Jen Psaki Talking to MSNBC and CNN About Her Own Cable News Show: Report
Following in the footsteps of former White House communications staff turned media personalities like George Stephanopolous, Nicolle Wallace, and Kayleigh McEnany, Jen Psaki is reportedly in talks to join a cable news network as a host.
Dylan Byers, a founding partner and senior correspondent at Puck, reported on Wednesday that Psaki, who is expected to leave the White House this year, is being “feverishly courted” by both CNN and MSNBC.
Byers detailed that despite CNN’s deep internal turmoil in recent weeks, “CNN interim co-president Amy Entelis and CNN+ programming lead Rebecca Kutler were in Washington for a top-secret and mission-critical recruitment assignment.”
Additionally, “NBC News Chairman Cesar Conde and MSNBC President Rashida Jones made a similar pilgrimage to Washington to meet with the very same talent, in the hopes that she might one day join their networks in a flagship role, and perhaps even take the top spot in primetime on MSNBC.”
That talent Byers refers to is Psaki. Both MSNBC and CNN lag far behind Fox News in the ratings and are in need of a shake-up.
Fox boasted online Wednesday that the network just celebrated its 27th straight week beating both CNN and MSNBC combined in terms of overall viewership. Fox went on to dunk on CNN’s particularly poor showing as of late, pointing out that last week “CNN had its least-watched, non-holiday week during weekday prime time since 2014.”
Byers explained why media executives hope Psaki may be the golden ticket to better ratings, noting, “Psaki has achieved veritable celebrity status for her daily press briefings, which have restored sanity and professionalism to the office and earned her the adoration of the mainstream media, as well as a fervent following online.”
“She is a political celebrity, with the combination of West Wing bona fides and telegenic charm,” Byers adds, flattering the White House press secretary. “Psaki wants to be on TV, to be sure, but the industry needs her even more,” he concludes.
Byers goes on to speculate that as many media insiders believe Rachel Maddow, who is currently on hiatus, is due to leave prime time in the spring, her replacement may end up being Psaki. Wallace has long been rumored to be up for a move to prime time on MSNBC, but she may suddenly have some new competition.
