MSNBC morale hits rock bottom as network shifts to center
The controversial ousting of Tiffany Cross isn’t the only issue plaguing MSNBC.
The left-wing network’s morale “is down the toilet” and its liberal hosts are now concerned that the network’s leaders are not being supported because of the way Cross was allegedly treated.
” People are scared. The consensus is that [MSNBC president Rashida Jones] trying to undo MSNBC and turn it into something the right won’t be mad at. What about our target audience? an insider explained.
Multiple sources tell us that as soon as Jones took over in 2021, months after Cross was hired, “she had meetings saying she didn’t want no snark, no name calling. She seemed especially disturbed by anyone saying anything negative about Fox News,” the insider added.
Another NBC insider confirmed Jones’ new direction, telling us, “Like CNN, trying to get right in the middle seems to be what we’re interested in. The MSNBC identity is removed.
“The current trend is that everyone is leaning towards less division,” the source added.
Meanwhile, Cross wasn’t afraid to respond to attacks from conservative critics like Tucker Carlson and Megyn Kelly. The former ‘The Cross Connection’ host’s defensive comment is what partly led to her getting fired, according to insiders who previously told the Post that Cross was being attacked for ‘name calling’ and ‘vulgar’ comments. .
A representative for Cross had no comment.
Others inside the network are now asking, “What was so vulgar when there were people like [MSNBC] talents Nicole Wallace and Joe Scarborough who swear on TV? What was the urgency that forced her to be fired before her contract expired at the end of the year? »
An MSNBC spokesperson said the network “made the programming decision to cancel the show. The newsgroup makes these business decisions all the time.
Our first insider told us that liberals within the company were starting to “feel targeted and there was no protection from the bosses.”
It also doesn’t help that, unlike his predecessor Phil Griffin, Jones “has no connection to talent,” according to multiple sources.
In fact, we’re told the staff members yearn for the days of Griffin, who was a “real MSNBC guy.”
“It’s like Rashida doesn’t like MSNBC. No one knows what his vision is. She doesn’t have one,” an insider said. “She is a [former NBC News chairman] Andy Lack buddy who is obsessed with flyover states and attracts Fox News’ core audience. They don’t look [MSNBC].”
Others who are more of the Jones team painted a rosier picture of their leader, explaining, “She has worked for NBC News and MSNBC for almost a decade and has strong talent relationships… It’s ridiculous to claim Rashida is pushing the target audience…in just two short years, she’s giving MSNBC fans more of what they want on the platform they’re using.
Still, many in the network fear that Jones “is in over his head.”
“She’s a great number 2, but she can’t steer the ship and drive it to port,” the second insider said.