MSNBC Names Rashida Jones President, Making History For Major Cable News Networks

MSNBC has named Rashida Jones its next president, making her the first Black executive to run a major general news cable network, The Wall Street Journal reported.

Jones, who currently serves as the senior vice president of NBC News and MSNBC, will replace longtime president Phil Griffin, who is stepping down after leading the network since 2008, the network announced Monday.

In her current role, Jones has led programming for major recent events, including the coronavirus pandemic, the impeachment trial of President Donald Trump and two 2020 Democratic presidential debates. She leads MSNBC daytime and weekend programming, and oversees a number of NBC News series, including “Justice for All.”

Before joining MSNBC, Jones served as the news director for the NBC affiliate in Columbia, South Carolina. She also served as The Weather Channel’s director of live programming, her NBC profile states.

Jones is a graduate of Hampton University, one of the nation’s historically Black colleges and universities, known as HBCUs. She will begin her new role as MSNBC president on Feb. 1.