricane+Ida
HEADLINE:
Staff at MSNBC are panicking over network’s direction under Rashida Jones
By Alexandra Steigrad
September 26, 2021 6:21pm Updated
MSNBC
Nicki Minaj slams MSNBC’s Joy Reid in COVID vaccine firestorm
Prof calls on liberal media to speak on ‘social justice factory’ college exit
Lies, omissions and false fact checks – a banner week for media disinformation
Rachel Maddow will switch to weekly show under new MSNBC contract: report
MSNBC staffers are panicking over the direction of the left-leaning news network under newly minted President Rashida Jones, fearing that she’s gearing up for a costly and potentially disastrous battle with CNN, The Post has learned.
Staffers say recent meetings with Jones and her boss, NBCUniversal news chief Cesar Conde, have focused on hard news — with the execs boasting of ratings wins over CNN on breaking stories, such as this summer’s congressional hearings on the Jan. 6 attack on the US Capitol.
That makes some employees nervous that MSNBC isn’t adequately focused on shoring up its primetime lineup of opinion-focused shows that draw in the most loyal viewers. The issue burst into the open last month when news leaked that Rachel Maddow, the network’s star, had been negotiating a new contract and had threatened to leave.
“Rashida’s love is in hard news,” an insider said, pointing to the exec’s past roles guiding MSNBC’s daytime news coverage and NBC News’ coverage. “She doesn’t really get what primetime does.”
Rashida Jones
MSNBC president Rashida Jones is tasked with reconfiguring the network’s primetime lineup once Maddow steps aside.
Maddow ended up inking a broader deal that was worth a whopping $30 million a year through 2024, according to the Daily Beast, which cited anonymous sources. It will let her develop projects across the network and also allow her to step aside from hosting her 9 p.m. primetime show within the next year.
Rachel Maddow
Rachel Maddow recently renegotiated an expansive contract that will see her eventually step away from her primetime show.
Still, that leaves the big question of who will fill Maddow’s shoes. Network insiders told The Post they worried that the hard-news-focused Jones doesn’t have the contacts or the drive needed to find someone to replace Maddow — and fill out the rest of MSNBC’s schedule.
“Rashida has a lot of good qualities, but I don’t think she is someone who corrals big talent,” said an MSNBC insider. “She isn’t creative — and that concerns me.”
Insiders described Jones, who succeeded longtime MSNBC president Phil Griffin in February, as “buttoned-up,” “young” and “lacking a creative vision” for the network, which is known for news analysis from talking heads like Maddow, Lawrence O’Donnell and Brian Williams.
Most alarming to some, Jones appears to be re-examining the mission of MSNBC, signaling she wants to battle CNN on breaking news rather than focus on its “personality-driven, opinion programming with big stars,” a source said.
“We need to embrace our brand on primetime or we are going to lose big-time,” one employee said.
(excerped for word limit brevity)
Brian Zak/NY Post
While Jones may lack Griffin’s flair, insiders noted that she started during the pandemic and it might be too early to judge her performance under these conditions.
“The pandemic has changed everything and it has made executives’ lives harder. Rashida is friendly and approachable, but it’s too soon to tell if she’s a real team builder or someone who just wants to climb the ladder,” the source said. “I think she has to work to build trust. Phil had the trust. You knew he had your back.”
MSNBC usually beats CNN in primetime, but both networks consistently trail Fox News. Last month, ratings firm Nielsen said Fox News dominated with a total audience of 2.5 million viewers on average across all its primetime shows, far ahead of MSNBC with 1.2 million viewers and CNN with 819,000 viewers.
In the same month, “The Rachel Maddow Show” was MSNBC’s highest-rated show, with a total audience of 2.1 million average nightly viewers, but it trailed five other cable shows, including Fox’s “Hannity,” which goes head to head with Maddow at 9 p.m. “Hannity” logged 3 million viewers, second to “Tucker Carlson Tonight,” which delivered an average total audience of 3.3 million viewers.
Staffers at MSNBC are worried about the fate of the primetime lineup once Maddow leaves her perch.
Meanwhile, MSNBC could lose Brian Williams, who anchors the network’s 11 p.m. show, “The 11th Hour.” Williams, whose contract is up this year, is threatening to leave and the latest buzz being floated is that he is looking to decamp for CBS, but one source called that a “laughable rumor” meant to motivate MSNBC parent NBC to keep him.
Although Jones has not made an explicit directive to cover hard news, one staffer noticed a shift in the kinds of stories MSNBC is now doing under her. The source pointed to live coverage of the SpaceX launch earlier this month on Chris Hayes’ show “All In.”
“There were conversations about should we be covering that? In the past, we wouldn’t,” the source said of the rocket ship launch. “Does our primetime audience care about a SpaceX launch? Probably not.” Replies: