TV news journalist Rashida Jones to lead MSNBC, becoming the highest-ranking Black woman in TV news

The Wall Street Journal

Jones, not to be confused with the actress with the same name, is a seven-year veteran of NBC News and MSNBC who was tapped earlier this year to lead MSNBC's daytime programming. Starting in February, Jones will become MSNBC president, taking over for Phil Griffin, who has led the cable news network since 2008. Griffin joined MSNBC when it was founded in 1996. “Rashida knows and understands MSNBC, in part because it’s where she started when she first joined NBCU seven years ago,” NBCUniversal News Group Chairman Cesar Conde wrote in an email to NBC News employees. “She knows that it is the people who work here that make it great, and she understands its culture. She also appreciates the impact and potential of the brand.” Jones' appointment will make her the first Black woman to lead a major cable news network and the highest-ranking Black woman in the TV news industry. While Jones didn't release a statement, Griffin said of his time at MSNBC: "We’ve been blessed with spectacular talent at every level. I admire the commitment, the camaraderie, the scrappiness, the pure love everyone has for this place. MSNBC is about humanity. The creativity, the compassion, the fact you all care so much. And that is what I will miss the most."