MSNBC will retain its name after it is spun off from Comcast along with other cable assets.
Mark Lazarus, who is leading the new company, told network staffers of the plans at a meeting today to announce the departure of Rashida Jones as the network’s president and the naming of Rebecca Kutler as interim leader, according to a network source.
“I know there was some discussion with the MSNBC name, so you can take that off of your worry list on things,” Lazarus said at the meeting.
Kutler also will be hiring a head of newsgathering and head of talent, Lazarus said. Throughout its history, MSNBC has drawn on correspondents and anchors from sister network NBC News, which will remain part of Comcast.
Lazarus said, “The only thing I’ll say is the worst thing any leader can do is change something that’s working just because they can. So, if this is working, then there’s no reason to change it.”
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The spinoff, announced in November, is expected to take about a year to complete. It also will include USA Network, CNBC, Oxygen, E!, SYFY and Golf Channel.
MSNBC launched in 1996 as a venture between NBC News and Microsoft. It had a heavy emphasis on the then-emerging internet, but its primetime eventually evolved into a progressive alternative to right-leaning Fox News.
