Things have gone less than well for MSNBC anchor Mehdi Hasan, as the network just decided to cut his weekend prime-time talk show after the show’s ratings dropped like a rock after he came out against Israel. The show’s being cut comes as part of a reported cost-cutting campaign.
Particularly, MSNBC has reportedly been trying to dramatically slash its costs to deal with decreased revenues, and apparently found Hasan’s show an easy line item to slash after his anti-Israel comments led to a ratings plummet, making the network’s already painfully low ratings yet worse.
Speaking on the matter, a source told the New York Post that MSNBC has been focused on “cutting costs like crazy,” and so it had a “good excuse” to dump the commentator when he went off the anti-Israel deep end. “I think they thought (Hasan’s) point of view was a little too out of the mainstream if you know what I mean,” the New York Post’s source added.
On the other side of the story, MSNBC head Rashida Jones gave an entirely different reason for the decision. According to Jones, the move to cut Hasan’s show came as part of a larger effort to restructure the network’s lineup before the presidential campaign begins in earnest.
Speaking on the matter in a memo to staffers, Jones said, “As Decision 2024 ramps up, the show will provide thoughtful analysis and coverage on the state of our country from three trusted voices familiar to the MSNBC audience.”
Whatever the reason for the show getting cut, Semafor reports that Hasan will be sticking with the network, becoming an on-camera analyst and fill-in host. Meanwhile, the time previously taken up by his show will be taken up by host Ayman Mohyeldin’s program, which was expanded to two hours.
Hasan, who formerly worked for Al Jazeera English, posted about the situation on X (formerly Twitter), saying, “Yes the @MehdiHasanShow has ended on @peacock & will be ending on @MSNBC *next* month (still a few weeks left!) Thank you all for watching over the past 3 years. Going forward at @MSNBC, I’ll serve as a guest anchor across prime shows and beyond, & as an on-air political analyst.”
Continuing, Hasan added, “Thanks for the outpouring of love and support, & thanks of course to my amazing, talented team of producers on the @MehdiHasanShow. I’m humbled and so appreciative. I’m not going anywhere and you’ll hear from me lots in 2024.”
Commenting, leftist X accounts supported Hasan and attacked MSNBC. The Jo account, for example, said, “This was a big mistake on the part of @MSNBC. Huge. They’re lucky to have you there at all. You’re one of the best in the business, and we need your voice out there more than ever — especially so during these turbulent times. I wish you nothing but success!”
Similarly, another commenter said, “Awful move by MSNBC. You have a toughness & tenaciousness that reality-based media desperately needs. I hope you’ll launch a podcast or something similar, so we can continue to support the work that you do without being subject to the whims of a self-destructive network.”
Featured image credit: by Policy Exchange – This file has been extracted from another file, CC BY 2.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=58147012
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