Amid swirling media reports of a daytime shakeup that will cancel several shows, MSNBC/NBC News chairman Andrew Lack addressed network staffers Thursday at a town hall event.
He told them “how close NBC and MSNBC will be,” one network insider told TheWrap. No big announcements of show cancelations or incoming new shows were made.
Lack will be closing the divide between the two networks, which has been marked by a tenuous relationship over the years as high-profile NBC News anchors and reporters weren’t thrilled to go on MSNBC due to its overtly progressive brand.
One programming change is official: Chuck Todd will return to MSNBC to host a weekday political program in the fall. No time slot or start date has been announced.
Two insiders told TheWrap the network’s hard news pivot is not being embraced among producers, who think the network’s low ratings have been a problem with talent on-air rather than opinion programming.
Lack, who was instrumental in the decision to move Brian Williams to MSNBC, apparently doesn’t agree. With more NBC News personalities set to pop up across MSNBC, the days of “Lean Forward” might be coming to an end.