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Melissa Harris-Perry is out at MSNBC
Posted On Feb 28 2016
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“Here is the reality: Our show was taken-without comment or discussion or notice-in the midst of an election season”, Harris Perry wrote in the internal email.
In the e-mail, Harris-Perry tells her colleagues she is “not owned” by Lack or Griffin.
Melissa Harris Perry will officially be out of a television job today.
“This reaction is surprising, confusing and disappointing”, a network spokesperson said Friday, adding that Joy Reid – who had her weekday program cancelled previous year but was kept by the network to perform other duties, will anchor in Harris-Perry’s spot instead this weekend.
In the letter, she said “no one on the third floor”, where MSNBC’s executives work at 30 Rockefeller Center, “has even returned an email, called me, or initiated or responded to any communication of any kind from me for almost a month”.
The time has come for Melissa Harris-Perry to end her time at MSNBC.
Lagging in ratings behind Fox and CNN, MSNBC’s strategy has apparently been trying to emphasize breaking-news coverage during daytime hours while maintaining a slate of liberal hosts such as Rachel Maddow during prime-time hours at night.
While Harris-Perry’s exit from MSNBC is not yet official, her tweet Sunday morning indicating ‘farewell, ‘ may be all the indication her fans need. The news comes two days after Harris-Perry reportedly walked off her show after disagreement with the direction her show was heading and pre-emptions for political coverage. Harris-Perry’s show often tackled race-related issues – discussing Beyoncé’s “Formation” video on Superbowl Sunday and the racial and gender implication of the movie “Star Wars: The Force Awakens”. She hasn’t appeared on air in several weeks due to preemptions for election coverage, leading her to feel “effectively and utterly silenced” by the network. Nor did Harris-Perry. But in the concluding paragraph of her email to staffers, she wrote, “I will not sell short myself or this show. When we can do that, I will return – not a moment earlier”.
