MSNBC Makes Major Changes

Ella Bradshaw

Staff Writer

2025 has been a busy year for us all, but especially for those working at NBC News.

In late February, Joy Reid, the host of “TheReidOut,” was fired and her show was cancelled from the network. According to The Cut, “Reid said she was proud of covering hot-button issues and topics like the Black Lives Matter movement, the violence Asian Americans were experiencing in 2020, the war in Gaza, and ‘what the president is doing that is subversive to the Constitution.’”

Reid’s show was cancelled as part of a network overhaul led by Rebecca Kutler, a former CNN executive, who is the standing interim president of MSNBC, according to The Cut.

Additionally, Rachel Maddow, one of MSNBC’s lead anchors, has experienced viewership plummeting and lost 43% of her audience since Election Day, according to the Daily Mail. Maddow has been criticized for her rating loss and has lost a day on air as a result of the trend of her platform losing popularity.

In other news, Feb. 24 was a sad day for many MSNBC subscribers, upon hearing that popular anchor Lestor Holt will be leaving the platform.

After serving as the anchor of “NBC Nightly News” for ten years, Holt will be transitioning to Dateline, where he will be working on longer-term reporting projects.

In his official statement, released by NBCUniversal News Group, Holt said, “I’m excited to report I will be continuing as anchor of Dateline NBC, but for the first time in a full time capacity whereby I will be expanding my footprint on the broadcast and crafting Dateline hours on subjects I care deeply about. I am thrilled to be able to work more closely with my enormously talented friends at Dateline as the broadcast continues to grow and attract new viewers in new places.”

Holt will continue to serve as a public figure in the news media, just with a different role. As a news anchor, his duties included covering current events and conflicts involving the U.S.. His new position with Dateline will focus on longer-length feature stories, which will require much more research dedication for groundbreaking coverage, according to NBC. Many of Holt’s fans are sad to see him go, but excited for what is to come.

Holt’s last show has not yet been determined, but he will be replaced by Tom Llamas when the time comes.

As Holt famously ends each news episode— “take care of yourselves, and one another.”