MSNBC (More Silly Nonsense By Chicks), is the network that just can’t stop destroying itself. Or maybe it’s just a vendetta against “brown people”? Hard to tell these days.
The latest victims of the prime-time purge? Joyless Reid and Alex Wagner. But don’t get it twisted—Reid isn’t losing her show because of her long-documented history as a racist, a liar, a mean person, or a conspiracy theorist. No, those things were apparently fine for the last five years. She’s known as “the Race Lady on MSNBC.” The real reason she got the axe? The cardinal sin of television: abysmal ratings. Tough break. Too bad. So sad. Bye Bye. Good riddance.
Ever since President Donald Trump’s incredible reelection comeback in November (yes, that’s the timeline we’re in), Fox News has been riding high while MSNBC and CNN have been bleeding viewers left and right. After a decade of breathless reports about Trump’s imminent demise, audiences finally threw up their hands and said, “Enough.” And in a twist that has to sting, more Democrats are now watching Fox News than MSNBC or CNN. If that’s not poetic justice, what is?
And it’s not just left-wing cable news suffering from the country coming to its senses. The LA Times fired its entire editorial board of lefties to bring in people more moderate. The Washington Post had layoffs, BuzzFeed, Vice Media, and more are also downsizing. But I digress.
Let’s talk cold, hard numbers. They are brutal. Joy Reid’s The ReidOut recently scraped together just 708,000 total viewers—a 47% nosedive from the 1.4 million she was pulling in before the 2024 election. And in the only demo that actually matters (the coveted 25-54 age group that keeps the ad dollars flowing), she cratered by 52% to a pitiful 76,000. Oof.
Even the far-left New York Times (of course they’re covering this) confirms that The ReidOut’s final episode airs this week. Will Reid stick around as a contributor? Who knows? Maybe she’ll just quietly disappear, leaving us with one less legacy media talking head to roll our eyes at. We can dream. Then again, who would hire her at this point? Maybe she’ll do a podcast and end up like CNN’s Don Lemon, a sour, old, and lonely has-been.
VISIT OUR YOUTUBE CHANNELBut MSNBC has a plan. Well, sort of. According to the Times, “MSNBC is planning to replace Ms. Reid’s program with a show led by a trio of anchors.” And who made the cut for this dream team? Former Democratic strategist Symone Sanders, former RNC Chair turned libnut Michael Steele (who, let’s be honest, stopped being relevant the moment he started playing for the other team), and Alicia Menendez, who supposedly calls herself a journalist.
Alex Wagner—another POC—is also out. And who’s replacing her? None other than Jen Psaki, former White House Mouthpiece, and a full-time professional spin doctor. Because when you need someone who can dodge questions and deflect like an Olympic fencer, Psaki is your girl. Wagner had been warming Rachel Maddow’s prime-time seat Tuesday through Friday, while Maddow enjoyed the world’s cushiest one-day-a-week gig. Why was Maddow only working one day a week? No clue. Maybe pretending to be billionaire Mark Cuban on the side was just too exhausting.
Now, however, Maddow is back full-time—five nights a week—at least for Trump’s first 100 days of his jubilant second term. After that, Psaki will officially take over for Wagner, who, in true MSNBC fashion, will stick around as a contributor. Because nobody at MSNBC ever really goes away—they just get shuffled around like deck chairs on the Titanic.
And the media purge isn’t stopping with them. Let’s take roll call for the fallen: Jim Acosta—gone. Norah O’Donnell—vanished. Chuck Todd—retired to the world’s most insufferable book club. Andrea Mitchell—is probably being preserved in a Smithsonian exhibit. Chris Wallace—off trying to convince someone, anyone, that he’s still relevant. And now, Joy Reid and Alex Wagner—poof!
At this rate, MSNBC is about three layoffs away from just live-streaming a coffee shop where bitter ex-anchors gather to complain about “misinformation.”
#msnbc #mediashakeup #cablenews
