MSNBC has announced it will rebrand as MS NOW (My Source for News, Opinion, and the World) on November 15, marking the end of its almost 30-year brand as the network separates from its parent company, NBCUniversal.
“On the morning of Nov. 15, we will officially make the switch to MS NOW,” MSNBC President Rebecca Kutler told staff in a memo on Monday (November 27), per The Wrap. “This moment comes after months of meticulous planning and thoughtful collaboration across every corner of our organization. We are facing it head-on, and our success in the months and years ahead will depend on our innovation and entrepreneurial approach.”
Earlier this month, MSNBC stopped relying on NBC News correspondents and crews for its domestic and international coverage. New spots featuring on-air personalities talking about the name change will begin airing today (Monday, October 27).
“A big change is coming to this network,” long-time MSNBC anchor Rachel Maddow said, per Deadline. “Not in the kind of stories we tell and our values and our commitment to the proud and the free and the brave. No, the big change, the only change, is our name. Same mission. New name.”
According to the official press release, the network has spent the last nine months preparing for this transition, developing a “newsgathering model hyper-focused on the needs of the MS NOW audience.”
“Untethered from a legacy media model, the organization’s central reporting apparatus is nimble and meant to power reporting across platforms, including online and digital-first products, a roster of podcasts, social video, growing newsletter offerings, and cable network,” the statement continues.
As part of the rebrand, MS Now has built a Washington Bureau dedicated to producing original, evidence-based reporting and in-depth investigative journalism. The news brand has also signed a multi-year deal with international newsgathering operation Sky News to bring its global reporting to U.S. audiences.
MSNBC and NBC had been partnered for years, with both news organizations sharing resources and staff. However, last year Comcast announced it would spin off its cable networks into a new company, Versant. Alongside MSNBC, Versant will be the home for CNBC, USA Network, Oxygen, E!, SYFY, and the Golf Channel.
As the organization launched its independent newsroom, MS NOW has established a set of standards, rooted in ten core principles for its journalists to follow. You can read the 10 principles below.
Integrity: We uphold the highest ethical standards. We respect the law when reporting the news. We advocate for journalists’ rights. We protect and defend press freedom and the First Amendment. We respect our colleagues, our sources, and the communities we cover.
Accuracy: We aim to be accurate in our reporting 100 percent of the time. If we establish that our reporting is flawed, we take prompt action to correct or clarify the mistake.
Fairness: We report the news with an open mind. We aim to give the subject(s) of our original reporting an opportunity to comment before publication.
Opinion: The views expressed by our opinion journalists and contributors are based on accurate, reported facts.
Our Sources: Our objective is to rely on sources we can identify, by name, in our reporting. When anonymity is the only way to report critical information, we aim to have sources with firsthand knowledge and to be transparent about why we granted them anonymity.
Emerging Technologies: We use generative AI and other technology tools when they can improve our journalism, but we will not publish content created solely by AI, and we disclose any public-facing use of AI.
Perspectives: We believe our audience is best served when our journalism reflects a variety of perspectives on the world we cover.
Transparency: We disclose to our audience any commercial initiatives that may intersect with our editorial content.
Independence: We avoid any real or perceived conflicts of interest. We do not accept gifts or favors that could appear to influence news judgment.
Who We Are: Our journalists hold themselves to the same high standards of professional and journalistic integrity in their outside appearances and on their personal social media.
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