Symone D. Sanders will take over the 4 p.m. weekend slot on MSNBC as the NBCUniversal-owned network continues to bolster opinion programming over hours devoted to straight news reportage.
The former media strategist, who has helped two prominent Democrats in presidential campaigns, will kick off her first show on Saturday, May 7, at 4 p.m. The hour is currently anchored by Yasmin Vossoughian in a more traditional news format. Sanders, who comes to MSNBC directly from working as a media aide to U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris, will also host her program on MSNBC’s streaming hub on Peacock, where she will appear on Mondays and Tuesdays. Sanders is expected to explore issues at the intersection of politics, culture and race and feature interviews with top newsmakers.
“I’m going to bring my whole self to this show. I am a young woman, a young woman of color. I’m a Black woman, a young Black woman form the Midwest, from Nebraska. Yes, I have done politics, but I’m also a consumer of pop culture,” Sanders told Variety in an interview in January. “I’m turning on the news in the car, but I’m also DVR-ing the ‘Housewives.’ There is a space for that to intersect.”
Sanders new show is the latest instance of MSNBC expanding its opinion-led offerings and trimming back hours devoted to news. The network is adding a fourth hour of “Morning Joe” to weekdays next month and intends to launch attorney Katie Phang in an opinion hour on early weekend mornings that had previously been earmarked for more traditional reportage.
Catherine Snyder has been tapped as executive producer of Sanders’ new program. She is currently managing editor at WRC, an NBC-owned station in Washington, D.C. Snyder previously worked WUSA, a Washington CBS station, and was a senior producer at CNBC who helped launch “Mad Money With Jim Cramer” and “Capital Report.”
“Symone’s knowledge, insight, experience and, above all, authenticity will offer viewers a fresh perspective not just on politics but on the cultural issues affecting all of us at a pivotal time in our history,” said Snyder, in a prepared statement.
Source: Read Full Article
