Rashida Jones To Become First Black President at MSNBC
Rashida Jones will succeed Phil Griffin as president of MSNBC, the network announced Monday.
Cesar Conde, chairman of the NBCUniversal News Group, said in a memo to staffers that Griffin will retire early next year and Jones will become president on February 1.
“After the presidential election, Phil and I spoke about his desire to depart at a time of his choosing and when he felt confident about the strength of the network he loves,” Conde wrote in a memo to staffers.
Griffin has been with MSNBC since it was launched almost 25 years ago, and has served as president since 2008. Conde wrote that Griffin “has built something remarkable. He leaves the network in the best shape it has ever been. Six straight record years. Each one better than the last.”
Jones (not to be confused with the actress of the same name) has been a rising star at the network, and in April was named to a new role overseeing daytime programming in addition to serving as senior VP of specials for NBC News and MSNBC.
“Rashida knows and understands MSNBC, in part because it’s where she started when she first joined NBCU seven years ago,” Conde wrote. “She knows that it is the people who work here that make it great, and she understands its culture. She also appreciates the impact and potential of the brand.”
The changes are the latest at NBCUniversal’s news properties. In May, Conde took on the role of chairman of NBCUniversal News Group, which includes NBC News, MSNBC and CNBC, in a restructuring after Andrew Lack announced that he was stepping down as NBC News Group president.
Jones will be the first Black executive to lead one of the major cable news networks. She has led breaking news and event coverage at the network, including election night and presidential debates. In an interview with MSNBC’s Mika Brzezinski in October, said said of the challenge of covering breaking news during the Covid-19 pandemic, “If you would’ve told me in January that we were moving the entire organization to their bedrooms and living rooms, I would have laughed. But now it has become so seamless. It’s unbelievable what we’ve been able to do.”
Before she joined NBC News, Jones was the news director for the NBC affiliate in Columbia, SC, and also served as director of live programming for The Weather Channel. She is a graduate of Hampton University.
Story via Deadline.