David Gregory Headlines New Show in Tucker's Timeslot

MSNBC announced a slate of changes this afternoon, leading with their new election-themed show: "Race For The White House" with David Gregory. The NBC White House correspondent has been a utility player at NBC/MSNBC for some time, regularly stepping in as a guest host — and demonstrating his range — on the "Today Show" and "Meet The Press." Gregory also took over the timeslot left vacant by Don Imus last April, temporarily stepping in to the breach before the network began trying out different hosts in that timeslot. The show will premiere on March 17th.

Also, "Live with Dan Abrams" is officially undergoing a name change to "Verdict with Dan Abrams," which will also launch on March 17th. The name change has been in the works for some time but had been on hold during the heated political primary run.

As well, NBC NewsChief Foreign Affairs Correspondent Andrea Mitchell will be anchoring MSNBC each weekday afternoon from 1-2 p.m. ET. Mitchell has regularly been seen anchoring politics-heavy MSNBC dayside coverage (often in the 12pm block); in taking over the 1-2 p.m. block she'll be permanently occupying the slot that NBC anchor Brian Williams typically takes. (Update: An MSNBC rep confirmed that Williams will still be anchoring MSNBC dayside "as his schedule permits," with no set timeslot.)

Finally, fear not for the fate of poor usurped Tucker Carlson— he remains with the network as Senior Campaign Correspondent and will continue to be sprinkled throughout the schedule as a panelist and contributor.

Other program notes from MSNBC includes trying out something new with programming in the later evening hours, reshuffling its "Doc Block" programming which has been running from 10-12 before rerunning "Countdown with Keith Olbermann." Now, Olbermann, which airs live at 8 pm, will re-run at 10 pm and the "Doc Block" will run from 11pm - 2 am. "Hardball" typically re-runs at 3a.m. and Dan Abrams' show at 4 a.m. before kicking off live programming with MSNBC First Look at 5 a.m.; details on what will occupy the now-freed-up 2.am. hour to follow. Update: And the winner is..."Countdown," with yet another re-airing. So that's three "Countdowns" per day on MSNBC.

The full press release is below.

Related:
David Gregory, NBC Utility Player [ETP]

- THE PLACE FOR POLITICS - EXPANDS POLITICAL PROGRAMMING WITH "RACE FOR THE WHITE HOUSE WITH DAVID GREGORY" PREMIERING MARCH 17

"Countdown with Keith Olbermann" to Re-Air at 10pm and 2am ET

"Verdict with Dan Abrams" Launches March 17

Andrea Mitchell to Anchor Weekdays 1-2 pm; "Doc Block" Expands to 11pm-2am

NEW YORK - March 10, 2008 - MSNBC, the Place for Politics, is expanding its already substantial political programming lineup next week as the 2008 presidential race continues to heat up. NBC News Chief White House Correspondent David Gregory will anchor "Race for the White House," a fast-paced daily look at the latest election news, weekdays, 6-7 p.m. ET on MSNBC. "Race for the White House" premieres Monday, March 17, and will continue through the election and beyond as the nation's focus continues on the historic Presidential campaign. Also bolstering MSNBC's political coverage, NBC News' Andrea Mitchell will anchor MSNBC each weekday afternoon, 1-2 p.m. ET

Story continues below

advertisement

MSNBC's top-rated "Countdown with Keith Olbermann" will now telecast twice in primetime, with a re-air weeknights at 10 p.m. ET/7 p.m. PT. "Countdown" will also air weeknights at 11 p.m. PT/2 a.m. ET; the original telecast remains at 8 p.m. ET. MSNBC is also expanding the "doc block," which will now telecast weeknights, 11 p.m.-2 a.m. ET/8 p.m.-11 p.m. PT.

Also March 17, "Live with Dan Abrams" re-launches as "Verdict with Dan Abrams," an hour-long look at the day's news from a legal perspective, and expands to five nights a week. Each day "Verdict" will assess right from wrong and determine the winners and losers in politics, law and pop culture. In this political season, Abrams will continue to use his legal eye to stay "On Their Trail" separating fact from fiction, identifying and exposing the candidate's biggest misstatements, cheap shots and blunders, while continuing viewer-favorite segments "Beat the Press" and "Winners and Losers." "Verdict" will telecast weekdays, 9-10 p.m. ET.

"Race for the White House with David Gregory" will feature reports from MSNBC and NBC News correspondents around the country with the latest breaking political news and in-depth analysis of the campaigns. Tucker Carlson will remain with the network as MSNBC Senior Campaign Correspondent and will appear regularly throughout MSNBC's program lineup.

"Viewers are incredibly engaged this election season, with a real appetite for political news," said Phil Griffin, Senior Vice President, NBC News and Executive in Charge of MSNBC. "As NBC News' Chief White House Correspondent, David is the perfect person to lead this key hour of our election coverage. Tucker is one of the top political minds inside the Beltway, and we look forward to continuing to feature his insightful analysis."

Gregory has led the network's coverage of the Bush presidency since 2000, reporting regularly on "NBC Nightly News with Brian Williams," "Today," MSNBC and on MSNBC.com. He has circled the globe, traveling with President Bush on every major foreign trip and to nearly every state in the nation during the presidential campaigns of 2000 and 2004.

In the fall of 2005, Gregory began substituting regularly for Matt Lauer on "Today." He has served as substitute moderator on "Meet the Press," and has been a substitute anchor for the weekend editions of "Nightly News" and "Today." As a political commentator, Gregory is a frequent contributor on "Meet the Press" and the syndicated "Chris Matthews" show.

Andrea Mitchell is the Chief Foreign Affairs Correspondent for NBC News, a position she has held since November 1994. Mitchell has also covered Sen. Clinton's presidential campaign, the 2004 presidential campaign for NBC News and is a regular panelist on MSNBC's "Hardball."

Built on the worldwide resources of NBC News, MSNBC defines news for the next generation with world-class reporting and a full schedule of live news coverage, political analysis and award-winning documentary programming -- 24 hours a day, seven days a week. MSNBC's home on the Internet is msnbc.com. Msnbc.com delivers a fuller spectrum of news. Drawing on its award-winning original journalism, NBC News heritage, trusted sources and Microsoft's advanced technologies, the site presents compelling, diverse and visually-engaging stories on the consumer's platform of choice. Nielsen Online reports more than 35 million unique visitors for January 2008, making msnbc.com the number one TV news site, ahead of ABC, CBS, and Fox News combined.

Members of the media can get more information about MSNBC and its programming on msnbc.com or the NBC Universal Media Village Web site at www.nbcumv.com.

# # #

Comments

[DLSteinhardt]

This is good news.

Now can we get rid of the rest of MSNBC's right-wing hosts? Joe Scarborough has been hewing close to the Olbermann line, a good company boy, but he's the wrong man for the job. Let's have some of those old Air America hosts on MSNBC! Give Rachel Maddow her own show already!!!

[CheshireCat2]

Yeah, why not just add more of the same? Then we can sit in front of the square -eyed monster every night with glazed eyes, nodding our heads in unison like bobble-head dolls and mouthing Pink Floyd's The Wall.

[rickd24]

Say what??? Scarborough & Olbermann are about as far apart politically as you can get. Of course, this is just based on what I've seen of him during primary and debate coverage (and C&L clips), since I never watch his show. But I know that he's very conservative, which Olbermann is definitely not.

As for Gregory, he's ok, but I'd much rather that they had added another host like Olbermann rather than a straight news reporter. For example, David Shuster is fine as a reporter, but really screwed up as a substitute host. I'd much rather have seen Rachel Maddow get the gig, as did many others here.

If it's going to be a straight news show, I hope that they would play it straight, and grill the Republican guests just as hard as the Democrats. But I won't hold my breath. Gregory didn't start getting tough with W until things were obvious to EVERYONE else how poorly everything was going in the Bush administration. And by then it was too late.

[PingMama]

As long as they don't take my Keith away, I'm fine. He has the ability to rip someone apart with a smirk on his face this is priceless

[lookingAhead]

Although Tucker was/is a jerk David is not much better. He has been playing with the Republicans too long to be objective. I too am upset they didn't replace that slot with someone like Maddow but they can't be seen as too left and Gregory fills that slot. Good for him still won't watch, with pundits and such always looking for excuses for this administration less t.v. is better.

[godlessclif]

Thank you MSNBC

That is a major improvement.

You are forgiven for firing IMUS.

[ChiMan1]

Rachel Madcow now that's a Name that Really Fits!
just why is she so angry??? little W did all that to her?

[realpolitic]

Yes, W. has done quite alot to all of us. Next time you make an international phone call and someone in government is listening in or you pay you taxes and realize the percentage just going to pay the national debt created by W. Or perhaps one just cares about our torture policies. Some people are like that. They worry about others than themselves. Of course, many Republicans do not understand such thinking.

[Sneakerface]

that doesn't even make sense, ChiMan1 . I've never seen Maddow get angry . That was just a lame attempt at a pun....

[nurseattorney]

You know, if I were the person making changes at MSNBC, I think I might be looking for faces and a message that appeals to those hoards of young people showing up for Obama.

But then, I guess not many of those kids rely on TV talk shows for their news, even tho Matthews tries to get to them with his college tours.

[bob5701]

David will do a good job

[Politiking]

Finally! Cancelling this dirtbag is the least MSNBC could do. They should clean house.

[thgy]

So long Tucker - Good riddance to bad rubbish !

[Al23]

Eh....No guts move. Gregory's been o.k. some of the White House press conferences, being fairly tenacious at questioning, but other than that most of the things that come out of his mouth seem kind of banal. The less said about Alan Greenspan's wife the better. Won't miss Tucker and getting a second or third shot at Keith is a good thing.

Overall, pretty gutless moves at MSNBC. But then again, I never expect much from them.

[CheshireCat2]

Now, we have more competition for Matthews and Dobbs.

[varekai]

Bye-Bye Tucker! Now he will be dancing with the Fox Noise people where he belongs. One down and one to go "David Schuster". Give him an award for the phoniest apology in history and then thrown him under the pimp mobile (not bus) where he belongs. Tucker's lap dog Schuster will follow him back to Fox where they both belong. David Gregory is as good as they get and one of the few that wasn't scared to ask tough questions on the White House Gang!

[jqcitizen]

Like a lot of my "Old' retired friends, I watch a lot of the cable news and C-SPAN.
MSNBC, particularly Mathews and Tucker, seem a bit too obvious with their partisanship. Listening to their opinions is OK with me, but when they ask a question of one of their guests, it would be good if they could just shut and wait for an answer. Gregory can at least hold his comments for a brief moment.

MSNBC is really looking more and more like FOX News, i.e Hannidy-Colmes and the Beltway Boys.

[RobertaInCT]

They don't give their guest a chance to answer the question because it's not the answer they are looking for. Their questions are framed in a way to support their views or bias.

[Jacksonian]

Roberta is almost correct: The guests don't get to answer because that's not their role. Their job is to sit there and give the illusion of a dialogue. What's really going on, particularly with respect to Chris Matthews, is a monologue.

[LiberalnChicago]

Good Bye Tucker - Say hi to Scooter on the links . . . and David (Stretch - Bushies's nickname) Gregory is a phony, tough on conservatives, Bush smoking hack with no follow up . . . and Andrea Mitchell should be in jail for her aiding in the outing of Valerie Plame and covering for Tim Traitor/Propogandist Russert. How is this moving to a news format. Fox format more likely.

[DMHendrix]

They had Shuster and Maddow to choose from too and they give it to Gregory? I don't know...he's OK, I guess. Tucker grated my nerves..but he was entertaining in a maddening kind of way! I know this sounds mean, but all of those shows the people all talk at the same time and give me a massive headache. Dan Abrams even YELLS when he tries to make a point. I like him, but he's not always right and yelling his points don't make them right either! The one thing I am really really really hoping for while MSNBC is in change mode...please send Pat Buchanan away...far far away. One other thing while I am being greedy...someone needs to tell Chris Matthews that when that shiney spit lands on his chin..we can see it!

[RobertaInCT]

I don't know about Maddow , Shuster blew it with the "pimping'" comment. I think he was being groomed for the position........

[Star123]

Do they even let Pat go home at night?