MSNBC President Rashida Jones has revealed to network staffers she is departing the cable news network. Rebecca Kutler will serve as interim president.
Jones has served in the role for the past four years, but told executives and employees at the outlet the time was right to consider other roles after the network has seen a drop in ratings since the 2024 presidential election.
Under her tutelage, MSNBC made forays into the digital space with a strong podcast push, in addition to increasing its live event presence. During the 2024 election, the network utilized live events with its stars to target newer and younger audiences, most frequently surrounding political events like the political party conventions.
The decision by Rashida Jones to exit also coincides with the uncertain future the network has after parent company Comcast announced plans to spin off its cable properties — including CNBC — into a new publicly traded company called SpinCo.
Rebecca Kutler will serve as the interim President at MSNBC after Jones’ exit. Kutler was recently elevated to oversee the network’s dayside programming after previously being charged with leading the network’s digital content and live events.
She joined in 2022 after spending the bulk of her career with CNN. She served as the Senior Vice President and Head of Programming for CNN+ before Warner Bros. Discovery shuttered the streaming platform. Kutler was elevated to that role after previously overseeing the analysts, contributors, and commentators for CNN, which she began in 2015. In total, she spent more than 20 years at CNN before moving to MSNBC as the Senior Vice President of Content Strategy.
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