In a significant development, MSNBC has largely ceased its reliance on NBC News correspondents and crews for its coverage as of Monday.
This move marks a pivotal step in the ongoing separation process between the two entities, a process that has been in the works for some time.
According to Fox News, the cable network MSNBC and NBC were once closely intertwined, with MSNBC heavily depending on the news-gathering operation and talent pool of its sister broadcast network. However, this symbiotic relationship began to unravel when Comcast announced last year that it would be spinning off its cable networks into a separate entity, now known as Versant.
This new company will house MSNBC, CNBC, USA Network, Oxygen, E!, SYFY, and the Golf Channel, among other assets. Meanwhile, NBCUniversal will retain NBC News, the NBC News Now streaming network, Telemundo, and Bravo.
The transition has seen NBC News staff who accepted new roles at MSNBC moving to their new positions, thereby ceasing to report for NBC News platforms. This separation has allowed MSNBC to follow its own Standards guidance, freeing it from the need to align with regulations set by NBC.
From an operational perspective, MSNBC has also stopped depending on NBC News, except for coverage based in Washington, D.C. This arrangement is set to continue until October 20, as an insider from the network informed Fox News Digital.
Once MSNBC fully severs its ties with Washington, D.C. operations on October 20, it will no longer participate in NBC News-led editorial calls and meetings. This move will mark the first time in its 30-year history that MSNBC will operate entirely independently of NBC News.
In a bid to further distance itself from the NBC brand, MSNBC plans to change its name to "My Source News Opinion World," or MS NOW. However, the date for this name change remains undisclosed.
As it prepares for the split, MSNBC has embarked on a hiring spree, advertising dozens of open positions over the past week as it seeks to establish its independence from the legacy media organization.
This separation comes at a challenging time for MSNBC, which saw a significant drop in its viewership in the third quarter. The network lost 45% of its total day audience and 59% of viewers from the advertiser-coveted demographic, compared to the same quarter last year.
This performance marked MSNBCs worst showing in the critical demographic since 1997.
Despite this downturn, all current MSNBC lineup members will stay on through the network's transformation into MS NOW. This includes Rachel Maddow, Jen Psaki, Chris Hayes, Nicolle Wallace, Ari Melber, Lawrence ODonnell, Stephanie Ruhle, Joe Scarborough, and Mika Brzezinski.
However, NBC managed to retain Steve Kornacki, the network's data and polling expert who had become a staple of MSNBC's election night coverage. Andrea Mitchell, who concluded her long-running MSNBC program "Andrea Mitchell Reports" in February, will stay with NBC as its chief Washington and foreign affairs correspondent.
Several NBC reporters, including justice beat reporters Ken Dilanian and Ryan Reilly, national correspondent Jacob Soboroff, White House correspondent Vaughn Hillyard, and internet reporter Brandy Zadrozny, will join MS NOW. Meghan Rafferty, the former executive producer of "NBC Nightly News," will transition to MSNBC and serve as Vice President of News Standards.
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