Rashida Jones is stepping down as MSNBC president after four impactful years, marking a significant change for the network.
New York: So, Rashida Jones, the president of MSNBC, just announced she’s leaving after four years. She made history as the first Black person to lead a major cable news network when she took the role in February 2021.
Under her leadership, MSNBC actually surpassed CNN in ratings, coming in second to Fox News by the end of 2024. That’s pretty impressive, right?
In a memo to her team, Jones shared that she made this decision while reflecting over the holidays on their journey and all the successes they had together.
Rebecca Kutler, who’s the senior vice president of content strategy at MSNBC, will step in as interim president. Fun fact: Jones brought Kutler over from CNN in 2022. She’ll still be around in an advisory role until March.
Now, Jones’ exit comes at a tricky time for MSNBC. While ratings shot up leading to the 2024 presidential election, they’ve dropped since Trump’s win.
And it’s not just MSNBC feeling the heat; many cable news networks are seeing lower ratings post-election. Plus, MSNBC is in the middle of a big spin-off deal with its parent company, Comcast. They announced that several channels, including MSNBC and CNBC, will become their own publicly traded company.
Mark Lazarus, who used to be the chairman of NBCUniversal Media Group, will lead this spin-off. It’s a lot of change happening all at once!
