Joy Reid’s evening news show on MSNBC is being canceled, part of a far-reaching programming overhaul orchestrated by Rebecca Kutler, the network’s new president, two people familiar with the changes said.
The final episode of Ms. Reid’s 7 p.m. show, “The ReidOut,” is planned for sometime this week, according to the people, who were not authorized to speak publicly. The show, which features in-depth interviews with politicians and other newsmakers, has been a fixture of MSNBC’s lineup for the past five years.
MSNBC is planning to replace Ms. Reid’s program with a show led by a trio of anchors: Symone Sanders Townsend, a political commentator and former Democratic strategist; Michael Steele, a former chairman of the Republican National Committee; and Alicia Menendez, the TV journalist, the people said. They currently co-host “The Weekend,” which airs Saturday and Sunday mornings.
An MSNBC spokesman, Richard Hudock, declined to comment. Ms. Reid declined to comment.
The programming shake-up is the first major change made by Ms. Kutler, who was appointed president this month. Ms. Kutler has been drawing up a new programming lineup to jump-start the network’s ratings, which have outperformed rival CNN but lagged behind the longtime ratings leader, Fox News.
Other major changes are expected at MSNBC. In January, Rachel Maddow, the network’s best-known anchor, returned to hosting her 9 p.m. show five days a week during the first 100 days of the Trump administration after having scaled back to only Mondays. At the time, the network said that Alex Wagner, who had hosted the 9 p.m. show four days a week, would return at the end of April.
Article by:Source:
