MSNBC chief mulls leaving: Reports

MSNBC chief Rashida Jones is reportedly considering exiting the role amid falling ratings in a post-election world and impending spinoff of the network.

Jones has been in the job since 2021 and instituted changes such as delineating the network’s opinion and analysis and hard news content. She launched the “MSNBC Reports” brand of dayside rolling news coverage and also helped steer the network through transitioning to only featuring “The Rachael Maddow Show” once per week.

She was the first woman and Black woman to run a major cable news division.

Status News’ Oliver Darcy reported news of Jones’ possible departure, which CNN’s Brian Stelter reported that two sources confirmed to him that Jones might leave.

Darcy, meanwhile, reported that a spokesperson denied the report of Jones’ departure to him.

Darcy’s report also noted that no final decisions have been made and it’s possible Jones may remain with the network, which has seen steep ratings declines after Donald Trump beat Vice President Kamala Harris in the November elections.

In some cases, ratings have been cut approximately in half. 

MSNBC suffered a ratings dip, though not quite as steep, after the 2016 election when Democrat Hillary Clinton lost to Trump and was able to largely rebuild itself in the years that followed with a lineup that features progressive hosts or, in some cases, Republicans that have largely rejected Trump’s rhetoric over the years.

Advertisement

Jones was responsible for at least some of the network’s recovering in the following years.

If Jones were to exit, such a move would likely come after Trump’s inauguration in January 2025. There’s no word on who might be in line to replace her. 

MSNBC and most of NBCUniversal’s cable channels will be spun off into a separate, publicly-held company in order to help separate them from Comcast’s money-losing cable TV business.

It’s not clear how this might affect staffing or leadership at networks such as MSNBC and details such how NBC News resources might be shared under the new structure (Comcast is keeping the NBC broadcast network, Peacock and Bravo, among other properties).

There is also a possibility the new organization, currently referred to as SpinCo, could be snapped up by another company.