It’s official: journalist Alex Wagner will be stepping into Rachel Maddow’s shoes.
For four nights a week, anyway. In August, Wagner will take over Maddow’s prime-time slot on news network MSNBC from Tuesdays to Fridays. And this move will make her, according to representatives of the network, the only Asian-American anchor to presently hold such a spot. (The very first to do so in general was Connie Chung, when she co-anchored the CBS Evening News in 1993.)
MSNBC president Rashida Jones told The New York Times that Wagner’s show will emulate Maddow’s in tone.
“This is not a show where our hair is on fire and we’re yelling past each other, and we’re creating these manufactured moments of tension,” Jones said. “I really want the takeaway from this show to be a better understanding of what’s happening in the world.”
Wagner’s resume has more than prepared her for such an undertaking – particularly with midterm elections on the horizon. The 44-year-old has worked as a political correspondent and news show host for decades, assuming reporting and hosting gigs for the likes of CBS News and Showtime. She has also been a senior editor for news publication The Atlantic since 2016.
This is also not her first time working for MSNBC, having hosted a daytime news show on the network from 2011 to 2015. And in recent months, Wagner has filled in on numerous occasions for Maddow and fellow MSNBC host Chris Hayes.
Maddow will continue to host her show on Monday evenings, and will use her free time to pursue other projects, the Times additionally reported.
