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When MSNBC pulled the plug on The Reid Out, it was strange because there was no warning that such a change could be coming for viewers. There was reportedly tension between Reid and her corporate bosses, who did not like her outspoken criticism and progressive stances. The thing that seemed to make them uncomfortable was Reid’s comfort in bluntly and truthfully discussing issues like racism and sexism as they relate to Trump and the current Republican Party.
Reid was beloved by her most powerful colleagues like Rachel Maddow on the network. Maddow defended Reid and called her firing, along with other non-white anchors like Katie Phang, a mistake.
Even more bees should start buzzing when the ratings data for The Reid Out is looked at.
According to The Daily Beast, Reid’s audience was increasing when she was canceled:
But the Beast has obtained the audience ratings compiled by Nielsen which are used by news networks to assess the success of their shows and the people appearing on them—and they show no signs that Reid was experiencing an audience plunge out of line with her MSNBC co-stars. In fact she and all the other primetime line-up were on an upswing in February.
…
Ratings for every MSNBC primetime host declined in the period after the election, but Reid’s drops do not appear substantially more than her peers. Melber’s total-viewer ratings were down 42 percent (1.552 million vs. 903,000) between Nov. 6 and the end of February from their 2024 pre-election ratings—as were Reid’s (1.421 million vs. 825,000). Hayes saw a 45 percent decline in that same period (1.496 million vs. 820,000).
Chris Hayes’s All In is regularly one of the lowest-rated shows on the network, yet he is allowed to keep chugging along.
MSNBC will soon be spun off into its own company, and it is reasonable to ask if the decision to get rid of so many progressive, non-white Trump critics on the network had something to do with appeasing the administration so that any future matters that may come before the Trump administration will be viewed more favorably.
Trump called Reid a racist and celebrated her firing on Truth Social.
With so much of the mainstream media bending their knees and catering to Trump, any viewer who invests their time watching MSNBC’s programming deserves an explanation.
Reid’s contract had ended with the network, but MSNBC execs seem to have chosen the path of least resistance by getting rid of strong progressive voices of color, which may have been done to please Donald Trump.
Do you think MSNBC got rid of Joy Reid to make Trump happy? Share your opinion in the comments below.
