NEW YORK — Alex Wagner is aware of her new prime-time perch on MSNBC is an unorthodox association. However she’s decided to benefit from it.
On Tuesday, she takes over the prized 9 p.m. Jap weeknight time slot that MSNBC’s star anchor Rachel Maddow has held. Maddow will nonetheless helm the time slot on Monday nights, and the remainder of the week shall be dedicated to “Alex Wagner Tonight.”
It’s a part of Maddow’s new take care of NBC Information that retains her with the community to provide issues like podcasts and books, whereas stepping away from the every day grind of a present that started in 2008.
“Lots of people watch Rachel Maddow,” Wagner stated, “and hopefully a lot of those self same individuals will come out and watch the remainder of the week.”
Wagner had her personal daytime present at MSNBC within the early 2010s. She left the community when that led to 2015, labored at CBS Information and was within the forged of Showtime’s political present “The Circus” for 4 seasons. She rejoined MSNBC in February and, 4 months later, community President Rashida Jones chosen her for the prime-time job.
At first, Wagner is working with a lot of Maddow’s employees. She stated she hopes Maddow will seem on “Alex Wagner Tonight” if there’s a subject she’s an skilled on, and vice versa. She takes inspiration from Maddow’s investigative rigor. Don’t count on prolonged, complicated opening monologues, although.
“Rachel is incomparable and woe to anyone who tries to duplicate what she does,” Wagner stated. “As a result of that’s an impossibility. I might by no means strive.”
Wagner spoke by phone final week from Florida, itself a touch of a technique she plans to make the hour her personal. She was there on a reporting mission, the main points of which she promised would develop into clear this week, a part of her plan to carry extra out-of-studio tales to the combination. Her work on “The Circus” taught her the worth of getting out of the studio to report, she stated.
The one-time editor of The Fader, a music journal, additionally hopes for an expanded focus past the politics that dominates cable discuss reveals a lot of the time.
“We’re all the time going to ensure our viewers understands what’s occurring on this planet and our nation that day, however I hope that we will widen the lens slightly bit when it comes to voices and, to a point, tales that we cowl,” she stated.
By getting Wagner’s present began now, MSNBC has crushed CNN in deciding on its future plans for the time slot. CNN nonetheless hasn’t named a everlasting successor to Chris Cuomo at 9 p.m., since he was fired final December.
July’s scores lay out the problem earlier than Wagner. Maddow reached a mean of two.4 million viewers on Mondays final month, the Nielsen firm stated. For the opposite 4 weeknights, MSNBC averaged 1.4 million within the time slot.
Anticipating Wagner to rapidly obtain the identical numbers as MSNBC’s favourite persona is unfair. How shut she wants to come back, and the way a lot time she’ll be given are questions solely MSNBC executives can reply. Jones was not made obtainable for an interview.
“They hope that they’ll be capable of flip her right into a star,” stated Mark Feldstein, professor of broadcasting on the College of Maryland. “This can be a massive void with Rachel stepping again, and Wagner has the star energy to do it. It’s sort of stunning to me that she isn’t one already, since she’s sensible and superb on tv.”
For MSNBC, there’s no motivation in elevating expectations too excessive, he stated.
The present shall be an evolution, Wagner stated, “and I’m fortunate sufficient to have the help of NBC as we try to evolve the hour to one thing that’s reflective of my strengths as a journalist.”
Earlier than Wagner was given the job, there was hypothesis on whether or not MSNBC was contemplating bringing again Keith Olbermann, whose “Countdown” present was a success on the community within the 2000s.
Olbermann revealed a sequence of e-mail messages over two years between him and Jeff Shell, CEO of NBCUniversal, about that risk. Relying on the way you learn the messages, Shell was both expressing real curiosity within the thought or stringing Olbermann alongside.
Olbermann stated he believes the previous, and that he wasted two years contemplating the chance. This summer season, he started a nightly “Countdown” podcast on Apple.
“If Jeff Shell was actually not , he ought to have stated so,” Olbermann stated. “I might have taken no offense.”
MSNBC, via a spokesperson, stated there was by no means any critical consideration of Olbermann returning.
For her half, Wagner stated the time couldn’t be extra pressing to have a prime-time platform discussing the information.
“I couldn’t be extra excited,” she stated. “I additionally really feel extremely fortunate. And I’m going to work actually laborious to reside as much as the privilege of with the ability to anchor the 9 p.m. hour.”
