White House press secretary Jen Psaki is in discussions with MSNBC, a division of Comcast Corporation's (NASDAQ:CMCSA) NBCUniversal, to join the cable network after she leaves the White House this spring.
What Happened: Axios, citing an “unnamed source close to the matter,” reported that talks are ongoing and no contracts were signed. Psaki is reportedly consulting with the White House counsel's office regarding her exit and future work to review that her actions do not run afoul of federal ethics and legal compliance tenets, and the cable channel is also working with its compliance attorneys to ensure it complies with government regulations.
Psaki, whose departure date has not been formally announced, is being sought for MSNBC’s live programming, although the Axios report stated she's not being recruited to replace Rachel Maddow’s 9 p.m. ET show. She will also host a show on Peacock, the streaming service operated by NBCUniversal.
What Else Happened: Axios reported that Psaki's deal is similar to the contract signed in January by Symone Sanders, a former adviser and senior spokesperson for Vice President Kamala Harris. Sanders will host an MSNBC show on weekends at 4 p.m. ET that will stream on Peacock on Mondays and Tuesdays.
Psaki will join several former White House press secretaries who made the jump from politics to media:
- Fox News has hired former George W. Bush press secretaries Ari Fleischer and Dana Perino and Donald Trump's press secretary Kayleigh McEnany for on-air commentary, while Sean Spicer, another Trump administration figure, has a Newsmax show.
- Jay Carney left his Obama administration job as press secretary to become a CNN analyst and later transitioned to an executive role at Amazon (NASDAQ:AMZN), while his successor Josh Earnest took jobs with NBC and MSNBC before joining the executive ranks at United Airlines (NASDAQ:UAL).
Photo: Jen Psaki with Jim Messina at the Third Way #Opportunity2020 conference, courtesy of Third Way Think Tank / Flickr Creative Commons
