Maddow is taking a $5 million pay cut amid growing uncertainty about MSNBC’s future, The Ankler reported yesterday. Via the Daily Beast:
Maddow, who currently makes $30 million a year at the network, renegotiated for $25 million a year for the next five years.
“This is a difficult time and they needed to keep her. No one else can do what she does. You can’t build a brand like it overnight,” one executive told The Ankler.
Comcast, the owner of NBCUniversal, plans to spin off several NBC channels— like MSNBC and CNBC— into its own company. NBCUniversal Chairman Mark Lazarus is currently heading the effort, expected to be completed by the end of 2025, called SpinCo.
The channel is currently at a crossroads following President-elect Donald Trump’s victory. According to Nielsen data, ratings dipped to 40 percent less than they were this time last year— though execs are counting on viewers to come back the way they did in 2016 once Trump’s administration gets underway.
But wait! They don’t know how to cover the news anymore! What to do?
“We were so Harris propaganda that when she lost, viewers were shocked,” one on-air pundit said. “It turned into one giant circle j–k and echo chamber. If MSNBC wants to be of service to its viewers, they can’t keep them in fantasy land.”
During Trump’s first administration, MSNBC elevated “Democrats who speak Republican,” reported The Ankler, such as Hugh Hewitt and Nicole Wallace. Now, the network isn’t sure how to engage with the “Star Wars freak show” of Trump’s new appointees, one producer said.
“I don’t know if having these people on would put any useful information out,” the producer added.
From what I recall, every single MSNBC talking head repeatedly pointed out the race was very tight. Is that “Harris propaganda”?
At least they’re beginning to understand that featuring Trump officials presents them with the likely role of selling even more propaganda than usual.
Just cover the goddamned news. Policy, consequences. Reactions from ordinary people affected by them.
