MSNBC chief Rashida Jones steps down as network prepares for spinoff
New York
CNN
—
Rashida Jones is stepping down as president of MSNBC and one of her top lieutenants, Rebecca Kutler, is taking over as interim network president.
The change atop the progressive news network comes as its corporate parent, Comcast, prepares to spin off MSNBC and other cable channels into a separate publicly traded company.
Mark Lazarus, the future CEO of the spin-off, said in a Tuesday morning memo that Jones had "expertly navigated MSNBC through a years-long, unrelenting and unprecedented news cycle, all while driving the network to record viewership and making investments in nonlinear businesses."
Now, Lazarus said, he will collaborate with Kutler "as we shape our collective future together."
Among the looming questions: Will MSNBC alter its approach to political coverage as President-elect Donald Trump regains power? Once the spinoff takes effect, will the network move out of its iconic Rockefeller Center office space? Will management rename the network?
Jones' decision to leave resolves one of the other questions that has been looming over the network. Oliver Darcy of Status reported last month that she was mulling an exit in early 2025. Jones took charge around the same time four years ago, reflecting the fact that TV news transitions often coincide with presidential election and inauguration cycles.
Jones was a historic pick, the first Black person to run a major television news network. She recruited new hosts like Jen Psaki and prioritized digital expansions of the MSNBC brand. In 2022, she hired Kutler from CNN.
TODAY -- Pictured: Rachel Maddow on Monday, October 16, 2023
Nathan Congleton/NBC/Getty Images
Related article
Rachel Maddow returns to MSNBC five nights a week for Trump's first 100 days
Kutler spent 20 years at CNN, first as an intern for one of Wolf Blitzer's shows in the Washington, DC, bureau. She worked her way up into key producer and talent development roles; she launched several shows for CNN, oversaw a huge number of analysts and commentators, and headed up the programming for CNN+, a short-lived streaming news service.
At MSNBC, Kutler "has been a catalyst for growth across our digital, social, and audio platforms, resulting in across-the-board record audience engagement," Lazarus wrote in his memo Tuesday.
He noted that Kutler was promoted just last week to oversee all daytime programming on MSNBC, in addition to her existing role running podcasts, films, live events, streaming, and digital platforms.
In her own internal memo, Jones did not indicate what she plans to do next, but she expressed confidence that "MSNBC is well-positioned for the future."
