Far-left MSNBC host Joy Reid, whom some have accused of being one of the most race-focused hosts on cable news, is reportedly facing a steep pay cut to keep her job.
A report by The Ankler, which is a Substack publication produced by media writer Lachlan Cartwright, noted that in addition to Reid, host Stephanie Ruhle will also be facing a pay reduction in the coming year.
Cartwright added that the situation for all of cable news — with the notable exception of Fox News — is “bleak”:
The overwhelming sentiment from my conversations with 20 network journalists and executives for this story is that they are exhausted and ready for 2024 to be over — even if they are scared by what next year will bring. “It’s pretty bleak,” one long-serving cable network producer told me. “It’s past the point of hard alcohol.”
Meanwhile, fellow MSNBC host Rachel Maddow has seen a significant drop in her viewership following President-elect Donald Trump’s Election Day victory, according to recent data.
Since Trump’s landslide win over Vice President Kamala Harris, “The Rachel Maddow Show” has lost 43% of its audience in 2024, now averaging just 1.4 million viewers.
Analysts identified the decline by comparing the show’s average viewership from January 1, 2024, through Election Day to its performance since November 6.
In 2022, Rachel Maddow reduced the show to a once-a-week format to “pursue other projects” despite her substantial salary. She recently signed a new contract to remain a prominent figure at MSNBC.
The network’s top star has experienced an even sharper decline among adults aged 25-54. Since the election, she has lost 56% of her audience in this key demographic, now averaging just 103,000 viewers—a critical blow given the importance of this age group to advertisers, OAN reported.
At the height of its popularity, The Rachel Maddow Show aired every weeknight and competed as one of the most-watched cable news programs. However, for the past two years, Maddow has only hosted the show on Monday nights, passing the 9 p.m. ET time slot to Alex Wagner for the remainder of the week. Notably, Wagner had her lowest-rated week ever just last month.
Under her previous contract, Maddow reportedly earned $30 million annually. However, The Ankler previously reported that her new five-year deal is worth $25 million per year, though MSNBC insiders have disputed those figures.
Fox News correspondent Joe Concha, who has long covered the media industry, remarked that it’s unsurprising Maddow is losing viewers after the election results, given her strong support for Kamala Harris.
“What was surprising is that MSNBC still doled out $25 million to her to work one night a week. And the return on investment is that she finishes a distant second to Sean Hannity at 9 P.M. Is that money well spent? Rhetorical question,” Concha told Fox News Digital.
Maddow has built her reputation on relentless criticism of Trump, including promoting since-debunked theories attempting to link him to Russia.
Before the 2024 election, Maddow openly claimed that Trump “would be a dictator” if re-elected.
The far-left network has seen a sharp drop in audience numbers since his ictory, with Maddow’s show suffering a notable decline—falling behind even a rerun of Ancient Aliens in a recent ratings comparison.
The ratings slump extends to CNN, which has seen a 33% decline in total-day viewers, averaging 357,000, with 65,000 in the key demo, according to The Independent.
Primetime has been especially challenging for both networks. MSNBC’s primetime audience has dropped 52%, averaging 644,000 viewers, with only 63,000 in the 25-54 demographic. CNN’s primetime ratings have fallen 39%, drawing 453,000 viewers.
Meanwhile, Fox News has experienced a surge in post-election viewership, increasing 24% year-to-date and averaging 3 million primetime viewers, cementing its dominance in the cable news landscape, the report said.
