Rachel Maddow's Searing Remarks About Joy Reid's MSNBC Exit Touched On This Big Media Problem

LOADING ERROR LOADING MSNBC host Rachel Maddow’s recent on-air rebuke of her own network’s major shake-up — which included the decision to cancel her colleague Joy Reid’s show ― touched on a very real problem that has frustrated and concerned many: News organizations across the country continue to lack racial diversity and representation. Elie Mystal, a correspondent at The Nation, said on X that Reid is “indispensable.” “The cancellation of Joy Reid’s show on @MSNBC is a major loss for journalism, truth-telling, and diverse media representation,” Gerald A. Griggs, the president of the Georgia chapter of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, wrote on X. “But if the media to include the voices of non-white people, it cannot adequately fulfill this important role.” As it relates to the recent MSNBC cancellations, Ophir said that “it is understandable why Maddow and others connect the dismissal of Black voices from their channel to the political climate of the moment,” but that the public doesn’t know all the details surrounding the dismissals, and he’s not “aware of any evidence that the layoffs at MSNBC had to do with the race of the fired people.” He also offered that Maddow may have had “insider knowledge or information” about the network’s changes that the public is not privy to. Ophir said that researchers have been warning about racial disparities in journalism and media for decades, and that “it is quite stunning to hear how rare non-white hosts remain in the media today, including in a progressive liberal outlet like MSNBC.” Hendershot said that it’s great when people who are “in positions of power and have white privilege and know that they do” speak up for people within their organization who represent marginalized groups, but that “ultimately it’s got to be more than talk.” “People have to put their money where their mouth is,” she said, pointing to forms of protests as a potential example for how one could seek to make changes at their media organization happen. ‘obeying in advance,’” she said, adding, “that’s the bigger picture that is so disturbing.” News organizations need to continue its responsibility to the public — even amid wide news cycle fatigue.