Joy Reid's evening news show on MSNBC has been cancelled. This is part of a broad programming overhaul orchestrated by the network's new president, Rebecca Kutler, and two people familiar with the change.
The final episode of Reid's 7pm show “The Reidout” is planned later this week, according to people not allowed to speak publicly. The show features in-depth interviews with politicians and other newsmakers, and has been a fixture in MSNBC's lineup for the past five years.
MSNBC plans to replace Ms. Reed's program with a show led by the trio's anchor. Michael Steele, former chairman of the Republican National Committee. And TV journalist Aliciamenendez, people said. They are currently co-hosting “The Weekend,” which airs on Saturday and Sunday mornings.
MSNBC spokesman Richard Haddock declined to comment. Reed did not respond to calls seeking comment.
The programming shakeup was the first major change by Kutler, who was appointed president this month. Kutler is creating a new programming lineup to jumpstart the ratings of the network that surpassed rival CNN but lagged behind longtime rating leader Fox News.
Other major changes are expected at MSNBC. In January, Rachel Madow, the network's most famous anchor, returned to holding a show at 9pm five days a week in the Trump administration's first 100 days after expanding on Monday. At the time, the network said Alex Wagner, who held the show at 9pm four days a week, will be back at the end of April.
That's not the case anymore. Instead, MSNBC plans to appoint a new anchor to fill Wagner's spot, the pair said. A potential candidate for that time is Jen Psaki, a former White House press secretary for the Biden administration. He will hold the show at noon on Sunday and at 8pm on Monday, people said, but added that the decision was not finalized.
Wagner, who did not immediately respond to a request for comment, is expected to remain at MSNBC as an on-air correspondent.
Pack and Variety reported on several aspects of the reorganization that MSNBC previously planned.
Reid has long been one of MSNBC's most prominent anchors. She was named MSNBC's 7pm anchor in 2020 after hosting “Am Joy,” a weekend talk show on the network since 2016. The appointment to the Evening News Slot is Cesar Conde, chairman of the NBCuniversal News Group, including NBC News, MSNBC, CNBC and Telemundo.
MSNBC is separated from that group. This is the result of a corporate spin-off planned by Cable Giant Comcast, the parent company of NBCuniversal. MSNBC will join a new company led by veteran NBCuniversal executive Mark Lazarus on most of Comcast's other cable channels, including CNBC and the USA Network. Kutler explained the change to Lazarus, but he was not involved in the details of the programming overhaul, one of the people said.
MSNBC also fills out its programming lineup beyond the network's existing anchor roster. MSNBC is considering the roles that Eugene Daniels, co-author of Politico's influential Playbook Newsletter, and Melissa Murray, a professor at New York University Law School, will supplement his current job. There are changes.
