Source: Marla Aufmuth / Getty
Veteran journalists Tiffany Cross and Jonathan Capehart are the new hosts of two new shows on MSNBC.
According to Deadline, MSNBC is launching two new weekend shows with political analyst Tiffany Cross and Washington Post opinion columnist Jonathan Capehart. After weeks of competing for the coveted weekend slots on the network, previously held by Joy Reid‘s “A.M. Joy”, both were announced to be filling the slots, with Cross anchoring MSNBC on Saturdays between 10 a.m. and noon, while Capehart leads Sundays in the same time period.
Both anchors revealed in an interview that they want to build on the efforts of Reid, whose show created a new weekend habit for curious MSNBC viewers eager to gain perspective on the headlines.
“The people who come to MSNBC between ten and noon are people who know what the news is,” Capehart said. “They come to us because they want to know the connection with other big stories, how it fits into the larger coverage, and why should I care?”
Cross states that her intention is to launch a show that weaves diverse voices into a discussion of the week’s big stories.
“We are living in a country that is quickly becoming a space where people of color are the steak, not the potato,” Tiffany Cross said in a statement. “We should not be a separate part of the conversation. We should be woven into the main conversation, just like we have always been woven into the fabric of American society.”
The new Cross and Capehart shows will further augment MSNBC’s weekend programming, part of a broader initiative to get more competitive on Saturdays and Sundays. For years, MSNBC relied heavily on documentary repeats on weekends, rather than live news programming.
In a statement, MSNBC president Phil Griffin said, “Jonathan Capehart has been a longtime member of the MSNBC family and his steadfast dedication to great journalism, along with Tiffany Cross’ fresh expert analysis, offer our MSNBC weekend morning audience the best of both worlds from two very different life and worldview experiences.”
Both shows will be based in Washington and are set to debut on Dec. 12.
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