MSNBC’s Joy Reid Becomes First Black Woman to Host an Evening News Show

Joy Reid will host a new evening newscast called “The ReidOut,” which is set to air July. Reid will be the first Black woman to host an evening news show.

What We Know:

  • Reid started at MSNBC as a contributor in 2011. Since then, she’s hosted MSNBC’s “AM Joy” show, which airs for two hours on Saturdays and Sundays. She’s filled in for host “All In with Chris Hayes,” “The Rachel Maddow Show,” and “The Last Word with Lawrence O’Donnell.” She also hosted a weekday show called “The Reid Report” from 2014 to 2015.
  • Reid’s new show will be based in Washington D.C. the show will include conversations with politicians and other newsmakers about political issues. Reid says, “I’m honored and thankful for this opportunity. I’ll always be proud of the work we did on ‘AM Joy’ by pushing the envelope and tackling pragmatic conversations.”
  • This new position for Reid comes from the lack of diversity in the newsroom. According to the NBCUniversal News Group’s chairman Cesar Conde, he says he will make 50 percent of the organization’s employees women, and 50 percent will be people of color. MSNBC President Phil Griffin says he’s excited to have Reid on five times week. He says, “She’s thoughtful and brings so much depth to her reporting. She’s made for this moment.”
  • Over the years, Reid has covered national stories such as the killings of Trayvon Martin and Freddie Gray and the protests in Baltimore. She’s reported on the Republican and Democratic conventions, primaries, and general elections as well. In 2018, her credibility came into question when anti-gay posts from decades ago appeared on her blog. She denied that she wrote any of the posts.

Reid’s show is set to premiere July 20, 2020, at 7 p.m. MSNBC and CNBC both have new hosts with CNBC announcing that former FOX News anchor Shepard Smith will be taking over to anchor another evening news program.