MSNBC Cancels For the Record with Greta


Photo by: William B. Plowman/MSNBC

Photo by: William B. Plowman/MSNBC

MSNBC has cancelled For the Record with Greta Van Susteren. Vanity Fair’s Emily Jane Fox broke the story and it was published at 3:48 PM ET. One minute later, Greta took to Twitter and tweeted, “I am out at MSNBC – [sic],” confirming the story.

Van Susteren started on MSNBC on January 9, several months after leaving Fox News following a contract dispute. She had publicly defended then-CEO Roger Ailes against allegations of sexual harassment, but later said she regretted doing that. Her MSNBC show was named For the Record, very similar to the name of her Fox News show, On the Record.

While Greta was publicly very happy with her move to MSNBC, the show did not seem to gel with viewers. Her show was not a ratings success and as almost all of MSNBC’s lineup saw a ratings spike thanks to President Donald Trump, her show was the exception.

Liberal viewers fond of MSNBC’s Lean Forward days also took issue with her, viewing her as aligned with Trump and/or Fox News. Throughout her tenure, Greta replied to Twitter users who said they did not like her for a variety of reasons. There were also some who were fans of her from Fox News but refused to watch her on “the other crooked side” of MSNBC.

Van Susteren was informed of the cancellation earlier in the day. She did tweet, “Something is not quite right when to be successful in politics and media you have to be polarizing…” the morning that she was fired, but it is unknown if that was coincidental or foreshadowing of news that she could not yet reveal. Van Susteren’s last show was last Wednesday and she will not be given a chance to say goodbye to her audience. The same process occurred with Fox News as well.

MSNBC head Phil Griffin said in a staff memo, “MSNBC and Greta Van Susteren have decided to part ways.”

“We are grateful to her and wish her the best.”

Griffin also announced that Ari Melber will take over Greta’s slot at 6 PM ET. Melber has been hosting The Point on the Sundays and also serves as the network’s chief legal correspondent.

The Vanity Fair article heavily implied that ratings were the reason that Van Susteren was let go. TKNN reached out to MSNBC to confirm this or explain why the show was cancelled and will update if/when they respond.


About Tyler

Tyler is the chief media reporter for TKNN, with the news organization since its founding in November of 2010. He has previously served as chief political reporter and chief political anchor for TKNN.

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