Rashida Jones to Succeed Phil Griffin as President at MSNBC

Rashida Jones, an up-and-coming news executive at NBCUniversal, will take the reins at the company’s MSNBC cable-news outlet in February, setting her up to be the first Black executive to run one of the nation’s big cable-news outlets at time when that business is of growing importance to big media conglomerates.

Phil Griffin, who has worked at MSNBC since its launch in 1996 and its president since 2008, is expected to step down at the end of January. Griffin has enjoyed close ties to many of MSNBC’s primetime stars, including Rachel Maddow, the linchpin of the network’s lineup.

“Rashida knows and understands MSNBC, in part because it’s where she started when she first joined NBCU seven years ago,” said Cesar Conde, chairman of NBCUniversal’s news operations, in a memo to staff. “She knows that it is the people who work here that make it great, and she understands its culture. She also appreciates the impact and potential of the brand.”

The Wall Street Journal previously reported the executive move.

More to come…