Amid its ongoing split from parent company NBC and transition to VERSANT, MSNBC will soon be known as MS NOW, which stands for My Source News Opinion World. It will also drop its Peacock logo and change to a new one.
In a Monday message to viewers, the outlet announced that the change will take place “later in the year.” MSNBC also explained what they find significant about the new name.
“This name further underscores our mission: to serve as your destination for breaking news and thoughtful analysis and remain the home for the perspectives that you’ve relied on for nearly 30 years,” MSNBC wrote. “For our viewers who have watched us for decades, it may be hard to imagine this network by any other name. We understand. But our promise to you remains as it always has. You know who we are, and what we do.”
The outlet finds the change a step toward more freedom.
“As part of our move to a new media company, VERSANT — which also includes CNBC, Golf Channel, GolfNow, and SportsEngine — we’ll no longer be part of NBCUniversal and NBC News. This gives us the freedom to chart our own path forward, and we’re excited about where it’s headed.”
Likewise, MSNBC personality Rachel Maddow is optimistic about the move from NBC, finding it a chance to produce independent journalism.
“In this case, we can apply our own instincts, our own queries, our own priorities, to getting stuff that we need from reporters and correspondents,” Maddow said about MSNBC’s new direction. “And so it’s gonna’ be better.”
According to The Associated Press, “Some NBC News personalities, like Jacob Soboroff, Vaughn Hillyard, Brandy Zadrozny and Antonia Hylton, have joined MSNBC.” VERSANT is aiming to fill 100 available roles for MS NOW, and has pulled journalists from various news outlets in preparation for the transition.
