MSNBC is embarking on its first major steps toward building up a newsgathering operation, with plans to add a Washington bureau and domestic and international correspondents.
With MSNBC being spun off from Comcast later this year, a lingering question has been how it will deal with the fact that NBC News will no longer be a sister network. MSNBC has depended on the broadcast network’s correspondents and anchors, particularly during the daytime hours. Andrea Mitchell recently signed off from her early afternoon show, which had run since 2008, but is continuing on the NBC News side as chief Washington correspondent and chief foreign affairs correspondent.
MSNBC President Rebecca Kutler also is hiring for a head of talent, a head of newsgathering, a Washington bureau chief and a head of content strategy, according to a source familiar with the matter. Also being discussed are adding names from outlets like The Washington Post, Politico and other print outlets and networks, as well as upping MSNBC contributors to anchor roles.
Watch on Deadline
Also being eyed are expanded roles for Jen Psaki, who hosts a Sunday afternoon and Monday primetime show, and Symone Sanders-Townsend, Alicia Menendez and Michael Steele, who host the Saturday and Sunday morning show The Weekend, according to the source. When she was an executive at CNN, Kutler recruited Psaki and Sanders. Puck and Variety first reported on the anticipated changes.
Such moves would be a signal that MSNBC will retain its progressive bent in the spin off. The network saw an audience drop following the 2024 election, but there has been an uptick since Donald Trump’s inauguration, with Rachel Maddow returing to a five-night-a-week format for the first 100 days of the new administration.
Kutler was named permanent president of MSNBC earlier this month, succeeding Rashida Jones. She previously oversaw the development and launch of Psaki’s show and The Weekend. She also recruited Michelle Norris to the network after her departure from the Post.
The post MSNBC Building Up News Operation In Advance Of Split From Comcast; Jen Psaki And ‘The Weekend’ Hosts Eyed For Expanded Roles appeared first on Deadline.
