Rashida Jones, an up-and-coming news executive at NBCUniversal, will take the reins at the company’s MSNBC cable-news outlet in February, setting her up to be the first Black executive to run one of the nation’s big cable-news outlets at a time when that business is of growing importance to the nation’s large media conglomerates.
Phil Griffin, who has worked at MSNBC since its launch in 1996 and as its president since 2008, is expected to step down at the end of January. Griffin has enjoyed close ties to many of MSNBC’s primetime stars, including Rachel Maddow, the linchpin of the network’s lineup, and Joe Scarborough and Mika Brzezinski, two of its morning hosts.
“Rashida knows and understands MSNBC, in part because it’s where she started when she first joined NBCU seven years ago,” said Cesar Conde, chairman of NBCUniversal’s news operations, in a memo to staff. “She knows that it is the people who work here that make it great, and she understands its culture. She also appreciates the impact and potential of the brand.”
The Wall Street Journal previously reported the executive move.
Jones will take the helm of an operation that has, at a time of peak digital consumption of content, become one of the main ways media companies like NBCUniversal have of catching big live linear audiences. In an era when many traditional TV viewers are migrating to streaming outlets, MSNBC anchors like Maddow, Nicolle Wallace, and Joy Reid capture hundreds of thousands of viewers who watch their shows live and en masse. News networks have seen their ratings soar during the Trump administration and over the course of the coronavirus pandemic when millions of people are staying close to home.
At the same time, MSNBC’s business lags that of its two main rivals, Fox Corporation’s Fox News Channel and WarnerMedia’s CNN. Fox News is seen securing nearly $2.98 billion in revenue from advertising and affiliate fees in 2020, according to market-research firm Kagan, part of S&P Global. CNN is seen capturing more than $1.72 billion. MSNBC, meanwhile, is expected to win just under $1.11 billion. Executives at many of the cable-news networks have been girding for a potential dip in viewership in 2021, a dynamic that is typical of coverage in the year after a presidential election.
