Latest news with #JoyReid
Daily Mail
3 days ago
- Business
- Daily Mail
Joy Reid reveals 'real' reasons for her departure from MSNBC
By Ousted MSNBC host Joy Reid (pictured) claimed she was fired from the liberal network due to her race and 'anxiety' over President Donald Trump. Reid, whose show The ReidOut was canceled earlier this year, spoke with former Today Show host Katie Couric on her new podcast Monday when she addressed her termination. 'I try not to speculate too much publicly, because again I can't get inside the minds of other people,' Reid told Couric. 'But I can tell you what other people have speculated about... There are lots of people at the network who are critical of Donald Trump. I mean and they're still critical of him, I'm assuming. So I don't think that's [it] but I do know there's a lot of anxiety both there and I think in every media. We're seeing it at CBS,' she noted, referring to the president's ongoing lawsuit against the network over a 60 Minutes interview with then Vice President Kamala Harris. 'We're seeing it at ABC, where allegedly The View hosts were told not to go so hard on Trump,' Reid continued. 'There's a push for people to "Hey, do less Trump. Do more entertainment. Don't be hard on him."' When Couric then pointed out that fellow MSNBC hosts Rachel Maddow and Nicolle Wallace were also hard on the president, Reid claimed the 'only way' she differed from them is because 'I'm a black woman doing the thing. I think that there is a difference for Trump in hearing the kinds of criticisms, specifically out of a black woman,' Reid claimed. 'It bothers him in a way it doesn't bother him like anything else.' 'He's got this sort of tick about race, you know, and about, sort of criticism coming specifically from a black woman because we've seen him lay out and dish out real abuse against black woman journalists.' she continued. The former MSNBC host went on to say she 'tried to constantly unpack the racial history of the country' on her show, which she said she can do 'because not only am I a black woman, but I come from immigrant parents who come from what Donald Trump would consider [expletive]hole countries.' Reid also denied that her show was canceled for failing ratings, claiming that it was 'down less' in ratings than any other MSNBC program except for Rachel Maddow's show. The ReidOut had shed 47 percent of its total audience following the 2024 presidential election, averaging just 759,000 viewers, according to Fox News. Throughout the election cycle, though, the show was averaging 1.4 million viewers. 'Our show was down less than any other primetime show,' Reid told Couric on Monday. 'We were down - other than Rachel Maddow - we were down the least. 'So we were just told that we were holding on pretty well,' she said, arguing that she still doesn't know why she was fired - claiming the reason MSNBC executives gave was 'perfunctory' and 'scripted.' She even noted that she was being careful on social media ahead of her ouster, apparently addressing a recent report suggesting her social media rants 'gave the Standards Department heartburn. 'Anytime I would tweet anything, I would get calls - I would get "Please get off Twitter, we hate it,"' the liberal news host admitted. 'They just don't like that it pulls their talent and their reporters out of control, because now you're not running what you're tweeting through Standards and Practices,' she told Couric. 'It's giving your personality directly to the audience, which they don't like because it's no longer managed and curated by them.' But in the lead up to her firing, Reid said 'we were being very careful and I was trying to be more careful about anything on social media.' It has now been claimed that executives at the network had been trying to get rid of Reid since late 2023, before new MSNBC President Rebecca Kutler (Pictured) pulled the plug on her show this year. Reid's slot has since been taken over by The WeekNight, an ensemble program featuring former Kamala Harris spokeswoman Symone Sanders-Townsend, Alicia Menendez - the daughter of disgraced New Jersey Sen. Bob Menendez, and former Republican National Committee Chair Michael Steele. Yet MSNBC's new lineup has failed to perform, dropping 41 percent in the primetime demographic and 34 percent in the total day demo last month when compared to the year before. The Weeknight had just 707,000 viewers on May 22, but only 56,000 of them were in the key demographic. The show has an average of 770,000 viewers, which is 36 percent lower than the 1.2 million that watched MSNBC at 7pm at the same time last year. Jen Psaki, who took over for Rachel Maddow during the 9pm timeslot from Tuesday to Friday, also saw a 46 percent drop from the average of 1.82 million who were watching her timeslot when Maddow was hosting during the first 100 days of the Trump administration. Psaki's numbers are also down 20 percent from the average of Alex Wagner, who hosted the show last year while Maddow was anchoring on Mondays. Even Maddow herself is failing to keep audiences interested. Her Monday program averaged 1.8 million total viewers since MSNBC launched its new shows, which represents a 24 percent dip from last year when she pulled in 2.4 million viewers.
Yahoo
3 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Joy Reid: How MSNBC Tried to Silence Me Before Firing
MSNBC tried to stop Joy Reid from expressing herself on social media before ultimately firing her from its primetime lineup. Her MSNBC bosses were 'horrified' by the way she used social media platforms like Twitter, she told Katie Couric on her new podcast Monday. 'And anytime I would tweet anything, I would get calls—I would get, 'Please get off Twitter, we hate it.'' 'They just don't like that it pulls their talent and their reporters out of their control because now you're not running what you're tweeting through Standards and Practices,' Reid continued. 'It's giving your personality directly to the audience, which they don't like because it's no longer managed and curated by them.' Reid is gearing up to launch her YouTube show and podcast 'The Joy Reid Show' on June 9, but she got candid about her time at MSNBC a week in advance during a preview conversation with Couric, which she also uploaded to YouTube after hosting the livestream on her website. Her comments come after MSNBC canceled Reid's primetime show The ReidOut without explanation in February, as part of a network shakeup following Donald Trump's election win that resulted in the exodus of several of the network's non-white anchors. Former MSNBC host Keith Olbermann characterized the moves as 'an MSNBC purge so brutally racist it makes you think it was done by [Elon] Musk.' Reid opened up about The ReidOut's end when Couric asked her what 'really happened' on Monday. 'I've been asked this so many times,' she told Couric. 'And people think that I'm just saying it to B.S., but I'm being honest with you—I don't know.' Just before she found out the news, Reid said, 'We were emailing back and forth with the PR department, praising our win for the NAACP Image Award.' 'It wasn't ratings' that got the show canceled, Reid went on, 'because we had just had a ratings meeting a couple of weeks before that talking about the fact that our show… other than Rachel Maddow, we were down the least' after Trump's election win. The Daily Beast reported in March that Reid's ratings were actually increasing when she was let go. 'We were just told that we were doing… that we were holding on pretty well,' she continued. 'And then, you know, it's not like the ratings have gotten better since I've been gone.' Reid also said the way she was told that her show was canceled felt 'scripted' and 'just very perfunctory.' 'I wasn't told 'The ratings were terrible,' 'It's something you did,' 'You tweeted a terrible thing,'' she said, adding that she was already being 'extra careful' online at the time, since 'there was a real anxiety about social media.' Reid she doesn't necessarily think her show was canceled because of her outspoken criticism of Trump, as many of her fans have speculated—but she said there's one reason she's not completely ruling it out. 'I'm a Black woman doing the thing. You know what I mean? And so I'm not different' from MSNBC hosts and Trump critics Rachel Maddow or Nicole Wallace, but 'I think that there's a difference for Trump in hearing the kinds of criticisms, specifically, out of a Black woman. It bothers him in a way it doesn't bother him like anything else.' 'There's a fear of him,' she also said, 'We're seeing it everywhere.'
Yahoo
3 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Rachel Maddow's MSNBC Replacement Loses Half of Her Viewers
MSNBC star Jen Psaki took over Rachel Maddow's coveted 9 p.m. slot from Tuesday through Friday last month—and lost just about half of her nightly viewers, May's ratings reports reveal. The former White House press secretary launched The Briefing with Jen Psaki in the slot on May 6, the flagship addition to the network's revamped primetime lineup that included replacing Joy Reid's 7 p.m. The ReidOut with The Weeknight, featuring anchors Symone Sanders-Townsend, Michael Steele, and Alicia Menendez. Psaki averaged 971,000 viewers throughout the month, down from Maddow's 1.89 million ratings this year—representing a 47 percent drop—and even worse than former time slot occupant Alex Wagner's 1.3 million average from 2022 to January 2025, according to Nielsen ratings obtained by Fox News. Maddow hosted the show five nights a week to cover President Donald Trump's first 100 days in office. Psaki averaged 78,000 viewers in the advertiser-coveted 25-54 age demographic, also down 52 percent from Maddow's 161,000 viewers in the demo from Tuesday through Friday, according to Fox News. While Psaki's salary is not publicly known, it is certainly far less than the reported $25 million per year the network is currently paying Maddow to host her show just once a week. Psaki's launch coincided with a number of sporting events throughout the month, including the NBA playoffs—where game six of the New York Knicks-Indiana Pacers series drew 8.12 million viewers, and overall playoff ratings are up 3 percent from last year—as well as the NHL playoffs. Primetime ratings were also down across all major cable news outlets during the same period, as CNN dropped 18 percent in total viewers and 23 percent in the demo and Fox News dropped 5 percent in total viewers and 11 percent in the demo, according to AdWeek. But as MSNBC launches its new primetime lineup in the midst of its parent company Versant's spin-off from Comcast, its primetime declines—27 percent in total viewers and 30 percent in the demo—present an uphill battle as the shows work to find their audiences. MSNBC representatives did not comment. The Weeknight, which debuted on May 5 with former The Weekend hosts Sanders-Townsend, Steele, and Menendez, averaged 776,000 viewers throughout May, a 12 percent drop from the time slot's 2025 average with Joy Reid in the anchor seat. It averaged 72,000 viewers in the 25-54 demo, a 20 percent decrease from the 90,000 viewers the time slot drew throughout the year, according to Fox News. The left-leaning network drew more primetime total viewers than CNN throughout May, as 1.1 million people tuned into the network compared to CNN's 481,000, the network announced last week. However, both networks saw their second-lowest months ever in the 25-54 demo during primetime, according to Forbes. If there is any bright spot in MSNBC's ratings last month, it comes on weekend mornings. The newly revamped The Weekend, led by Jonathan Capehart, Jackie Alemany, and Eugene Daniels, is up by 24 percent in total viewers and 21 percent in the demo. An MSNBC source told the Daily Beast the network has managed to attract viewers due to the chaotic news cycle of Trump's first 100 days and that Psaki has managed to build her audience from 8 p.m.'s All In, hosted by Chris Hayes. They also said there were signs news fatigue as cable news ratings dropped across the board. The network has taken a cautious approach to navigating the turbulent news cycle. Maddow's five-day-a-week tenure helped stabilize and grow ratings after a post-election drop-off, and newly installed MSNBC President Rebecca Kutler has fleshed out her leadership team and begun hiring at least 100 journalists. Still, former hosts have criticized how the network has handled its talent. Reid told Katie Couric in an interview to promote her new online show that MSNBC was 'horrified' by her social media posts. 'They just don't like that it pulls their talent and their reporters out of their control because now you're not running what you're tweeting through Standards and Practices,' Reid said. 'It's giving your personality directly to the audience, which they don't like because it's no longer managed and curated by them.'
Daily Mail
3 days ago
- Business
- Daily Mail
Former MSNBC star whines about the 'real' reason she was fired from struggling network
Ousted MSNBC host Joy Reid claimed she was fired from the liberal network due to her race and 'anxiety' over President Donald Trump. Reid, whose show The ReidOut was canceled earlier this year, spoke with former Today Show host Katie Couric on her new podcast Monday when she addressed her termination. 'I try not to speculate too much publicly, because again I can't get inside the minds of other people,' Reid told Couric. 'But I can tell you what other people have speculated about... There are lots of people at the network who are critical of Donald Trump. I mean and they're still critical of him, I'm assuming. 'So I don't think that's [it] but I do know there's a lot of anxiety both there and I think in every media. We're seeing it at CBS,' she noted, referring to the president's ongoing lawsuit against the network over a 60 Minutes interview with then Vice President Kamala Harris. 'We're seeing it at ABC, where allegedly The View hosts were told not to go so hard on Trump,' Reid continued. 'There's a push for people to "Hey, do less Trump. Do more entertainment. Don't be hard on him."' When Couric then pointed out that fellow MSNBC hosts Rachel Maddow and Nicolle Wallace were also hard on the president, Reid claimed the 'only way' she differed from them is because 'I'm a black woman doing the thing.' Reid discussed the sudden cancelation of her show The ReidOut with former Today Show host Katie Couric on her podcast Monday 'I think that there is a difference for Trump in hearing the kinds of criticisms, specifically out of a black woman,' Reid claimed. 'It bothers him in a way it doesn't bother him like anything else. 'He's got this sort of tick about race, you know, and about, sort of criticism coming specifically from a black woman because we've seen him lay out and dish out real abuse against black woman journalists.' she continued. The former MSNBC host went on to say she 'tried to constantly unpack the racial history of the country' on her show, which she said she can do 'because not only am I a black woman, but I come from immigrant parents who come from what Donald Trump would consider s***hole countries.' Reid also denied that her show was canceled for failing ratings, claiming that it was 'down less' in ratings than any other MSNBC program except for Rachel Maddow's show. The ReidOut had shed 47 percent of its total audience following the 2024 presidential election, averaging just 759,000 viewers, according to Fox News. Throughout the election cycle, though, the show was averaging 1.4 million viewers. 'Our show was down less than any other primetime show,' Reid told Couric on Monday. 'We were down - other than Rachel Maddow - we were down the least. 'So we were just told that we were holding on pretty well,' she said, arguing that she still doesn't know why she was fired - claiming the reason MSNBC executives gave was 'perfunctory' and 'scripted.' She even noted that she was being careful on social media ahead of her ouster, apparently addressing a recent report suggesting her social media rants 'gave the Standards Department heartburn. 'Anytime I would tweet anything, I would get calls - I would get "Please get off Twitter, we hate it,"' the liberal news host admitted. 'They just don't like that it pulls their talent and their reporters out of control, because now you're not running what you're tweeting through Standards and Practices,' she told Couric. 'It's giving your personality directly to the audience, which they don't like because it's no longer managed and curated by them.' But in the lead up to her firing, Reid said 'we were being very careful and I was trying to be more careful about anything on social media.' It has now been claimed that executives at the network had been trying to get rid of Reid since late 2023, before new MSNBC President Rebecca Kutler pulled the plug on her show this year. Reid's slot has since been taken over by The WeekNight, an ensemble program featuring former Kamala Harris spokeswoman Symone Sanders-Townsend, Alicia Menendez - the daughter of disgraced New Jersey Sen. Bob Menendez, and former Republican National Committee Chair Michael Steele. Yet MSNBC's new lineup has failed to perform, dropping 41 percent in the primetime demographic and 34 percent in the total day demo last month when compared to the year before. The Weeknight had just 707,000 viewers on May 22, but only 56,000 of them were in the key demographic. The show has an average of 770,000 viewers, which is 36 percent lower than the 1.2 million that watched MSNBC at 7pm at the same time last year. Jen Psaki, who took over for Rachel Maddow during the 9pm timeslot from Tuesday to Friday, also saw a 46 percent drop from the average of 1.82 million who were watching her timeslot when Maddow was hosting during the first 100 days of the Trump administration. Psaki's numbers are also down 20 percent from the average of Alex Wagner, who hosted the show last year while Maddow was anchoring on Mondays.
Fox News
3 days ago
- Business
- Fox News
Joy Reid floats speculation that her race, 'anxiety' surrounding Trump played role in MSNBC firing
Ex-MSNBC host Joy Reid spoke out about her show being canceled on Monday, speculating that her race and network "anxiety" surrounding President Donald Trump played a role in her ultimately being fired from the liberal network. "I try not to speculate too much publicly because, again, I can't get inside the minds of other people. But I can tell you what other people have speculated about… There are lots of people at the network who are critical of Donald Trump. I mean, and they're still critical of him, I'm assuming, you know. So I don't think that's [it], but I do know there is a lot of anxiety both there and, I think, in every media. We're seeing it at CBS," she said, referring to Trump's lawsuit against the network over a "60 Minutes" interview with former Vice President Kamala Harris. Reid spoke with Katie Couric in a video posted on her Substack page and on her YouTube channel. Reid's MSNBC show was canceled earlier this year. "We're seeing it at ABC, where allegedly 'The View' hosts were told not to go so hard on Trump. There's a push for people to, hey, do less Trump. Do more entertainment. Don't be hard on him," the former MSNBC host said, noting reporting that ABC's "The View" hosts were told to tone down their political discussions. Couric pointed out that there was no difference between Reid and liberal hosts Nicolle Wallace or Rachel Maddow, to which Reid responded, "only in one way was I different. I'm a Black woman doing the thing." "I think that there is a difference for Trump in hearing the kinds of criticisms specifically out of a Black woman, it bothers him in a way it doesn't bother him like anything else. He's got this sort of tick about race, you know, and about, sort of criticism coming specifically from a Black woman because we've seen him lay out and dish out real abuse against Black women journalists," Reid said during her conversation with Couric. "I did a specific thing, which was, I tried to constantly unpack the racial history of the country, which is very much against the sort of Project 2025 thing. And it's something I can do in a certain capacity because of my background, because not only am I a Black woman, but I come from immigrant parents who come from what Donald Trump would consider s---hole countries, but that have a take on race that is different," Reid continued. Reid's show was replaced with "The WeekNight", an ensemble program featuring former Kamala Harris spokesperson Symone Sanders-Townsend, Alicia Menendez, the daughter of disgraced former New Jersey Sen. Bob Menendez, and Michael Steele, the former Republican National Committee chair who now staunchly opposes the GOP. MSNBC's new lineup has struggled in its first month, with Psaki shedding half the audience her predecessors averaged in the same timeslot, and with its other new programming struggling to attract viewers. MSNBC and ABC's "The View" did not immediately return requests for comment. Reid said prior to her show's cancellation, she was told that her show was "down less" in ratings than any other MSNBC show, aside from Maddow's. Reid and her former primetime colleagues faced a major ratings decline after Trump won the election. Her show, "The Reidout," shed 47% of its total audience, averaging just 759,000 viewers after averaging 1.4 million viewers throughout 2024 leading up to Election Day, "Our show was down less than any other primetime show. We were down, other than Rachel Maddow, we were down the least. So we were just told that we were holding on pretty well. And, you know, it's not like the ratings have gotten better since I've been gone. So I can tell you, honestly, I even had my exit interview and no one has told me why I was fired. I have no idea," she said. Reid said MSNBC's reasoning was "scripted" and "perfunctory," and explained that she had started being careful on social media. "We were being very careful, and I was trying to be more careful about anything on social media, because I know there was a real anxiety about social media, very much an anxiety about anything on social media," she said. "I don't know, I genuinely was not told."
