Disgruntled Rachel Maddow Caught Up in MSNBC Bloodbath: Report

www.westernjournal.com

MSNBC’s recent housecleaning is touching a nerve with the staff who produce Rachel Maddow’s show, according to a new report.

The employees who produce Maddow’s show, who also worked on the show of the since-axed Joy Reid, are being given the option of shifting to other jobs or seeking severance pay, according to The Guardian.

Maddow’s executive producer and several other senior producers are exempt, the report said.

Maddow is hosting her show five nights a week until April 21, when she will revert to only appearing on Monday. Jen Psaki, who was the White House press secretary under former President Joe Biden, will begin hosting that time slot on Tuesdays through Fridays.

The report said although employees have been told other openings will be offered to them, staffers are worried they might need to relocate for those positions.

Maddow threw some zingers at MSNBC management Monday night, saying staff  were “really being put through the wringer” by the threat of layoffs and being “invited to reapply for new jobs”.

“That has never happened at this scale, in this way before when it comes to programming changes, presumably because it’s not the right way to treat people, and it’s inefficient and it’s unnecessary and it kind of drops the bottom out of whether or not people feel like this is a good place to work, and so we don’t generally do things that way,” she said.

Maddow scolded MSNBC for making a “bad mistake” by firing Reid.

“Personally, I think it is a bad mistake to let her walk out the door,” Maddow said. “It is not my call and I understand that, but that’s what I think.”

“It is also unnerving to see on a network where we’ve got two, two non-white hosts in prime time, both of our non-white hosts in prime time are losing their shows, as is Katie Phang on the weekend. And that feels worse than bad no matter who replaces them. That feels indefensible and I do not defend it,” she said.

According to the New York Post, shifting staff away from Maddow will not require layoffs.

Citing a source it did not name, the shift was labeled a reallocation of resources and that all affected employees can apply for other jobs that are opening up.

As noted by Fox News, MSNBC is facing two major issues.

NBCUniversal is looking to spin off the network as part of a deal to package a number of its properties in a potential sale.

Further, MSNBC has been battling severe declines in its ratings.

Contributor, News

Advertise with The Western Journal and reach millions of highly engaged readers, while supporting our work. Advertise Today.