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** OPINION
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The next step in Jen Psaki’s rising journalism career: Primetime
MSNBC’s new show, “The Briefing with Jen Psaki,” will premiere May 6. (Photo courtesy of MSNBC)

From the moment Jen Psaki stepped down as President Joe Biden’s White House press secretary in May 2022, she was destined to end up as a regular face and voice on cable news television.

And from the moment she started appearing on MSNBC a short time later, she seemed destined to be a cable news TV star.

It’s all happening.

In 2023, Psaki got her own Sunday show on MSNBC and has continued to ride that shooting star. One of the first things new MSNBC president Rebecca Kutler did when she took over earlier this year was set up Psaki for her own primetime slot.

Now Psaki is set to officially take over Rachel Maddow’s weeknight show Tuesdays through Fridays as Maddow once again goes back to hosting just on Mondays. Starting May 6, Psaki will host four nights a week in the 9 p.m. Eastern slot. “Maddow” remains on Monday nights. Psaki will give up her well-regarded Sunday “Inside with Jen Psaki” show.

Technically, Psaki is replacing Alex Wagner, who was selected to replace Maddow when Maddow decided in the spring of 2022 to cut back to one day a week. But Maddow returned to the anchor chair five nights a week to cover Donald Trump’s first 100 days as president. Wagner has been on assignment covering Trump’s first 100 days in office.

And now Psaki gets the much-coveted primetime slot with a new show name: “The Briefing.” (Clever name, playing off her being the former White House press secretary.)

She told The Associated Press’ David Bauder ([link removed]) , “One of the reasons we wanted to change the name, or I wanted to change the name, is that it feels like a moment post-election and the months since we’re all reflecting on the notion that people on the inside or insiders have all the answers is incorrect. I didn’t want to send the message to viewers that that was our assumption. The second is I think right now, in this moment, as the federal government is being dismantled and the rule of law is being threatened, people’s rights are being threatened, there’s a huge appetite for information and understanding of what the heck is happening.”

It’s not easy being the person hosting the slot normally held by Maddow, the network's biggest star. But if MSNBC has one person who can handle that spot, and has not only the hosting chops but credibility with the audience, it’s Psaki.

Psaki admitted she’s different from Maddow, but has learned a lot from her, as well. She told Bauder, “(Maddow) works her tail off. She never rests on the laurels of the success she’s had over the course of time. She’s pretty fearless about saying what she thinks, and she tells stories that not everybody does. Those things kind of stick with me.”


** MSNBC’s other announcement
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MSNBC also announced that it will debut “The Weeknight” on May 5. The show will air from 7 to 9 p.m. on Mondays, and 7 to 8 p.m. Tuesday through Friday. The show will be hosted by Symone Sanders Townsend, Michael Steele and Alicia Menendez


** Do you consider yourself a journalist?
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CNN’s Donie O’Sullivan is one of the more interesting (and good-at-his-job) journalists in the business. His speciality is reporting on those with extreme views — conspiracy theorists, far-right extremists and MAGA types. But he also reports on fact-checking, technology and misinformation.

What makes O’Sullivan and his reports about extremists so good is that he simply asks the right questions, and he lets his subjects use their own words to show how off-kilter their thoughts often are.

O’Sullivan’s latest story ([link removed]) is shining a light on some of the Trump-friendly personalities who cover the president as part of the White House’s new policy to include “new media.” While not all of the “new media” covering Trump are sycophants for the president (for example, the reputable media outlet, Axios, has gained White House access), many of them are.

In his piece, O’Sullivan said, “While not all ‘new media’ here are MAGA media, a lot of them are more cheerleading President Trump than challenging him.”

For his story, O’Sullivan talked to Cara Castranuova of Lindell TV (yeah, as in the My Pillow Guy, Mike Lindell); Natalie Winters from Steve Bannon’s “War Room”; and Brian Glenn from Real America’s Voice. Glenn is known for two things. One, being the boyfriend of controversial Republican Georgia Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene and, two, for being the reporter who asked Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy why he wasn’t wearing a suit during a recent meeting in the Oval Office with Trump. What he’s not known for is being a hard-hitting journalist.

In fact, he even tells O’Sullivan, “I mean, there’s no doubt about it. I’m pro-Trump. The questions I ask, in my opinion, are going to help highlight the good things that he’s doing for America.”

What about simply covering the president — good, bad or indifferent? Isn’t that the role of a real journalist?

Castranuova, too, said, “Yes, I’m definitely a supporter of President Trump.”

O’Sullivan asked her if she would be able to hold Trump to account, and Castranuova said she would and has spoken out in the past when she has disagreed with Trump, although she did not give examples.

Then O’Sullivan showed his sharp skills by asking her, “Is there anything so far, in this administration, that you’ve disagreed with?”

Castranuova stammered momentarily and said she needed to put thought into it, before adding, “I’m just overwhelmed, like just overwhelmed with how well I perceive things to be going.”

So, not exactly Kaitlan Collins or Weijia Jiang

O’Sullivan’s report is illuminating and paints a sad picture of some “new media” that is more like “state media.” in the truest sense of the phrase.

But as always, O’Sullivan’s work is terrific. He has the knack for handing someone a microphone — not so they can amplify their message, but so they can expose themselves.


** Adding context to the controversy
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Here’s a little more on the Sewell Chan situation at the Columbia Journalism Review. In case you missed it, Chen has been a senior editor at places such as The New York Times, Los Angeles Times and Texas Tribune. He was hired last September to become executive editor of the Columbia Journalism Review, but his tenure at CJR came to an abrupt end late last week when he was fired by Columbia Journalism School dean Jelani Cobb after staff complaints about how Chan treated them.

In a lengthy social media post, Chen called his firing “hasty, ill considered and quite frankly baffling.” He did acknowledge three “pointed interactions” in recent weeks with colleagues, but called them “normal workplace interactions.”

Chan would add, “This is the same approach I took in leading The Texas Tribune and the Los Angeles Times editorial board and as an editor and reporter at The New York Times. The norms at Columbia are apparently very different.”

Yeah, apparently. Clearly, his colleagues at CJR did not consider them normal workplace interactions, and neither did Cobb.

In the latest news, The New York Times’ Benjamin Mullin reports ([link removed]) , “Mr. Chan’s tenure atop CJR ended after an hour-long meeting Thursday between Mr. Cobb and the magazine’s editorial staff. During the meeting, roughly 10 people aired concerns about Mr. Chan’s behavior, describing insults, threats to ruin their reputations, and an atmosphere of fear and hostility, according to two people with knowledge of the discussion who spoke on the condition of anonymity. Several participants cried.”

In a statement to the Times, Cobb said, “CJR is a crucial outlet, particularly at a time when journalism is being attacked from multiple directions. Like many media organizations, we’re navigating real challenges, but we’ve developed a thoughtful, forward-looking strategy for CJR’s long-term viability.”

Mullin added some solid additional context, writing, “Mr. Chan was hired last year by Mr. Cobb to serve as an emissary to the wider news media industry in addition to his role as editor, making him a fundraiser for the magazine. Mr. Chan had begun to work with members of CJR’s supervisory board on a new fundraising campaign, including identifying potential donors, when he was fired last week, according to two people familiar with the matter who spoke on the condition of anonymity because they weren’t authorized to speak publicly. The fundraising campaign has been put on hold while the magazine figures out what to do next. The board, which was shocked by Mr. Chan’s sudden exit, the two people said, is scheduled to meet this week to discuss next steps.”


** Powerful piece
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Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro holds a news conference at the governor's official residence in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, on April 13 after a fire believed to be caused by arson. (AP Photo/Marc Levy)

Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro wrote a powerful guest essay for The New York Times: “Finding Moral Clarity After an Arsonist’s Attack.” ([link removed])

On April 13, Shapiro and his family were woken in the middle of the night by a state trooper because their house (the governor’s mansion) was on fire. Authorities have since arrested a man they claim purposely set multiple fires to the home with Molotov cocktails. The fire was started mere hours after Shapiro and his family hosted a Passover dinner.

In his essay, Shapiro describes the events of that night, including being told that the fires were intentional. But he is not jumping to conclusions.

He wrote, “I believe in the rule of law, and for the rule of law to work, prosecutors and law enforcement officials need to be able to do their jobs and investigate without fear, favor or political pressure. It is not my job to opine on what the motive was or what the charges should be.”

Shapiro added, “As has become typical, people rushed to assert their uninformed opinions to get likes or make a headline or suit their own narrative, seeking some solace or validation that whatever motivated the arson suspect and his actions would suit their view of the world. Ultimately, prosecutors will determine what motivated this act of violence, and we trust them to do their important work.”

Shapiro, interestingly, brought up the assassination attempt on then-presidential candidate Donald Trump last summer in Western Pennsylvania, as well as the murder of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson last December in New York City.

Shapiro wrote, “It doesn’t matter if it’s coming from one side or the other, directed at one party or another or one person or another. This level of violence has to stop. It is our shared responsibility to do better. As elected leaders, we have an additional responsibility to speak and act with moral clarity. To not just call out what’s right and what’s wrong but also to do the hard work of bringing people together to find common ground in a world that’s constantly trying to divide us.”

Many have pointed out that Shapiro, a Democrat, condemned the attempt on Trump’s life last summer almost immediately after it happened, posting on social media, “Violence targeted at any political party or political leader is absolutely unacceptable. It has no place in Pennsylvania or the United States.”

He reached out to the Trump campaign that night, but reportedly did not speak with Trump.

Conversely, Trump was noticeably quiet after news of the fire at Shapiro’s home became public. NBC News’ Zoe Richards and Brittany Kubicko wrote ([link removed]) , “Trump did not forcefully condemn the attack, even as others in his administration and prominent Republicans publicly commented on it.

Asked whether a motive in the attack had been identified, Trump said last week that he had not heard about one, adding that the attacker ‘was not a fan of Trump. He’s probably just a whack job. And certainly a thing like that cannot be allowed to happen.’”

Shapiro said earlier this week that Trump did call him on Saturday — six days after the fire.

Shapiro told reporters on Tuesday that Trump was “very gracious,” adding, “I appreciated that the president called me. I actually didn’t take his call because it came from his cellphone and I didn’t have that number in my phone, so I didn’t know who it was. As soon as I heard his message, I called him right back.”

Shapiro said the two talked for about 20 minutes, and talked not only about the arson on his home, but a variety of other topics, as well.


** Making a pitch
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Sports talk-show host Colin Cowherd recently signed a contract extension to stay with Fox Sports and Fox Sports 1, which simulcasts his daily radio show. But The Athletic’s Andrew Marchand reported ([link removed]) that Cowherd met with ESPN chairman Jimmy Pitaro right before the Super Bowl about returning to ESPN before he, ultimately, re-signed with Fox. Cowherd worked at ESPN from 2003 to 2015.

Marchand wrote, “ESPN’s goal when it goes direct-to-consumer is to combine its top games with an array of popular shows so subscribers — with cable or without — just turn to the app as its first destination for sports viewing, much the same way the network has been the go-to-channel on television for decades. Top personalities like McAfee and Stephen A. Smith may have their own panels when a viewer first opens the app. Cowherd would have, too, if he returned to ESPN.”

Cowherd, 61, ended up staying at Fox on a new three-year contract that is believed to be worth millions of dollars.


** Media tidbits
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* Mediaite’s Tom Durante with “CBS News Anchors Pay Tribute to Ousted 60 Minutes Producer: ‘Man of Great Integrity.’” ([link removed])
* My Poynter colleague Angela Fu with “Access to public records and officials is worsening, investigative reporters warn in survey.” ([link removed])
* The New York Times’ Benjamin Mullin with “The Dispatch Buys SCOTUSblog, a Supreme Court Mainstay.” ([link removed])
* Also in The New York Times, Stuart A. Thompson with “They Criticized Musk on X. Then Their Reach Collapsed.” ([link removed])
* ABC late-night host Jimmy Kimmel with a pretty funny takedown ([link removed]) of Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth.
* Speaking of Hegseth, CBS News’ Jennifer Jacobs and Eleanor Watson report: “Hegseth orders makeup studio installed at Pentagon.” ([link removed]) Jacobs and Watson write that the studio “can be used to prepare for television appearances, multiple sources told CBS News.” They added, “The price tag for the project was several thousand dollars, according to two of the sources, at a time when the administration is searching for cost-cutting measures.”


** Hot type
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The New York Times’ Amanda Holpuch with “YouTube Turns 20: From ‘Lazy Sunday’ to ‘Hot Ones.’” ([link removed])

Have feedback or a tip? Email Poynter senior media writer Tom Jones at [email protected] (mailto:[email protected]) .
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