Lester Holt and Joy Reed leave TV anchor gigs as they shuffle the lineup
Joy Reid and Lester Holt are the latest to quit their positions as TV news adapts to changing audience habits.
Cable News Network continued its music chair game this week.
Longtime MSNBC anchor Joy Reid announced on Monday that he will be leaving the network. Her show “The Reid Out” was cancelled as part of a bigger shakeup.
The move, announced by MSNBC president Rebecca Kutler, appeared to have met some resistance among the network’s top ranks.
One of MSNBC’s biggest stars, Rachel Maddow, responded to his disappointment during the airing Monday night.
“In all the work I have lived, I have no colleague who has more affection and respect than Joy Reed,” Madow told the audience. “I love everything about her.
“I have so much more to learn from her. I don’t want to lose her as a colleague here at MSNBC. Personally, I think it’s a bad mistake for her to leave the door,” she continued. “It’s not my phone, I understand that, but that’s what I think.”
Maddow also called it “anxious” that the network is removing both non-white primetime hosts, targeting what she perceived as a possible racial bias. Unlike Reid, however, Wagner remains in the network as a senior political analyst.
“No matter who replaces them, I feel it’s worse than bad,” she said. “It feels vulnerable, and I don’t defend it.”
Maddow also highlighted the people behind the show, and spotlighted writers who say production crews and writers are being reapplied to their work and are being asked to face potential layoffs. Calling it “not the right way to treat people” and “inefficient,” the author and host expressed disappointment on the network to make difficult times in the news business even more challenging.
USA Today reached out to MSNBC and Maddow for comment.
Despite the decline in network audience, Madou, who still receives high praise for the show of the same name, has a seemingly unique position of power when many veteran hosts are on the chopping block. Masu. On MSNBC’s sister network, Lester Holt announced on Monday that he plans to step down from “NBC Nightly News” by early summer.
On CNN, Alisyn Camerota, Chris Wallace and Jim Acosta have appeared since the 2024 presidential election.
Over the next few weeks, Reid’s 7pm EST time will feature Symone Sanders-Townsend, Michael Steele and Alicia Menendez holding “The Weekend” on Saturday and Sunday. Sanders Townsend serves as an advisor and spokesman for former vice president Kamala Harris, and Steele is the former chairman of the Republican National Committee. Menendez, a former HuffPost live host and producer and daughter of Senator Bob Menendez, will be the first Latina to host the Primetime MSNBC show.
In a staff note, Kutler thanked Reid for “countless contributions over the years.” On Blueski, Reid thanked “all those who reached out to her with kindness and encouragement,” and she said she was “very proud” of her team on “The Reidout.”
Megin Kelly celebrates Joy Reed cancellation and Don Lemon returns
When it comes to political rights, some responded to excitement.
“Remember when Joy Reed laughed and laughed at ‘Tears of a White Woman’ to her as pathetic and aggressive? Former Fox News anchor Megin Kelly wrote to X:
After being expelled from CNN, Don Lemon shot back after moving the show to YouTube.
“The Worst Person? No, Megin Kelly! The Worst Person on TV was fired from NBC and the “Today” show a few years ago. That’s Megin Kelly,” he said on Monday’s episode. “That’s the worst person you’re not on TV anymore. That’s you.”
Kelly hosted “Megyn Kelly Today” during the third hour of the “Today” show from 2017 to 2018.
Contributions: Jay Stahl, Brendan Moreau, Taiwan Muan
This story has been updated to add additional information.