NBCUniversal Loses Prominent Black News Anchors
During this weekend’s “Saturday Night Live” Weekend Update, co-anchor Michael Che highlighted a concerning reality: NBCUniversal is bidding farewell to two prominent Black news anchors simultaneously.
MSNBC anchor Joy Reid, who previously held the 7 p.m. slot, has been released as part of a significant talent reorganization at the news network. Additionally, NBC Nightly News anchor Lester Holt disclosed this week that he will be stepping down after a decade in the position.
Che humorously speculated that he might be the next one to depart, jokingly pointing to a photo of himself during the broadcast.
Che has been co-hosting “SNL’s” Weekend Update alongside Colin Jost since 2014, taking over from Cecily Strong. (Che and Jost previously served as co-head writers at SNL from 2017 to 2022.)
The exits of Reid and Holt have unfolded in contrasting manners: Holt announced his departure in a memo to staff this week, expressing gratitude for his time as anchor of ‘Nightly News’ and revealing his plans to focus on ‘Dateline’ while remaining at NBC News.
Reid, on the other hand, has faced a more contentious departure. Since joining MSNBC as a weekday staple in 2020, she has replaced longtime host Chris Matthews. Internal criticism arose within MSNBC, with top anchor Rachel Maddow openly condemning the network for parting ways with Reid. Maddow expressed her disappointment, stating, “Joy Reid’s show, ‘The ReidOut,’ aired its final episode tonight. Joy will not be transitioning to a different role within the network. Instead, she is leaving altogether, and that is incredibly difficult to accept. I don’t want to lose her as a colleague here at MSNBC, and personally, I believe it is a grave error to let her go.”
