[ad_1]
Rashida Jones learned to live with pressure some time ago.
At the end of the run-up to the 2020 presidential election, Jones was the NBC News executive overseeing two of the most scrutinized events in a chaotic news cycle. There was first a town hall meeting between anchor Savannah Guthrie and then-President Donald Trump, a session that sparked a backlash after NBC decided to air it opposite a similar TV show. on ABC News with then-candidate Joe Biden. He recently won an Emmy. Days later, Jones was the go-to person as Kristen Welker moderated the second presidential debate, after Fox News’ Chris Wallace chaired a wild first session frequently punctuated by explosions of candidates.
“If you think it’s not stressful to say, ‘Go in this direction; going in that direction, “it’s a very stressful time,” Jones said in a recent conversation. “But I can do it anytime we have a host. You just have to face it, just arm yourself with courage and be confident. “
The executive could face more tension in the coming weeks. Jones is in her first year as president of MSNBC, the NBCUniversal cable news network that derives most of its revenue from prime-time programming that leans toward progressive politics, and that could change in the not-so-distant future. It’s a scenario that even the most veteran CIO would rather not face. MSNBC and its parent company are in talks with its star host, Rachel Maddow, about a new portfolio of content that could take her back to the scale of the 9-hour MSNBC program she’s best known for and produce one more. wide range of businesses. This could force Jones to piece together prime-time programming – just as the audience that flocked to the cable news during the election wears off and viewers generally abandon live programming for on-demand streaming. In the third quarter, MSNBC’s total daily audience among people between 25 and 54, the preferred audience for advertisers in news programs, was down 48% from the previous year, according to Nielsen. CNN was down 46%, while Fox News Channel was down 25%.
“People consume differently. Sitting in front of a television and watching for hours is a habit for some of our viewers, but not for all audiences. There are people who remember bits and pieces of what appears on our television shows, and they may never watch them in a normal format. They watch it on YouTube. They watch him on Twitter. They watch it on Facebook, ”says Jones. “So how do we create more experiences in these spaces? “
Jones is expected to test unique, format-less concepts. It was the executive, after all, that in 2019 deployed Lester Holt, John Legend, 25 inmates and a forklift truck to Sing Sing Correctional Facility in Ossining, NY, for an MSNBC discussion on prison reform that ‘she described as “taking the spirit of that conversation at town hall and taking it 10 notches. Jones’ recent success at NBC News is due to her handling of special programming, and staff members from the news industry are curious to see what it might come up with next.
Still, the task of replacing Maddow could distract Jones from other work that lay ahead. Talks between the presenter and NBCUniversal may not be fully finalized until 2022. The new deal “has a lot of fluidity and flexibility, and Rachel and the MSNBC management team will find out in the coming months,” Mark said. Shapiro, president of Endeavor, who represents Maddow. “The news will also dictate part of this,” he adds. Maddow “is very passionate about current affairs, news and history and puts it all in the proper context.”
Jones is hoping to quell speculation about Maddow and the future. “The only thing I would say is that not everything you read is necessarily how it will play out,” the executive said. “One of the things we’re trying to figure out is what’s the balance? Be on a few nights? What is the right platform? Any changes to the evening’s lineup, Jones adds, “will depend on where Rachel lands and how Rachel’s portfolio unfolds.” Imagine, if you will, what the die-hard MSNBC might feel if Maddow didn’t make regular on-air appearances in the run-up to the 2022 midterm election. MSNBC declined to make Maddow available for comment. .
Even though she keeps an eye out for prime time viewing, Jones has gone to great lengths to identify voices that might capture attention in new ways – and give them greater visibility. Mehdi Hasan, an outspoken opinion broadcaster who knows how to wield a megaphone on social media, broadcasts his show on certain days of the week and speaks on MSNBC on weekends. Another presenter with a knack for focusing on hot topics, Ayman Mohyeldin, who was leading an afternoon news hour, has just launched a weekend opinion piece that will also be present in streaming. The new slot machine “just gives me a little more space to have a more dynamic conversation,” he says.
But Jones must continue to be cautious, keeping the traditional activities of MSNBC intact even as it ventures into new areas. In a post-election news cycle, it’s hard work. MSNBC’s revenues have long been lower than those of its major competitors, CNN and Fox News Channel. The network earns significantly lower fees for subscribers and less money for advertisers, according to Kagan, a research firm that is part of S&P Global Market Intelligence.
In 2021, MSNBC’s economy is expected to shrink, with advertising falling nearly 20% to $ 574 million, according to Kagan, from $ 709 million last year. Meanwhile, Fox News ad sales are expected to fall 20% to $ 884 million, from nearly $ 1.17 billion in 2020. Only CNN’s advertising is expected to increase slightly, to $ 815 million from $ 805 million. of dollars. Kagan predicts that the three cable news networks will see the number of subscribers decline by about 5% this year.
Jones says the entire industry is challenged that “the cake is shrinking,” but believes connecting MSNBC viewers with Anchors can be a saving grace. The question is, she said, “How do we take everything you love about MSNBC and get it where the audience is?”
Jones did not aspire to run a major media outlet in his youth. When working at local stations, she thought she would end up becoming the head of news operations for a station in a large market. “I didn’t know enough to see it big,” she admits. But she found a position as a senior producer at The Weather Channel and was ultimately drawn to Yvette Miley, now senior vice president of the NBCU News Group which oversees diversity efforts. Once at MSNBC, working as a senior producer with presenter Chris Jansing, Jones began to see that “I can do 50 different things”.
One of them oversaw some of the company’s most ambitious pieces of news. For the past several years, CNN has emulated MSNBC and Fox News, loading its prime hours with presenters who provide colorful analysis, not just the facts of the day. Now MSNBC strives to give viewers more difficult news, especially during its daytime schedule. One of Jones’ first big moves at MSNBC was to work to help viewers understand when the network has live news programming and when it offers opinion broadcasts. The network’s daytime news shows have all been given a new name: “Craig Melvin Reports,” “Katy Tur Reports,” all to follow the name of the midday show anchored for years by Andrea Mitchell.
Keeping the lines from blurring has become a challenge for all cable outlets, which derive more of their notes and advertising dollars from hot shots and free anchors. CNN has granted more licenses to its anchors to engage in analysis and perspective. Fox News added hours of opinion to its 7 p.m. schedule and introduced a late-night show anchored by Greg Gutfeld at 11 a.m. Some news critics might argue that the networks aren’t working as hard as they used to be to keep the two sides separate.
Actively doing it “is a differentiator. It’s important not only that the audience understands, but also that teams, shows and their staff expect it, ”says Jones, who believes the focus on hard news during the day makes MSNBC a popular destination. choice during important national moments – and help the network attract viewers who could typically go to CNN. She is also fully aware that “the world we are in right now is a world where information is politicized or militarized”, and “it is difficult for the country,” she adds. “Everything we produce is representative of the world in which we live. I don’t want to do anything that doesn’t make the world a better place. “
The lack of separation between news and opinion has become a thorny issue, says Mark Feldstein, president of broadcast journalism at the University of Maryland. Jones “tries to clear up the confusion viewers get as they watch MSNBC switch between direct media coverage during the day and opinion broadcasts at night. Labeling these shows more clearly as news or opinions can help, ”he says. “In an era when public confidence in the news media is at an all-time low and fear of ‘fake news’ at an all time high, truth in labeling is a welcome change, although its effectiveness remains to be seen. . . “
Jones is also navigating other dynamics. MSNBC presenters were used to the way the network operated under Phil Griffin, its predecessor, who left MSNBC earlier this year. He was known to be close to stars like Maddow and Joe Scarborough, who are quick to recount the conversations he had with the executive about how his program, “Morning Joe” is produced. Griffin has worked with Maddow as she discusses her new contract, Shapiro says: “He’s a trusted advisor to her.”
It’s not like Jones is a new entity in the building. She has worked with many presenters or, more importantly, has appeared to their ears during programming, for years. Now she’s finding ways to regularly engage with 26 different on-air MSNBC personalities: “Some people are texting. Some people are having lunches. Some people are swing-by-ers in person, ”she says. “I made it my duty to maintain these communications and relationships.”
In another era, the president of a news network wouldn’t have to worry about lining up hosts for streaming tasks or worrying about video content being used for fake news. “The business as a whole is just very unpredictable. We tend to look at history and model things based on how things have always been, ”Jones notes. “Now we’re in a time where all of these things are out the window. There’s a good chance Jones will end up breaking glass.
[ad_2]
Source link