From her early career working in radio and TV in Miami, to running the African-American site TheGrio.com, to most recently serving as one of MSNBC’s go-to guests and fill-in hosts, Joy Reid says she’s ready for “The Reid Report.” And she has some MSNBCers to thank.
“When I first started off, my ultimate goal was to get on ‘Hardball, ‘” Reid told us during an interview at 30 Rock Thursday. “I love Chris Matthews. We sort of have a mutual admiration thing going on,” Reid says. She is also proud to be one of a handful of African-American hosts in cable news and praises MSNBC for having the most diverse audience. “Providing that is not niche marketing, it’s just smart business,” she says.
Taking a page from most other cable news shows, Reid says “The Reid Report,” debuting at 2pmET on Feb. 24, will play to a specific audience that wants more than headlines.
“The cable landscape is difficult. You have a polarized audience. You have an audience that is looking for alternatives to television and cable, including the internet and social.”
CNN is still trying to do “voice of God news,” while Fox News has carved out ownership of a “very Republican” audience, Reid says.
MSNBC’s tilt to the left, which began in the waning days of the George W. Bush administration, doesn’t mean her show will be all liberal, all the time. As Reid tells us in the video portion of our interview, she’s looking forward to bringing on conservative voices: