NBC’s chief White House correspondent David Gregory will continue to cover that beat for NBC News in addition to anchoring his new 6pmET program, Race for the White House, on MSNBC. But the timing is sure to conflict with his reporting for NBC Nightly News, given that both programs air at the same time. And what happens when Gregory needs to travel with the President? Paging Norah O’Donnell.
But it has been done before. In the 11 months leading up to the 2000 election, Andrea Mitchell anchored the half-hour program The Mitchell Report for MSNBC. It too aired at 6pmET. After the MSNBC show, Mitchell would often remain on set to report for Nightly News.
Click continued to read the press release on the upcoming MSNBC changes…
MSNBC — THE PLACE FOR POLITICS — EXPANDS POLITICAL PROGRAMMING WITH “RACE FOR THE WHITE HOUSE WITH DAVID GREGORY” PREMIERING MARCH 17
“Countdown with Keith Olbermann” to Re-Air at 10pm and 2am ET
“Verdict with Dan Abrams” Launches March 17
Andrea Mitchell to Anchor Weekdays 1-2 pm; “Doc Block” Expands to 11pm-2am
NEW YORK — March 10, 2008 — MSNBC, the Place for Politics, is expanding its already substantial political programming lineup next week as the 2008 presidential race continues to heat up. NBC News Chief White House Correspondent David Gregory will anchor “Race for the White House,” a fast-paced daily look at the latest election news, weekdays, 6-7 p.m. ET on MSNBC. “Race for the White House” premieres Monday, March 17, and will continue through the election and beyond as the nation’s focus continues on the historic Presidential campaign. Also bolstering MSNBC’s political coverage, NBC News’ Andrea Mitchell will anchor MSNBC each weekday afternoon, 1-2 p.m. ET
MSNBC’s top-rated “Countdown with Keith Olbermann” will now telecast twice in primetime, with a re-air weeknights at 10 p.m. ET/7 p.m. PT. “Countdown” will also air weeknights at 11 p.m. PT/2 a.m. ET; the original telecast remains at 8 p.m. ET. MSNBC is also expanding the “doc block,” which will now telecast weeknights, 11 p.m.-2 a.m. ET/8 p.m.-11 p.m. PT.
Also March 17, “Live with Dan Abrams” re-launches as “Verdict with Dan Abrams,” an hour-long look at the day’s news from a legal perspective, and expands to five nights a week. Each day “Verdict” will assess right from wrong and determine the winners and losers in politics, law and pop culture. In this political season, Abrams will continue to use his legal eye to stay “On Their Trail” separating fact from fiction, identifying and exposing the candidate’s biggest misstatements, cheap shots and blunders, while continuing viewer-favorite segments “Beat the Press” and “Winners and Losers.” “Verdict” will telecast weekdays, 9-10 p.m. ET.
“Race for the White House with David Gregory” will feature reports from MSNBC and NBC News correspondents around the country with the latest breaking political news and in-depth analysis of the campaigns. Tucker Carlson will remain with the network as MSNBC Senior Campaign Correspondent and will appear regularly throughout MSNBC’s program lineup.
“Viewers are incredibly engaged this election season, with a real appetite for political news,” said Phil Griffin, Senior Vice President, NBC News and Executive in Charge of MSNBC. “As NBC News’ Chief White House Correspondent, David is the perfect person to lead this key hour of our election coverage. Tucker is one of the top political minds inside the Beltway, and we look forward to continuing to feature his insightful analysis.”
Gregory has led the network’s coverage of the Bush presidency since 2000, reporting regularly on “NBC Nightly News with Brian Williams,” “Today,” MSNBC and on MSNBC.com. He has circled the globe, traveling with President Bush on every major foreign trip and to nearly every state in the nation during the presidential campaigns of 2000 and 2004.
In the fall of 2005, Gregory began substituting regularly for Matt Lauer on “Today.” He has served as substitute moderator on “Meet the Press,” and has been a substitute anchor for the weekend editions of “Nightly News” and “Today.” As a political commentator, Gregory is a frequent contributor on “Meet the Press” and the syndicated “Chris Matthews” show.
Andrea Mitchell is the Chief Foreign Affairs Correspondent for NBC News, a position she has held since November 1994. Mitchell has also covered Sen. Clinton’s presidential campaign, the 2004 presidential campaign for NBC News and is a regular panelist on MSNBC’s “Hardball.—