MSNBC political analyst Alex Wagner is getting her own show, TVNewser has learned.
At some point in the next few months, the channel will debut a new NoonET program hosted by Wagner, who was most recently with the Huffington Post, and before that worked for Politics Daily. Dana Haller, who has been working on special events for the channel, will serve as executive producer.
According to a memo sent to staff by VP and executive editor Yvette Miley obtained by TVNewser, the new program will “feature regular contributors who will explore what’s driving the day’s political stories.” It will replace MSNBC Live, which typically airs in the time period. The channel has had a number of anchors filling in during that time period in recent months, following the daily anchoring departure of Contessa Brewer.
Miley’s full memo to staff, after the jump.
—- Original Message —–
From: Miley, Yvette
Sent: Thu Oct 20 13:42:41 2011
Subject: Exciting NewsTeam,
Over the past several days, I have shared exciting news with many of you about the continued evolution of our dayside lineup. I wanted to follow-up with this email to inform those of you who don’t regularly attend our editorial meetings.
Alex Wagner, MSNBC contributor and frequent network guest and Dana Haller are developing a new show to air weekdays at noon. The show will be hosted by Alex and feature regular contributors who will explore what’s driving the day’s political stories. Alex has been a standout since she first appeared as a guest back in 2008 and I know she’ll be a dynamic host. Dana, who has worked tirelessly on special network events (Olympics, Education Nation, Royal Wedding) and special programs – “Immigration: Beyond Borderlines”, “Making The Grade”, “The Black Agenda”, just to name a few – will be the show’s Executive Producer.
Alex was most recently a reporter at the Huffington Post, where she covered innovation in the American economy, investigating the intersection of business, politics and new technology. Prior to this, she served as the White House correspondent for Politics Daily, where she chronicled a number of international and domestic affairs ranging from the BP oil spill to the Egyptian revolution.
Dana was mostly recently Supervising Producer of Development and Special Projects for MSNBC. Previously, Dana served as Producer, Strategic Marketing for MSNBC. Prior to that, she was a producer in the NBC News Executive Offices, where she served multiple roles, including producing segments for NBC’s TODAY show and managing the logistics and marketing of MSNBC’s coverage of the 2008 political conventions and the 2009 Inauguration of President Obama.
Please join me in congratulating Alex and Dana.
Yvette