NEW YORK (AP) — MSNBC said Thursday that it is canceling three of its afternoon programs, part of a network-wide shift to a straight news focus during the daytime hours.
Hour-long programs hosted by Ed Schultz at 5 p.m. Eastern and Alex Wagner at 4 p.m. were both axed, as was “The Cycle,” a roundtable that aired at 3 p.m. with hosts Ari Melber, Toure, Abby Huntsman and Krystal Ball.
Schultz had the longest history at MSNBC. He was once a prime-time personality at the network and was relegated to weekends, then was brought back for a daily show. He’ll be leaving the network, MSNBC President Phil Griffin said.
Wagner will stay on at MSNBC as a political reporter, and Melber was named the network’s chief legal correspondent. Toure, Huntsman and Ball are leaving the network.
All of the shows featured a liberal perspective. Under new NBC News boss Andrew Lack, MSNBC will focus on news coverage during the day with opinionated shows in prime time as it struggles to reverse a ratings decline. Former “Nightly News” anchor Brian Williams will join MSNBC as a breaking news anchor.
MSNBC said last week that “Meet the Press” host Chuck Todd will get a daily show on the cable network at 5 p.m.
___
This story has been updated to correct attribution in the third paragraph. The comment should be attributed to MSNBC President Phil Griffin, not network spokesman Mark Kornblau.
Comment count on this article reflects comments made on Breitbart.com and Facebook. Visit Breitbart's Facebook Page.