Isabella Simonetti

MSNBC is overhauling much of its lineup, canceling prominent 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.

"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.

Reid's show will be replaced by a news program hosted by Symone Sanders Townsend, Michael Steele and Alicia Menendez. In the coming weeks, rotating anchors will host Reid's time slot.

Other adjustments include moving Psaki to anchor the 9 p.m. hour from Tuesday through 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.

Most of the weekday changes will go into effect in late April.

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.

"My goal is to build on the successes that have distinguished MSNBC from its peers," Kutler said in a note to staff Monday. "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."

Comcast announced in November that it planned to spin off its NBCUniversal cable TV networks, including MSNBC, CNBC, USA, Oxygen, E! and Golf Channel. The legacy TV business has been struggling for years, and Comcast is the first to hive off nearly the entire business into a separate entity.

Rashida Jones stepped down as MSNBC's president last month, after four years at the helm of the cable news channel, as it prepares for the spinoff.

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 24, 2025 13:41 ET (18:41 GMT)

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