(Luis Cornelio, Headline USA) MSNBC may soon slash the salaries of some of the network’s leftist hosts if they want to keep their anchoring positions. This decision dealt yet another blow to the already-struggling legacy media apparatus following President-elect Donald Trump’s landslide victory.
According to The Ankler newsletter, MSNBC executives are currently negotiating the contracts and salaries of well-known figures Joy Reid and Stephanie Ruhle, both of whom have viciously compared Trump to Adolf Hitler.
Reid, who hosts The ReidOut, is reportedly making $3 million a year, while Ruhle, who hosts The 11th Hour, is believed to earn $2 million, as reported by the New York Post and the Washington Free Beacon.
The potential pay cuts follow a $5 million salary reduction for anchor Rachel Maddow, who previously earned $30 million. The pay cuts also coincide with cable news networks struggling to maintain viewership as Americans turn to independent journalism and podcasts.
MSNBC’s leftist bias may be fueling this viewership exodus. In a pre-Thanksgiving segment, Reid accused Republicans of worshipping Trump “instead of Jesus.”
Furthermore, during a segment leading up to the 2024 election, she declared: “We’ve laid out the stakes in this crucial election where one side stands for freedom while the other meets the textbook definition of fascism; namely, a far-right dictatorial regime like Hitler’s Germany or Franco’s Spain or Mussolini’s Italy but also White-ruled South Africa before Mandela and the black majority took control, or Vladimir Putin’s Russia, Viktor Orbán’s Hungary or Nicolás Muro in Venezuela.”
Ruhle has made similar claims. “Let’s also talk about this Atlantic reporting that Donald Trump allegedly said he wanted the kind of generals that Adolf Hitler had,” Ruhle said during a segment of her show, repeating dubious claims. “Shocking! Or is it?”
The potential pay cuts come as both Reid and Ruhle have seen significant drops in viewership.
Following Trump’s election, Reid lost nearly half her audience, averaging 759,000 viewers in one week compared to 1.4 million viewers through the election season.
Reid also faced a 52 percent loss in the desired demographic of viewers aged 25-54, drawing only 76,000 viewers.
In the week of Nov. 6, Ruhle experienced her lowest overall audience ever, while MSNBC averaged just 38,000 viewers among adults aged 25-54. She has also lost over 50 percent of this advertiser-targeted demographic.
Earlier this week, Ruhle gained viral attention for admitting that Trump is more accessible than outgoing President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris, both of whom she had previously shielded with softball interview questions during the 2024 race.
