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Sarah Sherman opened the first “Saturday Night Live” episode of 2025 by portraying political commentator Rachel Maddow. In the sketch, Maddow hosted an MSNBC panel, which included Marcello Hernandez as Ari Melber, Ego Nwodim as Joy Reed, Heidi Gardner as Stephanie Ruhle and Andrew Dismukes as Chris Hayes.

The panelist began discussing the forthcoming inauguration, the devastating wildfires in Los Angeles and the TikTok ban.

“Hello, and welcome to MSNBC. I am Rachel Meadow and Dads, you better hide your older bookish lesbian daughters because yeah, I’m back on TV tonight for our special inauguration weekend coverage,” Sherman says.

Before the panelists could even get into the topics of the day. Sherman interrupts them saying, “We have some breaking news. Trump has apparently just told reporters that he would like to quote Trade Connecticut.”

She goes on to add, “Sorry, Ari, we’re getting breaking news that Trump just told...

The Saturday Night Live cold open saw James Austin Johnson returning as Donald Trump, two days before the inauguration, this time talking about the TikTok ban.

About an hour before the show aired, TikTok really did go dark as a new U.S. law was about to go into effect restricting the social media platform from U.S. app stores. The law gave Chinese parent ByteDance a time frame to sell TikTok or face a ban. A sale never happened, and TikTok said the ban went into effect at midnight.

The premise of the SNL open was MSNBC’s coverage of inauguration weekend, with Rachel Maddow (Sarah Sherman) and other anchors struggling to focus on the substance of Trump’s policies but perpetually distracted by his many wild proposals and Truth Social posts.

Then, with the TikTok news, the anchors were unable to resist going to coverage of Trump’s statement.

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Joe Biden’s long, unlikely political career spanned five decades, and the outgoing president will cap his legacy with a farewell address tonight. There are no details on what his speech will entail, but he is likely tout his accomplishments domestically and abroad. Biden also delivered a foreign policy-focused speech at the State Department on Monday.

At a Glance: How to Watch President Biden’s Farewell Address

TV: ABC,...

MSNBC’s star host Rachel Maddow will return to hosting her 9 p.m. show five nights per week later this month in a temporary move connected to the first 100 days of the Trump administration.

Maddow, of course, currently only hosts her show on Monday nights, and on evenings with major news events. Alex Wagner hosts the 9 p.m. hour Tuesday through Friday.

The temporary setup will see Maddow one again in the anchor chair every night at 9 starting on Inauguration Day, Jan. 20.

Wagner, meanwhile, will be hitting the road for what MSNBC is calling “Trumpland: The First 100 Days,” in which she will travel the country reporting on the impact of Trump’s policies and impact.

Both Maddow and Wagner will return to their normal schedules beginning May 1.

“This is a consequential next chapter in American politics,” MSNBC president Rashida Jones said in a statement. “The moment we’re in requires...

Rachel Maddow will return to a five-night-a-week schedule for the first 100 days of Donald Trump’s administration, bolstering the MSNBC lineup at a crucial period.

Maddow has hosted the network’s top-rated show on one night each week, Mondays, since 2022. Alex Wagner anchors the 9 p.m. Et hour Tuesdays through Fridays.

During the 100 days, Wagner will travel the country for a series of reports called Trumpland: The First 100 Days, focused on the impacts of the returning president’s policies. In the final 100 days before the election, Wagner reported from the Democratic National Convention and the presidential debates and other political events.

As the top ratings getter, Maddow’s return to a weeknight schedule may give the network a needed boost following a viewership tune-out after Election Day, a drop that also has beset CNN. Executives hope that audiences will turn once the new administration gets up and running. Maddow and...

Despite her intention to focus more of her time on films, books, documentaries and podcasts, Rachel Maddow keeps getting tangled in MSNBC’s primetime grid.

Maddow, who scaled back anchoring duties after the spring of 2022, holding forth only on Mondays, will return to five nights a week at that hour as part of a broader move by MSNBC to draw viewership to its coverage of the first 100 days of the Trump administration. Alex Wagner, who anchors 9 p.m. Tuesday through Friday, will take on a special assignment: traveling the U.S. and overseas in a bid to talk to both newsmakers tied to and people affected by Trump polices during his critical first weeks in office.

“The idea is to give MSNBC viewers a full, 360-degree view of what’s happening in the country in a way that you don’t necessarily get in the studio,” says Wagner, during an interview.

More than a month after the November election, MSNBC’s primetime audience — which dropped by half after Donald Trump’s victory — has still not returned. Will viewers come back after the inauguration when the reality of a second Trump term sets in, or has some of the audience abandoned the network for good, signaling a further shift away from traditional media?

Either way, the numbers are stark. MSNBC’s total primetime audience has fallen a shocking 55% from November 4 through December 15, according to the latest Nielsen figures released on Tuesday.

CNN has faced a similar drop, a 46.7% decrease, while Fox News has seen its primetime audience grow 10.7%, according to Nielsen.

Cable news viewership before and after the 2024 presidential election (Christopher Smith/TheWrap)

The reasons for the drop are being widely debated on social media, inside the cable news networks and in the media ecosystem in general. Some viewers clearly feel generally...

Wille Geist hopes to turn his gift for gab into a present for NBC News.

The longtime NBC News anchor, who has for the past nine years led the Sunday broadcast of “Today,” will in January hold forth at a ticketed event that aims to monetize in a different way the in-depth “Sunday Sit-Down” interviews he conducts every weekend. Geist has interviewed 539 different celebrities and newsmakers during his tenure as Sunday host, and, on January 22, he will talk in front of a paying audience to comedian Nate Bargatze.

Viewers have seen Geist do one-on-ones with everyone from Billy Joel to Billy Crystal, but having a crowd “is a totally different thing,” he says, in an interview that put him, like his guests, on the receiving end of multiple questions. “You can’t help but interact with the crowd, try to draw a response from it, try to have fun with it.

What does MSNBC do now? After Trump accomplished the Undead thing and retook the White House? After Comcast announced plans to spin off the network (along with others) in such haste that its new company was named “SpinCo”? After Joe Scarborough and Mika Brzezinski went on their show and welcomed our new insect overlords? After its audience vanished?

Nothing.

Stay the course. The audience is exhausted and needs a break. It’ll be back — and Resistier than ever. Suffer the ratings trough. I mean, obviously you have to fire Mr. and Mrs. Scared-Bro. However: Continue their banal but largely benign political coffee klatch show without them and their insistence we all join their MSNVichy. Nobody will remember they were ever there.

Plus, the next money is coming from more fervent opposition to Maga, not less. Wasn’t the Scarborough disaster (41% of the demo audience gone in three days) instructive enough?...

The 2024 Netflix music documentary The Greatest Night in Pop features behind-the-scenes footage and details of the historic "We Are The World" song's creation. Released back in 1985, "We Are The World" brought together the biggest names in the music industry from all types of genres, including pop, country, folk, rock, and more. The song was assembled by producers Quincy Jones and Michael Omartian and was originated by musician and activist Harry Belafonte and manager Ken Kragen.

The Greatest Night in Pop features new present-day interviews from Lionel Richie, who was a songwriter on "We Are The World" along with pop star Michael Jackson. Richie and Jackson had become acquaintances while their immensely successful music careers were just taking off as the lead singers of The Commodores and The Jackson Five, respectively. "We Are The World" remains to be one of the best-selling songs of all time, selling over 20 million physical copies during the mid-1980s.

Update: TheGrio will simulcast CNN’s presidential debate on Thursday while providing pre- and post- event coverage.

TheGrio will start live coverage at 8:30 p.m. Et with a preview show hosted by April Ryan, Washington, D.C. bureau chief and senior White House correspondent, and senior correspondent Natasha Alford. The pre show will focus on issues affecting the Black community and provide background on the candidates’ positions.

The coverage will air on TheGrio television network, streaming Fast channel and digital platform Local Now.

After the debate at 10:30 p.m. Et, Ryan and Alford will get reactions, including from those in politics and advocacy.

Columnists for theGrio, Touré and Michael Harriot, will provide additional commentary.

Byron Allen, chairman and CEO of Allen Media Group, said that the coverage “will provide comprehensive analysis to ensure that viewers gain a deeper understanding of the political landscape and the stakes involved for America.

MSNBC will draw on its talent roster of hosts and contributors for a daylong event in September, MSNBC Live: Democracy 2024, seeking to capitalize on its viewer fanbase desire to see network personalities live and in person.

The daylong Sept. 7 event at the Brooklyn Academy of Music will include discussions among the hosts and a dinner and a reception, along with a screening of an MSNBC film. Ticket prices will start at $119, the network said, with audience capacity of 2,000. The plans are to keep the September event in person only — no live streaming.

Luke Russert, the creative director of MSNBC Live and moderator of the day’s events, said that “one of the things we were interested in off the bat was what could we do with this incredibly engaged audience at MSNBC.”

The event will not only provide the in-person experience but longer conversations than are possible during telecasts, Russert said.

MSNBC’s Rachel Maddow, Alex Wagner and Chris Hayes look nothing like the Real Housewives of Beverly Hills, Potomac or Salt Lake City who have held forth for years on sister cable outlet Bravo. Come September, there might be some similarities.

MSNBC plans to hold an immersive day-long event for die-hard fans of the progressive-tinged news-and-discussion outlet, one that will put more than a dozen of its hosts and anchors in front of hundreds of attendees at the Brooklyn Academy of Music. Participants will be able to hear from Jen Psaki, Joy Reid, Katy Tur and Ari Melber, among others. Approximately 230 will be able to attend a special dinner and reception, and there are plans to give attendees a preview of an upcoming MSNBC film.

The event, titled “MSNBC Live: Democracy 2024” and slated to take place September 7, has all the trappings of another gathering held under the auspices of parent company NBCUniversal.

Have you heard it’s cold in Des Moines? The subzero temperatures are making Monday’s caucuses in Iowa the coldest on record, a running theme of coverage throughout the day and into this evening. It’s not trivial, as the frigid weather may very well impact turnout.

As Iowa’s first votes of the 2024 presidential race come in, expect a lot of analysis, punditry and prediction, even if the results represent just a sliver of the primary electorate. The Hawkeye state’s primacy as the first-in-the-nation often obscures the peculiarities of the caucus system, unless there is some kind of glitch, which is what happened four years ago with the Democrats.

That said, networks see the caucuses as the kickoff of what is hoped a spike in viewer interest in the presidential contest, as was seen in 2020 and 2016. All of the broadcast networks are planning for ongoing coverage of...

Fox News announced Thursday that Lawrence Jones is joining Fox & Friends as the morning show’s fourth co-host.

Beginning Monday, Sept. 18, Jones will appear opposite Steve Doocy, Ainsley Earhardt and Brian Kilmeade every weekday morning from 6-9 am Et, while continuing in his role as the franchise’s enterprise reporter.

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“Lawrence has his finger on the pulse of...

MSNBC host and former White House press secretary Jen Psaki is going to primetime.

Inside With Jen Psaki will now run on the cable news channel on Monday nights at 8 p.m. beginning Sep. 25, replacing an hour of All In With Chris Hayes.

Hayes will continue to host his show on Tuesday through Friday nights. Psaki will also continue to host Inside on Sundays at noon, and write her MSNBC political column.

MSNBC noted that, for the past year, All In has had a rotating slate of guest hosts on Monday nights as Hayes has worked on his podcast, an upcoming book, and live events. He will continue to expand his portfolio of content for the company. Psaki, it should be noted, was a frequent guest host for Hayes on Monday nights.

While hosts like Hayes and The Last Word’s Lawrence O’Donnell have been stalwarts of MSNBC’s primetime lineup (for 10 and 13 years,...

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Former President Donald Trump’s indictment announcement Tuesday led to a bump in cable news viewership, with MSNBC overtaking Fox News for the primetime crown with 2.63 million viewers.

Trump’s third criminal indictment was announced on Tuesday and included multiple charges of conspiracy and obstruction. The indictment, which is related to Trump’s efforts to overturn the 2020 Election, detailed the former President’s actions during the Jan 6. riot.

MSNBC, the only network to broadcast special coverage of the indictment, swept overall primetime figures as the No. 1 most-watched cable news channel. Fox News came in second place with 2.19 million total viewers, while CNN lagged behind with 1.06 million viewers, according to Nielsen-live-plus-same-day figures.

The trend continued in the demo for primetime, with MSNBC leading the pack with 350,000 viewers in the...

An advocacy group is asking the Federal Communications Commission to deny the broadcast license renewal application of a Fox Corp.-owned station in Philadelphia over its reporting of “knowingly false narratives about the 2020 election.”

The Media and Democracy Project filed a petition with the FCC seeking to deny the license, stating that it is seeking to “hold Fox accountable” for the material it broadcast. Its petition is backed by former Fox executive Preston Padden, and includes emails he exchanged with Fox Corp. Chairman Rupert Murdoch in the aftermath of the election.

“As an FCC broadcast licensee Fox is bound to broadcast in the public interest, convenience, and necessity,” the petition states. “Instead, it has repeatedly aired false information about election fraud, sowing discord in the country and contributing to harmful and dangerous acts on January 6, 2021. Fox’s intentional news distortion, sanctioned at the highest levels of its corporate structure, and...

Labeling GOP presidential candidate Ron DeSantis “DeThirsty” on Wednesday’s episode of “All In,” MSNBC’s Chris Hayes spent some time mocking the DeSantis campaign’s most recent ad, which he argued likely feels kind of pathetic to anyone who watches it, even if they agree with it.

“Even those folks and the people he’s trying to appeal to,” Hayes said, “will find his campaign’s latest video to be as desperate and thirsty as the rest of us do.”

Watch the clip below now.

.@chrislhayes on DeSantis: "I think he thinks he can gain some traction in the darkest, most anti-social corners of the internet where cruelty is a virtue. But I think even those folks … will find his campaign's latest video to be as desperate and thirsty as the rest of us do." pic.twitter.com/HzH3SUkdNp

— All In with Chris Hayes (@allinwithchris) July 6, 2023

Under discussion...

With Republicans claiming that the plea deal offered to and accepted by Hunter Biden was “a sweetheart deal,” the hosts of “Morning Joe” are firing back. During Wednesday morning’s episode of the MSNBC talk show, Joe Scarborough and Mika Brzezinski ran down a laundry list of actions by the Trump kids that they argued deserved just as much criticism.

After a five-year investigation into his actions — so, yes, beginning during the Trump administration — Hunter Biden will plead guilty to tax evasion and will avoid being charged for unlawful purchase of a firearm. He also won’t face any jail time for his actions. You can read more in-depth about it here, but Republicans aren’t happy, saying Hunter Biden got nothing more than “a slap on the wrist” because he’s the president’s son.

“Just putting it out there, Ivanka and Jared, like, worked in the White House.

Bill Cosby is facing new accusations of sexual assault. On Wednesday, in a lawsuit filed in the U.S. District Court of Nevada, Southern Division, 9 women said the comedian drugged, assaulted and raped them in incidents they say occurred between 1979 and 1992.

The women — Lise Lotte-Lublin, Lili Bernard, Janice Baker-Kinney, Rebecca Cooper, Linda Kirkpatrick, Janice Dickenson, Angela Leslie, Pam Joy Abeyta and Heidi Thomas — say that they were all “sexually battered, assaulted, and abused” by Cosby “in a similar manner” in a Las Vegas hotel that Cosby frequently stayed at.

NBC will air an exclusive interview with the women on Thursday.

Each woman says Cosby approached them with offers to help them in their careers, using “his enormous power, fame, and prestige, and claimed interest” in order to “isolate and sexually assault them.”

The lawsuit then breaks down the individual accusations, each following a familiar pattern of being lured to a secluded place,...

Now that Donald Trump has been indicted by the federal Government over classified documents, MSNBC’s Chris Hayes decided to look ahead to how things might play out. On Wednesday’s episode of “All-In,” after explaining why he thinks the case might not make it to court until after the 2024 election, Hayes argued that it is “imperative” Trump also be indicted for “his gravest crime,” the Jan. 6 insurrection.

You can watch the video right here:

:@chrislhayes on Trump: “His plan, from the beginning and now, is to try to win the presidency so that—chief among any other goal honestly—he doesn't go to jail. He can be above the law, and he can drop the cases against him." pic.twitter.com/YUaZTqMZgZ

— All In with Chris Hayes (@allinwithchris) June 15, 2023

At the start of the comment, Hayes noted the presiding judge in the case is Aileen Cannon. A Trump appointee,...

MSNBC dominated Fox News and CNN during Friday’s ratings as cable news channels turned their attention to cover former President Donald Trump’s newly unsealed federal indictment.

As viewers tuned in to get the details on the former president’s mishandling of classified documents — which the editorial board of the National Review condemned as impossible for anyone to read and “not be appalled” — MSNBC scored the highest total viewership and demo viewership among the cable news channels both in total day and primetime, leading Friday to become MSNBC’s second-most-watched day of the year, behind April 4, when Trump was arraigned in Manhattan on New York state charges unrelated to the federal charges.

In terms of total day figures, MSNBC came in first place with 1.51 million total viewers, while Fox News brought in 1.32 million total viewers and CNN drew in 730,000 total viewers on average, according to Nielsen live-plus-same-day figures. The...

Filling in for Chris Hayes, MSNBC host and former press secretary for President Joe Biden kicked off Monday’s episode of “All In” with a discussion of the latest legal difficulties faced by disgraced former President Donald Trump.

While Psaki admitted “we’re in unprecedented territory,” she said that the idea Trump will somehow benefit politically from being indicted over the classified documents he unlawfully took from the White House “sounds like a bit of wishful thinking.”

For those in need of a refresher, last year it came out that Trump left the White House with a large number of classified documents, many of them related to extremely sensitive matters. He then refused to return the documents despite multiple requests from the government, eventually leading to a raid of his Florida resort.

In the nearly one year since, it’s come out that Trump employees may have actively moved to...

Audible received a total of 19 nominations for this year’s Podcast Academy Awards, with the Audible Original series Moriarty — based on the villain in the Sherlock Holmes universe — receiving a total of three nods, including in the top category of podcast of the year.

The narrative fiction series that stars Dominic Monaghan as Professor Moriarty will compete against Chameleon: Wild Boys (Campside Media), Design Matters with Debbie Millman (Design Matters Media, Inc.), Direct Deposit (Audible), Fiasco: The AIDS Crisis (Audible), Gay Pride & Prejudice (Gimlet), Pink Card (ESPN 30 for 30), Reclaimed: The Story of Mamie Till Mobley (ABC Audio), The Outlaw Ocean Podcast (CBC Podcasts and the L.A. Times) and The Prince (The Economist) for the top prize.

The award last went to Pineapple Street Studios, Amazon Music and Wondery’s 9/12 during the 2022 ceremony.

Other individual shows tied with Moriarty for the most nominations include Bone Valley and Last Known Position,...

Rachel Maddow will stay at MSNBC, according to two people familiar with the matter, after negotiating a new pact that will keep her at the cable-news outlet beyond 2022.

Maddow, who is the linchpin of the network’s primetime lineup, had been considering her own independent content ventures, and had enlisted top executives at Endeavor to make her case to MSNBC and senior managers at NBCUniversal. MSNBC declined to make executives available to comment on the renewal.

Under terms of the new pact, described as “multi year,” Maddow will develop other projects in a new partnership with NBCUniversal. She has already established a track record for doing so. She has found success in other ventures, such as “Bag Man,” a seven-episode podcast series centered on the story of former U.S. Vice President Spiro Agnew. MSNBC in 2018 featured her documentary special, “Betrayal,” which focused on the darker side of the 1968 election...

Tributes flooded Twitter following the news that rapper Biz Markie died Friday at age 57. The rapper nicknamed “the clown prince of Hip Hop” was best known for his humorous lyrics, original flow and his 1989 hit single “Just a Friend.”

“It is with profound sadness that we announce, this evening, with his wife Tara by his side, Hip Hop pioneer Biz Markie peacefully passed away,” the rapper’s family said in a statement. “We are grateful for the many calls and prayers of support that we have received during this difficult time. Biz created a legacy of artistry that will forever be celebrated by his industry peers and his beloved fans whose lives he was able to touch through music, spanning over 35 years.

Markie’s brother, the musician Diamond Shell shared his condolences on Facebook saying, “To the baddest in the beats icon legend … my brother Biz Markie… I’LL miss...

MSNBC and the WGA East have reached an agreement to hold an election to determine whether the writers and producers on all of the network’s shows want to be represented by the guild. The election, which will be supervised by the National Labor Relations Board, involves 315 writers, producers, booking producers, fact checkers and planners at every program airing on MSNBC and on Peacock’s The Choice.

Ballots will be go out on July 20, and must be returned by August 17.

The network’s writers, producers and support staff unionized with the guild last month, when more than 200 members of the bargaining unit signed a petition to recognize the guild as their bargaining representative – which is more than the majority needed to give the guild the right to begin negotiations for a first-time contract.

“Our election is set!” tweeted the newly formed MSNBC union. “We’ll receive our ballots next week...

President Joe Biden will do a town hall event on CNN next week in Cincinnati, as he passed the six month mark in office.

Don Lemon will moderate the one-hour event on July 21, which starts at 8 Pm Et.

This will be Biden’s second CNN town hall since taking office, having done one in February that was moderated by Anderson Cooper. That took place in Milwaukee, and drew 3.5 million viewers, topping Fox News’ Hannity and MSNBC’s The Rachel Maddow Show. This time, the town hall will be going up against Fox News’ Tucker Carlson Tonight and MSNBC’s All In with Chris Hayes.

Among the memorable moments from the last event: Biden playing into exhaustion over the Trump years. “For four years all that’s been in the news is Trump. The next four years, I want to make sure all the news is the American people.”

Biden is...

MSNBC wants to make sure viewers know when they’re getting just the facts and when they are getting a little more.

The cable outlet is unveiling a new name for its daytime news programming, rechristening it “MSNBC Reports” instead of the current “MSNBC Live.” The change represents a bid to ensure viewers can distinguish between breaking news content from anchors such as Stephanie Ruhle and Katy Tur and programming that tilts more toward analysis and opinion. As part of the effort, each of MSNBC’s daytime news shows on weekdays and weekends will add the word “Reports” after each anchor’s name. Starting Monday, viewers will be watching shows such as “Craig Melvin Reports” or “Alex Witt Reports.” Chuck Todd’s “Mtp Daily,” which airs at 1 p.m., will retain its title to maintain its connection to the popular NBC News Sunday program “Meet the Press”

“The remarkable success...

Rashida Jones will succeed Phil Griffin as president of MSNBC, the network announced Monday.

Cesar Conde, chairman of the NBCUniversal News Group, said in a memo to staffers that Griffin will retire early next year and Jones will become president on February 1.

“After the presidential election, Phil and I spoke about his desire to depart at a time of his choosing and when he felt confident about the strength of the network he loves,” Conde wrote in a memo to staffers.

Griffin has been with MSNBC since it was launched almost 25 years ago, and has served as president since 2008. Conde wrote that Griffin “has built something remarkable. He leaves the network in the best shape it has ever been. Six straight record years. Each one better than the last.”

Jones (not to be confused with the actress of the same name) has been a rising star at the network, and...

Rashida Jones, an up-and-coming news executive at NBCUniversal, will take the reins at the company’s MSNBC cable-news outlet in February, setting her up to be the first Black executive to run one of the nation’s big cable-news outlets at time when that business is of growing importance to the nation’s large media conglomerates.

Phil Griffin, who has worked at MSNBC since its launch in 1996 and as its president since 2008, is expected to step down at the end of January. Griffin has enjoyed close ties to many of MSNBC’s primetime stars, including Rachel Maddow, the linchpin of the network’s lineup, and Joe Scarborough and Mika Brzezinski, two of its morning hosts.

“Rashida knows and understands MSNBC, in part because it’s where she started when she first joined NBCU seven years ago,” said Cesar Conde, chairman of NBCUniversal’s news operations, in a memo to staff.

MSNBC is getting closer to making some important weekend plans.

The NBCUniversal-owned cable-news outlet is expected sometime this fall to decide on a successor for Joy Reid’s mid-morning weekend slot, according to two people familiar with the matter. Figuring out who might be among the contenders hasn’t been difficult. Some of the leading candidates have been filling in for Reid ever since she took over MSNBC’s weekday 7 p.m. hour earlier this summer.

Zerlina Maxwell, Jonathan Capehart and Tiffany Cross are among the people being considered for permanent duties in the two-hour weekend time period Reid anchored for four years. Executives are said to be interested in someone who brings with them a sizable following that they could harness for digital projects like podcasts, and other content initiatives. Other candidates may be in the mix and there’s no guarantee at present that any member of...

Don Lemon hosts two hours on CNN most weeknights – sometimes more. And in recent weeks, he has also been showing up on weekends. But he still has more to say.

The primetime anchor is today launching a new podcast that examines America’s racial divide. Episodes of “Silence Is Not An Option” will drop on Thursdays, and during them, Lemon will talk with activists, artists and thinkers. The debut features conversations with Dr. Ibram X. Kendi, an historian and scholar on race and discriminatory policy, and Dr. Christopher Petrella, the Director of Engagement at American University’s Antiracist Research and Policy Center, who also develops the curriculum for Colin Kaepernick’s Know Your Rights Camp – and, says Lemon, may offer an update on what the athlete is doing at the present moment.

The audio program “is much more intimate,” says Lemon, in an interview. “I think people are more open...

MSNBC’s Chris Hayes highlighted on his program Friday night what sometimes gets lost now that so many have grown accustomed to President Trump’s ramblings, and that is just how incoherent Trump actually is.

Hayes began, “One thing we’ve learned is that you can never actually get the full flavor of how disjointed, incoherent and incapable of the most basic responses the president is to the most pressing social questions until you actually just read the transcript.”

Hayes then quoted a recent radio interview where President Trump was...

New coronavirus guidelines from the nation’s top scientists, meant to help the numerous states and cities who are in the process of reopening, have been put on ice by the Trump administration.

According to a report by the AP on Thursday, a new guide “created by the nation’s top disease investigators” from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention titled “Guidance for Implementing the Opening Up America Again Framework” was set for publication last Friday. But, according to a Cdc official, the Trump administration told the agency its...

As NBC veterans digest a reorganization announced Monday by NBCUniversal CEO Jeff Shell, what was not entirely surprising was the departure of Andrew Lack. He had for some time been seen as exiting, perhaps at the end of the year.

What was a bit surprising was choice of Cesar Conde to lead a newly formed NBCUniversal News Group, which will include not just NBC News and MSNBC, which Lack had overseen, but also CNBC, which is led by Mark Hoffman.

Conde, who has been chairman of Telemundo and the company’s international division, is a break from the past, a choice of someone who rose the ranks at NBCUniversal outside of its news divisions. One person who had been viewed as Lack’s successor was NBC News chief Noah Oppenheim, particularly when he signed a new contract last year. He and Hoffman, who also had been seen as a possibility for Lack’s role,...

As President Donald Trump was at Thursday’s coronavirus press briefing calling for lawmakers to get beyond partisanship, the White House released a letter he sent to Chuck Schumer trashing him as a senator.

“You have been missing in action, except when it comes to the ‘press,'” Trump wrote. “While you have stated that you don’t like Andrew Cuomo, you ought to start working alongside him for the good of all New Yorkers.”

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He added, “I’ve known you for many years, but I never knew how bad a Senator you are for the state of New York,...

The White House’s daily coronavirus briefing started with the grim reality: Even with strict social distancing guidelines followed throughout the country, a projected 100,000 to 240,000 Americans will die of the disease.

As the early evening event moved inside, President Donald Trump started the briefing in a much more somber tone than he did 24 hours earlier, when he presented a parade of CEOs to talk about what they are contributing to the response to the pandemic.

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“We are going to go through a very tough two weeks,” Trump said. “This is going to be a painful, very, very painful two weeks.”

President...

MSNBC’s Chris Hayes and CNN’s Don Lemon each spoke out against their networks decision to run Donald Trump’s coronavirus press briefings live, as critics contend that they have provided a platform for the president to trumpet dubious claims about his response and even to spread misinformation as a time of crisis.

“They have morphed into something akin to Trump rallies without the crowds,” Hayes said. “The briefings are where he casts his failures in the most positive light. Yesterday the man who initially dismissed the coronavirus threat — remember we have all heard it time and time again — said that if 100,000 persons died from the virus, he and his team have done a quote, very good job.”

MSNBC’s Rachel Maddow already has said that if it were up to her, she would stop carrying the briefings live.

Later, CNN’s Don Lemon said, “I am not sure,...

MSNBC issued a correction Tuesday and retracted a tweet that misquoted host Chris Hayes as saying the coronavirus pandemic had the potential to kill “50% of the population.”

The Monday tweet linked to an article on MSNBC.com, tagged Hayes’ account and quoted him: “There is no option to just let everyone go back out and go back to normal if a pandemic rages across the country and kills 50% of the population.”

The network later removed the erroneous post and explained why it was inaccurate.

“Correction: The quote tweeted is incorrect due to an editing error,” tweeted the account Tuesday, featuring a screenshot of the original tweet. “It should read: ‘if a pandemic rages across the country and infects 50% of the population, and kills a percentage point, at the low end’.”

Also Read: Robin Roberts to Host 'Gma' From Home Amid Coronavirus Pandemic

NBC News has itself been affected by the pandemic.

Bernie Sanders held his final New Hampshire campaign rally on Monday night with a mini-concert from the Strokes, with a playlist that included a cover of “Burning Down the House.” Twenty miles away, Pete Buttigieg closed out his bid at a high school gymnasium where actor Kevin Costner spoke said he was a “not only a man who understands how the world is looking at us but how history will.”

As they reached across pop culture generations in making closing statements in the Granite State, Sanders and Buttigieg widely are viewed as the most likely to come out on top when returns start coming in shortly after 7 p.m. Et tonight. And media attention also will focus on who ranks No. 3 and No. 4, as Joe Biden, Elizabeth Warren and Amy Klobuchar seek a placement that keeps their campaigns going and the donations flowing.

Following the debacle of the Iowa caucuses,...

Update, 6:53 Pm Pt: President Donald Trump responded to the news of Iran’s retaliatory missile strike on two Iraqi air bases with a surprisingly upbeat message: “All is well!”

“All is well! Missiles launched from Iran at two military bases located in Iraq. Assessment of casualties & damages taking place now,” Trump wrote on Twitter. “So far, so good! We have the most powerful and well equipped military anywhere in the world, by far! I will be making a statement tomorrow morning.”

All is well! Missiles launched from Iran at two military bases located in Iraq. Assessment of casualties & damages taking place now. So far, so good! We have the most powerful and well equipped military anywhere in the world, by far! I will be making a statement tomorrow morning.

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 8, 2020

His response did not indicate whether he would order a Us response to the Iranian attack,...

Huey Lewis discusses the creation and legacy of his hit song with the News, “The Power of Love,” in the latest episode of Rolling Stone’s “The Breakdown.”

“‘The Power of Love’ is very powerful,” Lewis says, “more powerful than we realized. And as we get older, it’s really the most important emotion we have. Love really does make the world go around. You look at this crazy world with all these people, and you think, ‘How does this work?’ Love, it has to be love.”

Huey Lewis and...

Variety looks back on some of the most memorable media events of 2019:

‘Catch & Kill’ Reopens Wounds at NBC News

Ronan Farrow’s book relitigates his complaints that NBC News tried to tamp down his investigation of harassment and assault allegations against Harvey Weinstein. NBC News denies the claim. The book contains new allegations against ex-“Today” anchor Matt Lauer, fired in 2017 for sexual misconduct.

TV News Gears Up for 2020 Race, Impeachment Inquiry

Anchors away! The news industry, already upended by a 24/7 cycle dominated by White House antics, has had to stretch to cover a gaggle of Democratic presidential candidates and the House impeachment inquiry into President Trump. Programming disruptions have been the new normal.

Susan Zirinsky Shakes Up CBS News

The veteran producer was named the first female president of CBS News at a time of ratings declines and low workplace morale at the division. Within weeks of taking the job,...

In today’s film news roundup, “A Hidden Life” is shown at the Vatican, “Limerence” finds a home, Dave Baustista’s “My Spy” moves, and the DGA honors two veteran members.

Vatican Screening

Terrence Malick’s “A Hidden Life” received a rare private screening at the Vatican Film Library this week.

The movie centers on Austrian farmer and conscientious objector Franz Jägerstätter, who refused to fight for the Nazis in World War II due to his religious beliefs. He was executed for treason in 1943 and beatified in 2007 in Linz, Austria by Pope Benedict XVI.

“A Hidden Life” stars August Diehl and Valerie Pachner with Maria Simon, Bruno Ganz, Karin Neuhäuser, Tobias Moretti, Matthias Schoenaerts and Ulrich Matthes rounding out the cast.

Fox Searchlight opens “A Hidden Life” in select theaters in North America on Friday. It was recently nominated as best feature contender at the Independent Spirit Awards.

Acquisition

Gravitas Ventures...

If you had to look at the current media landscape and pick the two guys least likely to have have come up together, nobody would look askance if you picked Desus Nice and Chris Hayes. No judgement on either, but, c’mon—one of the Bodega Boys and MSNBC’s bespectacled blonde pundit? But the Bronx is a strange and…...

CNN and MSNBC are competitors, but the networks are aligned in doubling down on climate change as a key issue in the run up to the 2020 presidential election.

CNN kicked things off on Sept. 4 with seven straight hours of town halls focused on climate change. MSNBC host Chris Hayes, who is co-moderating a two-day presidential forum on climate change on Thursday and Friday, applauded CNN's efforts.

"I thought they did a great job," Hayes told The Hollywood Reporter. "I particularly thought it was a stroke of genius to have so many questions from different scientists,...

Editors Note: Byron Allen is founder, chairman and CEO of Entertainment Studios, one of the world’s largest privately held media companies. Allen, who is African American, contributed this to Deadline as his discrimination suit against Comcast, citing violations of the Civil Rights Act, heads toward a showdown in the U.S. Supreme Court.

Comcast/NBCUniversal and the Trump Department of Justice are asking the U.S. Supreme Court to roll back civil rights. It started with a racial discrimination case I brought against Comcast. After losing twice in the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, Comcast went to the U.S. Supreme Court. And now they’ve brought the Trump Administration along to take their side in the highest court, putting at risk all Americans’ civil rights for their own financial gain.

Comcast/NBCUniversal, the largest cable operator and residential broadband provider in the U.S., enjoys the image of a progressive,...

On Friday, President Donald Trump went after former vice president and Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden. Trump called into question Biden’s mental acuity after the gaffe-prone Biden misspoke on Thursday while stumping in Iowa. “We have this notion that somehow if you’re poor, you cannot do it. Poor kids are just as bright and just as talented, as white kids.” Biden said, before adding, “Wealthy kids, black kids, Asian kids, no I really mean it, but think how we think about it.”

Biden slipped and said: “poor kids...