By Isabella Simonetti

MSNBC is overhauling much of its lineup, canceling anchor Joy Reid's show and elevating former Biden White House press secretary Jen Psaki in an effort to refresh its programming while sticking to its progressive bona fides.

At least one of the changes at the network, which has long been in President Trump's crosshairs, drew cheers from the right and condemnation from MSNBC host Rachel Maddow.

"Lowlife Chairman of 'Concast,' Brian Roberts, the owner of Ratings Challenged NBC and MSDNC, has finally gotten the nerve up to fire one of the least talented people in television," Trump wrote on Truth Social late Sunday, before the full lineup change was announced.

During her show on Monday evening, Maddow criticized the decision and called Reid's departure from the network "very, very, very hard to take."

Reid's 7 p.m. show will be replaced by a news program hosted by Symone Sanders Townsend, who served as press secretary for Bernie Sanders's 2016 presidential campaign; former Republican National Committee Chairman Michael Steele; and Alicia Menendez, who has been with MSNBC since 2019. The three currently host a weekend morning show. In the coming weeks, rotating anchors will host Reid's time slot.

Many news networks are figuring out how to cover a second Trump term while navigating the challenges of the declining TV business. Trump has been a frequent critic of MSNBC and a number of media outlets, regularly calling them "fake news" and amplifying concerns about their coverage.

Other changes include moving Psaki to anchor the 9 p.m. hour from Tuesday to Friday, expanding Ali Velshi's program to three hours on the weekends and canceling "José Díaz-Balart Reports" and "The Katie Phang Show," both of which are based in Miami. The network will shut down the Miami broadcasting operation, though Díaz-Balart will remain anchor of "Weekend Nightly News" on NBC and Phang will be an MSNBC legal correspondent.

Host Alex Wagner's show was also canceled, though she will remain at MSNBC as a senior political analyst. Most of the weekday changes will go into effect in late April.

Maddow said that the changes involve the network's two nonwhite hosts in prime time losing their shows. "That feels indefensible and I do not defend it," Maddow said, referring to changes impacting Reid and Wagner.

She added that dozens of staff and producers who work behind the scenes on shows are being laid off or invited to reapply for new jobs.

Comcast announced in November that it planned to spin off its NBCUniversal cable TV networks, including MSNBC, CNBC, USA, Oxygen, E! and Golf Channel.

MSNBC President Rebecca Kutler said she is looking to build out the network's newsgathering operation, including by establishing a Washington, D.C., bureau and adding domestic and international correspondents.

"In the years ahead, we must continue to show up for our audiences in this critical moment while simultaneously best positioning ourselves for the future," Kutler said in a note to staff Monday.

MSNBC has consistently beaten rival network CNN in cable-news ratings in recent years. Its ratings declined between the November election and last month's inauguration, but have started to recover since Trump took office. Fox News remains the runaway leader among cable news networks.

Fox News parent Fox Corp. and The Wall Street Journal's parent company, News Corp, share common ownership.

Write to Isabella Simonetti at isabella.simonetti@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

February 25, 2025 00:48 ET (05:48 GMT)

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