MSNBC officially names Joy Reid as primetime anchor in historic move
It’s official: Joy Reid will fill Chris Matthews’s 7 p.m. slot on MSNBC, making her cable’s first Black female primetime anchor.
Reid has been named host of The ReidOut, according to a statement by MSNBC. The Washington, D.C.-based show, which is set to premiere on July 20, “will feature one-on-one conversations with politicians and newsmakers while addressing provocative political issues both inside and outside of the beltway.”
“I’m thrilled to have Joy on five nights a week,” said MSNBC President Phil Griffin. “She’s thoughtful and brings so much depth to her reporting. She’s made for this moment.”
The political pundit has hosted the weekend program AM Joy on the network since 2016. She previously served as a correspondent and hosted the MSNBC afternoon show the Reid Report.
“I’m honored and thankful for this opportunity,” said Reid. “I’ll always be proud of the work we did on AM Joy by pushing the envelope and tackling pragmatic conversations. I’m eager to carry that same energy into the 7 p.m. hour where we can continue to build on bringing in diverse, smart, and accomplished voices to the table on topics that are important to our viewers.”
The Wall Street Journal, which broke the news on June 24 that Reid was in talks for the anchor spot, reported that a start date and title is still to be determined; however, the show will continue to be a daily news and opinion program.
Chris Matthews, the longtime anchor of Hardball, abruptly resigned in March following a string of controversial comments and allegations that he had previously made inappropriate remarks to women. During his last show, Matthews said it was time to let a younger generation “take the reins.” MSNBC has rotated hosts in his absence with Reid being one of the regular people to fill in.
Reid isn’t without some controversial remarks of her own. In 2018, the author apologized for old homophobic and inappropriate remarks that had been unearthed.
“I genuinely do not believe I wrote those hateful things because they are completely alien to me. But I can definitely understand, based on things I have tweeted, have written in the past, why some people don’t believe me,” she said. “For that, I am truly, truly sorry.”
As with most commentators on MSNBC, Reid — who worked on Barack Obama’s 2008 presidential campaign — is very critical of President Donald Trump and his administration. Her most recent book is titled The Man Who Sold America: Trump and the Unraveling of the American Story.
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