Clock ticks on MSNBC turmoil
AS speculation swirls over whether MSNBC’s Lawrence O’Donnell will return after his contract ends June 4, sources say that the network’s president Phil Griffin has even less time on his contract, which has not been renewed either.
A source told Page Six that “Phil’s contract is up in two weeks.” O’Donnell addressed his situation by tweeting on Wednesday, “Contract expires June 4. I’ll let you know where you can watch me June 5 if it’s not MSNBC. I’m sorry this situation has become public.”
Last week, O’Donnell crowed on Twitter about his ratings as the No. 2 show on cable behind colleague Rachel Maddow. But similarly, Al Roker tweeted about the healthy numbers on his hour of “Today” before NBC News chairman Andy Lack scrapped it to make way for Megyn Kelly. A source said: “They don’t care about their talent. Andy has these ideas, and the numbers don’t factor in.”
Multiple sources told us that Lack wants to replace O’Donnell with disgraced NBC anchor Brian Williams. “It’s the worst kept secret at MSNBC. Brian even acknowledged when he got the 11 p.m. show that it would be temporary. Andy’s plan was to put him at 10 p.m.” But an NBC insider insisted that Griffin will be at MSNBC for “years to come,” and that “negotiations with O’Donnell are ongoing with the goal of renewal.”
Meanwhile, another anchor who had a public split with MSNBC last year, Melissa Harris- Perry, lashed out at the cable news outlet when the National Association of Black Journalists announced it will honor MSNBC’s senior vice president of talent and diversity, Yvette Miley. The NABJ said, “Miley was early in identifying the significance of the Black Lives Matter movement, the impact on the shooting of Trayvon Martin and the unrest in Ferguson[, Mo.].”
Harris-Perry responded in an e-mail to the org: “You MUST be kidding right? She is the one who identified Trayvon Martin’s importance? ... Where is the part where she systematically fired, dismissed and gaslit black folk in national media while hiding behind the white boys at MSNBC? Please remove me from the NABJ mailing list.”