- Bloomberg has announced that Joumanna Bercetche has joined the network as the anchor of Daybreak Middle East and Africa on its international network. Bercetche begins her new duties in April and will be based in Dubai. She was previously a London-based anchor for CNBC. Bercetche said, “I am delighted to be joining Bloomberg’s influential newsroom and its team of authoritative anchors and reporters. The quality of Bloomberg’s news coverage is renowned globally, and I look forward to highlighting the stories from the Middle East alongside our team on the ground.”
- Scripps News is adding veteran political strategist Steve Schmidt to its roster as a contributor appearing across the network. He has previously worked on the campaigns of Senator John McCain, former Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and former President George W. Bush. “I’m thrilled to be joining Scripps News, a disruptor in the media industry because I believe in its mission and vision,” says Schmidt. His debut is on Monday, Feb. 26.
- Former MSNBC host Mehdi Hasan has joined The Guardian as a regular columnist. Hasan, whose first column for the publication appeared on Wednesday, said, “I have been poring over columns in the Guardian since I was a teenager. Now, I get to write some of my own in what is perhaps one of the busiest and biggest news years of my lifetime. It’s a huge honor and a privilege.” Hasan left MSNBC in January after his Sunday show was canceled following a programming reshuffle last November.
- NewsNation’s Ashleigh Banfield has reached a new multi-year agreement with the network to continue hosting her weeknight primetime program, Banfield. “Ashleigh is an incredible talent and a seasoned broadcast journalist,” said Michael Corn, president of news at NewsNation. “She covers crime and the justice system better than anyone, and we are thrilled that she has re-signed with the network.” During Banfield’s time at NewsNation, she has covered the mass shooting in Lewiston, Maine; the Gabby Petito–Brian Laundrie murder case; the Bryan Kohberger trial; the Murdaugh trial; and the Gilgo Beach murders. Banfield has been with NewsNation since 2021, and her show airs at 10 p.m. ET.
- Former CNN political and occasional fill-in anchor John Avlon has put his hat into the political ring, running to represent New York’s 1st congressional district. Avlon will be running as a Democrat and filed his candidacy on Tuesday. In early February, he left his CNN gig, saying to the CNN This Morning crew, “I have loved being with you and this extraordinary team and the extraordinary crew for so long, for so many years. It’s not a chore to get up this early. It’s a joy because of the camaraderie and the community and the important work that you all and CNN does every day.”
- Meanwhile, former CNN president Jeff Zucker says he doesn’t watch a lot of CNN. In an interview with The Hollywood Reporter, Zucker said he doesn’t “watch much television news at all, including CNN.” But he did have some praise for the new CNN head, Mark Thompson, saying, “Mark is a really smart, talented executive and he has got a really tough hand, but I’m sure he’ll do a really good job.”
- NBC News is replacing its First Read political newsletter with an evening edition titled From The Politics Desk. This new newsletter will comprise work from the network’s deep pool of political reporters contributing to a centralized product, with a wider focus on news and analysis from across the country. Editions of the newsletter will feature three sections: news of the day, analysis from the author and must-read links throughout the day. The newsletter will feature analysis from a rotating group of correspondents and anchors, with Kristen Welker, Steve Kornacki, Chuck Todd, Jon Allen and Mark Murray serving as regular authors. Contributors will include Carol Lee, Sahil Kapur and others. NBC News says the rebranded newsletter reflects the integration of broadcast and digital platforms—something ongoing across almost every news division.
Picture courtesy of Bloomberg.
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