Rashida Jones is stepping down as MSNBC president on the eve of Trump’s inauguration

MSNBC President Rashida Jones says she is stepping down after four years as head of the liberal news network, her move coming on the eve of another Trump administration and following changes in corporate ownership.

Jones said in a memo to staff Tuesday that she is leaving to “pursue new opportunities.” She will be temporarily replaced by Rebecca Kutler, a former CNN executive who joined MSNBC in 2022.

During Jones’ tenure, MSNBC has generally supplanted CNN as the second-ranked cable news-focused network behind Fox News Channel. Its ratings are sharply down since the election of Donald Trump.

MSNBC’s lineup has remained fairly consistent since Jones, the first black executive to lead a cable news network, moved from NBC News to take over there in 2021. Former Biden administration press secretary Jen Psaki is her highest profile addition.

In November, Comcast announced it was spinning off MSNBC and CNBC from NBC News own companyled by director Mark Lazarus, meaning Jones was responding to new corporate leadership.

At a morning meeting Tuesday, Jones said she was “excited about what we’ve done. I’m excited about what’s next.” She shed some light on the timing, although corporate changes and political transitions often trigger changes in the news industry.

“When Rashida shared this with me at the end of last week, I was surprised,” Lazarus said in the meeting, according to MSNBC. “I was a little upset with the company, but very happy that she was able to address a difficult decision – a very personal decision.”

No name change for MSNBC

Lazarus also told staffers Tuesday that MSNBC will keep its name. There had been some talk that it would be changed under new corporate management; the name was a result of a partnership with Microsoft when the network started in 1996. There have been few other indications of visible changes to viewers yet due to the uncoupling from NBC News.

Jones generally kept a low public profile as an MSNBC host. She made significant changes to the network’s weekend lineup, extending the weekday duration of two of MSNBC’s more popular shows: “Morning Joe” and Nicolle Wallace in the afternoon.

She had to deal with the internal fallout over NBC News’ decision last year to hire former Republican National Committee chief Ronna McDaniel as a paid contributor, which was reversed after a open mutiny among many MSNBC personalities.

MSNBC’s ratings are down 57% since Trump’s election. The network notes that post-election audiences for cable networks closely associated with a losing candidate typically decline, and that there are already signs that things are picking up again. Whether it will be to the extent it was for MSNBC in 2017 is an open question, especially with more people eliminating their cable service.

This was announced by MSNBC on Monday its most popular personalityRachel Maddow, returns to host her show five nights in the first few months of the new administration. Since 2022, she has generally done her show one night a week.

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David Bauder writes about media for AP. Follow him at and