MSNBC, the troubled cable network, will be moving away from the left-leaning pundits it is known for and focusing more on news in an effort to bring up its ratings,
The Washington Post reports.
That action was hinted at Thursday when parent network NBC announced that former "Nightly News" anchor
Brian Williams would be returning from his six-month suspension not to his old job, but to head up breaking news on MSNBC.
MSNBC is regularly trounced in the ratings, which is dominated in cable news by the conservative Fox News Channel. MSNBC had sought to be the liberal alternative to Fox, but its ratings have slid since its high in 2008.
While the network isn't expected to fully abandon its liberal identity, the Post reported, many of its evening hosts might be shown the door. Already, daytime hosts Joy Reid and Ronan Farrow have been dropped for dismally low ratings.
The "Morning Joe" crew, Chris Matthews and Rachel Maddow likely are safe, according to the Post, but Alex Wagner, Ed Shultz, Chris Hayes and Lawrence O'Donnell haven't been drawing viewers.
NBC News reporters likely would help fill expanded news coverage, though the Post's media reporter Paul Farhi noted that the strategy could risk losing the already small MSNBC audience.
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