Reidâs namesake show, âThe ReidOut,â has been a fixture of MSNBCâs evening programming since 2020. In the hourlong newscast, held on weeknights at 7 p.m. E.T., Reid conducts interviews with politicians and other newsmakers â diving into an extensive array of political issues and intersections between race, culture and social justice.
Reports about MSNBC cancelling âThe ReidOutâ emerged online over the weekend, sparking outrage from supporters of the show, who point to the impact itâs had on elevating historically marginalized voices in todayâs media landscape. MSNBC president Rebecca Kutler later confirmed Reidâs departure on Monday afternoon in a memo to staff, viewed by The Associated Press.
âJoy Reid is leaving the network and we thank her for her countless contributions over the years,â Kutler wrote.
In the coming weeks, rotating anchors will host Reidâs hour, Kutler added. Symone Sanders Townsend, Michael Steele, and Alicia Menendez â who currently serve as hosts of âThe Weekend,â another MSNBC program â will later move to weekdays at 7 p.m. to host a new ensemble news program, per the staff memo.
Prior to Kutlerâs memo, Reid also took to social media to thank those who she said had reached out to her with messages of support over the weekend.
âI just want to say thank you to everyone who has reached out with kindness and encouragement, both personally and in these social media streets,â Reid wrote in a message posted to BlueSky and Instagram just after midnight â adding that she was âso very proudâ of âThe ReidOutâ team.
Late Sunday, Reid also joined a call streamed on YouTube with Win With Black Women â sharing that Monday would be her final show. She told the group that she had âbeen through every emotionâ since learning the news, including anger and disappointment, but âwhere Iâve landed on today is just gratitude.â
âMy show had value,â she said on the call, listing the range of topics her team tackled each day. âWhether it was the Black Lives Matter issues … (or) talking about Gaza and the fact that we as the American people have … a right to object to little babies being bombed … I am not sorry that I stood up for those things.â
Over the years, Reid has been recognized with numerous accolades for her work. Most recently, she won two NAACP Image Awards over the weekend â including for âThe ReidOutâ as an outstanding news series, as well as for outstanding literary work for her biography âMedgar and Myrlie: Medgar Evers and the Love Story That Awakened America.â
The cancellation of âThe ReidOutâ isnât the only programming change on the horizon for MSNBC. In Mondayâs staff memo, Kutler also pointed to several other updates to both the weekday and weekend lineup â most of which are set to go into effect in late April.
They include moving Jen Psaki to the 9 p.m. primetime hour for Tuesdays through Fridays and ending Alex Wagnerâs current nighttime spot. Wagner will stay with the network as a senior political analyst, per Mondayâs memo. And Rachel Maddowâs namesake show will return to Mondays at 9 p.m. following the first 100 days of the Trump administration.
Meanwhile, as MSNBC works to consolidate broadcast locations to New York and Washington, D.C., the network is also planning to end operations in Miami â in a move that will impact shows like âJosĂ© DĂaz-Balart Reportsâ and âThe Katie Phang Show.â DĂaz-Balart will stay with NBC News as anchor of âWeekend Nightly News,â the staff memo notes, while Phang will remain with MSNBC as a legal correspondent.
âIn the years ahead, we must continue to show up for our audiences in this critical moment while simultaneously best positioning ourselves for the future,â Kutler wrote Monday â adding she had hoped to share such changes with staff directly and âunderstand the frustration that you first learned about this over the weekend and not from me.â
Kutler, a former CNN executive who joined MSNBC in 2022, was officially MSNBC president on Feb. 12 â just weeks into serving under an interim capacity after former network head Rashida Jones announced that she would be stepping down last month.
The leadership and programming shakeup also arrives amid a corporate ownership transition. MSNBC is set to no longer have any corporate connection to NBC News once a spinoff formally takes effect later this year.