Rashida Jones is stepping down as president of MSNBC, a role she’s held for the last four years. She will remain at the organization for a period described as a few months to support it during this transitional period.
Jones will be replaced by Rebecca Kutler, who has been named as the organization’s interim president effective immediately. The SVP of Content Strategy was recruited to MSNBC by Jones in 2022.
The decision to step down came from Jones. Chairman of NBCUniversal Media Group Mark Lazarus admitted he was “surprised” by Jones’ decision during a meeting with staffers, an insider familar with the matter told TheWrap.
“I was a little saddened for the company but very happy for her to be able to come to grips with a hard decision,” Lazarus said during the Tuesday morning meeting. He also noted that Kutler has “my backing to make whatever decisions she thinks helps us in coordination with the rest of you, the leadership.”
“I’m very confident that we have a plan and will follow our mission as it has gone on to date, and we’ll be able to advance who we are and advance our business in our new company,” he continued.
Lazarus also called Jones’ tenure leading the network “extraordinary” in a memo to staff obtained by TheWrap. He also referred to Kutler as a “highly respected industry veteran with decades of experience in executive producing, news programming and business development” in that same memo.
“Rashida has 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,” Lazarus wrote. “MSNBC is well-positioned for the future, and I am grateful that she will continue to support us during this transition.”
In her own memo to staff, Jones noted that she was leaving the organization she’s been part of for the past 11 years to pursue “new opportunities.”
“I came to this decision over the holidays while reflecting on our remarkable journey and the many successes we’ve achieved together as a team. This has been the most rewarding chapter of my professional career and I am immensely proud of what we have accomplished,” Jones wrote in a memo obtained by TheWrap. “Most importantly, I am more confident than ever that MSNBC is well-positioned for the future.”
Lazarus also addressed another organization question during his Tuesday morning meeting — MSNBC will be retaining its name despite corporate reorganization. As part of Comcast’s reorganization, MSNBC and CNBC will no longer be connected to NBC News.
“The worst thing any leader can do is change something that’s working just because they can. So, if this is working, then there’s no reason to change it,” he said.
Jones was first named president of MSNBC in February of 2021, becoming the first Black executive to lead a major television news network. Before taking on the role, Jones served as SVP of NBC News and MSNBC, overseeing several historic events such as election nights, presidential debates and coverage of the COVID-19 pandemic.
During her time as president of MSNBC, the network bested CNN in the ratings on several major political nights, including an election night — a first for the network. During the 2024 election, MSNBC saw 6 million primetime viewers compared to CNN’s 5.1 million viewers. Last year marked MSNBC’s largest viewership advantage over CNN in the network’s history, averaging 65% more viewers when it came to average minute ratings.
Jones also added a great deal of talent to MSNBC during her time as president, including former White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki, former national press secretary for Bernie Sanders Symone Sanders Townsend, award-winning journalist Ana Cabrera, former RNC chairman Michael Steele, former trial attorney Katie Phang and Washington Post columnist Jonathan Capehar. She also oversaw the rebranding of the programming block “MSNBC Reports,” creating clearer separation between the network’s daytime news offerings and more pundit-focused primetime programming, and revamped the network’s weekend block by launching “The Weekend.” The Saturday and Sunday offering has improved MSNBC’s weekend morning average by 37% among total viewers since its launch in January of 2024.
Overall, MSNBC ended 2024 as the No. 2 network across all of cable, even when accounting for the post-election ratings drop. The network averaged 807,000 viewers in total day as well as 1.3 million viewers in primetime, a 2% and 4% increase from 2023, respectively. Additionally, the network saw wins across social media as MSNBC was the most-watched news network of the year on YouTube (3.1 billion viewers) and the most-watched cable network on TikTok (2.9 billion views). Last year also marked the network’s strongest year on social, surpassing six billion views across YouTube, Instagram, TikTok and X, a 109% increase year over year.
As for Kutler, she previously served as SVP of Content Strategy for MSNBC, which involved overseeing MSNBC daytime programming as well as the brand’s non-linear content, before taking on the interim president role. Since joining the network, Kutler has driven the expansion of major programs like “The Weekend” and “Inside With Jen Psaki.” She also led the launches of “MSNBC Live,” the Apple podcast MSNBC Premium and the relaunch of the MSNBC mobile app.
Before joining MSNBC, Kutler was a SVP at CNN, where she spent two decades. During her time at the network competitor, she hired Psaki and Sanders Townsend as political contributors, both of whom are now MSNBC hosts.
