Who Is Rashida Jones? The First Black Woman To Lead An American News Network

Rashida Jones, a senior vice-president at NBC and MSNBC, is going to become the president of MSNBC by replacing the current president, Phil Griffin. Jones is the first Black woman to take such a high ranked position at an American News network. She will take the role of president after Phil Griffin makes his exit on February 1, 2021, after completing 25 years at the news network.

NEW: @RJonesNews will become president of @MSNBC, as current president, Phil Griffin, will step down after 25 years at the cable news channel, NBCUniversal News Group Chairman Cesar Conde announces Monday. https://t.co/N24WfWaYuS

— MSNBC (@MSNBC) December 7, 2020

Jones, in her seven-year-long career at NBC News, has taken many prestigious roles. Currently, she covers major news events including breaking news, MSNBC daytime and weekend shows. She produced two town hall broadcasts with Donald Trump and the now president-elect Joe Biden. She also helped supervise Kate Welker, the NBC correspondent to moderated the second presidential debate in 2020. Her coverage of COVID-19 was also instrumental according to the NBCUniversal News Group Chairman Cesar Conde.

Conde said, "If you have worked with Rashida on any those endeavours, you know that has an outstanding track record and she leads with laser-like focus under pressure."

In an email directed to NBC employees, Conde added, "Rashida knows and understands MSNBC, in part because it's where she started when she first joined NBCU seven years ago. She knows that it is the people who work here that make it great, and she understands its culture. She also appreciates the impact and potential of the brand."

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Before Jones started wearing big hats at NBC, she used to be the director of live programming The Weather Channel where she covered Hurricane Katrina, snowstorms, and mass tornado outbreaks.

During her graduation from Hampton University, Jones became the part of Scripps Howard Journalism Hall of Fame. Later she went on to co-chair Scripps Howard School of Journalism and Communications Advisory Board. She is also part of several prestigious tables in Journalism such as Scripps Howard School of Journalism and Communications Advisory Board and Carole Kneeland Project for Responsible Journalism