As Mediaite initially reported about MSNBC, the liberal news organization is making some changes, with Now with Alex Wagner, The Cycle, and The Ed Show all being cut from the lineup. The publication reports that Ari Melber of The Cycle will remain with the network as a legal correspondent, and Wagner will remain as well. The Cycle’s other co-hosts, Touré, Abby Huntsman, and Krystal Ball are all leaving. Oh, and Ed Schultz is out too. Here’s a copy of the memo they received from MSNBC President Phil Griffin:
Team,I’m writing to share a number of changes we’re making as we build a new daytime lineup with the best live, breaking news coverage on television.
As of this Friday, “The Cycle,” “Now with Alex Wagner” and “The Ed Show” will air their final shows.
Alex Wagner will stay with MSNBC and play a key role in our political coverage as we head into the 2016 election. And Ari Melber will continue in his role as Chief Legal Correspondent. But we will be parting ways with some friends – Ed Schultz, Krystal Ball, Abby Huntsman and Toure will be leaving MSNBC. Please join me in thanking them for their numerous contributions over the past several years, and in wishing them great success.
Beginning in a few weeks, Chuck Todd will bring his unmatched brand of political insight and analysis back to MSNBC with a daily one-hour program. That show will air weekdays at 5pm.
I know you read press reports last week speculating about these changes. I hope you can understand that we were not able to confirm at that point because we had not yet finalized many of the decisions I’m sharing with you today, and we hadn’t yet spoken directly with the people involved.
In the coming weeks, as we complete our plans to create a new look and flow for our dayside programming, our 3pm to 6pm hours will begin the pivot towards live, breaking news coverage – with interim hosts from among our very talented ranks. And then, in September, we’ll unveil a 9am to 5pm schedule driven by dynamic coverage of breaking news events that are shaping the day.
Change can be hard. There’s no doubt it’s been a difficult time, but we have exciting opportunities ahead.
Phil
So, the good news is that some insufferable liberals are leaving the network. The Media Research Center’s Newsbusters blog will surely miss some of these characters, but they still have Maddow and Chris Matthews to keep an eye on for the foreseeable future.
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