MSNBC is re-balancing its dayside leadership following the recent departures of newsroom leaders Izzy Povich and Madeleine Haeringer.
Jamie Kraft leaves the weekend Nightly News, where he was ep, and will join MSNBC as senior ep of Dayside Programming, reporting to Janelle Rodriguez who was named head of MSNBC dayside in March. Pat Burkey will now lead MSNBC Breaking News and Special Event Programming, reporting to MSNBC president Phil Griffin.
Burkey, who had been ep of NBC Nightly News with Brian Williams, rejoined MSNBC last year not long after Williams returned to the cable network. The two were also paired on Williams’ former MSNBC show The News with Brian Williams, leading some insiders to speculate that Williams may return to a regular slot on MSNBC’s schedule following the election.
The search is on for Kraft’s replacement at weekend Nightly News.
Here’s Griffin’s note:
All,
I’m writing to share two announcements for MSNBC’s dayside leadership team as we push ahead with our successful focus on in-depth coverage and breaking news.
Jamie Kraft will join MSNBC as Senior Executive Producer of Dayside Programming, reporting to Janelle Rodriguez. Jamie, of course, comes to us after four remarkable years as EP of Nightly News weekend editions. In his new role, he will direct our on-air weekday programming and oversee the dayside executive producers. Jamie will partner with Rashida Jones, who, as Managing Editor, adeptly drives day-to-day newsgathering and editorial plans. In addition, Rashida will now oversee MSNBC’s unilateral reporters and field producers. Under Janelle’s leadership, Jamie and Rashida will expand on the exponential ratings growth in dayside.
We have rapidly made huge strides thanks in part to the work of Pat Burkey who, along with Izzy Povich, spent the last nine months training a small army of breaking news producers, driving dynamic political coverage, and fueling triple-digit ratings growth.
Pat will build on this success in a pivotal new role on MSNBC’s executive team leading Breaking News and Special Event Programming, reporting to me. Since returning to MSNBC from Nightly News in September, Pat led countless hours of major breaking news coverage outside the 9am-5pm window — including Pope Francis’ visit to America, the terrorist attacks in Paris and Brussels, and primetime primary nights. He will now focus his talents in this realm full time and continue to work closely with Brian Williams as we look ahead to conventions, debates, election night, and beyond.
It’s remarkable to reflect on how far our entire network has come in the last year. The momentum is with us, and I’m excited to see what’s ahead as we go forward together.