Expert rips MSNBC’s new name: ‘What were they thinking?’

Major media pundits have joined in on the “bash MSNBC” bandwagon, Knewz.com can report, after the network announced a new name and identity. The news outlet is dropping its “NBC” affiliation and rebranding itself as MS NOW — much to the dismay of viewers.

MSNBC originally debuted in 1996 as part of a partnership between Microsoft and NBC. Now, parent company Comcast is spinning off the cable channel into a new company named Versant, forcing it to ditch any previous reference to the Peacock network. Instead, it will be called MS NOW, an acronym for “My Source News Opinion World.” But almost immediately after the new moniker was revealed, viewers shared their disapproval concerning the awkward name, and many media analysts agreed. Syracuse University Broadcast Journalism Professor Les Rose said the new name instantly discredits the new network. “You are including ‘opinion’ in the name of a news organization, which should pride itself on, you know, actual journalism and not their opinion! WHAT were they thinking?” he said.

Rose also critiqued the branding itself. “‘My Source News Opinion World’ sounds like the answer for a Scrabble player with too many tiles. Or a drunk at a bar,” he said. His criticism echoed feedback on X, where commenters noted the new name evokes other references, including a chronic disease that affects nearly 3 million people worldwide. “Multiple Sclerosis Now! Mississippi Now!” one online commenter wrote. “Did they seriously not even Google MS before going with this? Or are they just going all in on the single women ‘Miss’ thing?” Another sarcastically echoed, “Who wants MS NOW? It’s an insult to all the sick people. Terrible renaming.” Another social media user scoffed of the liberal-leaning network, “MS now stands for ‘Misinformation Superstars’ NOW.” Yet another reasoned, “MSNBC is acting like changing its name to MS NOW is going to bring viewership up. Viewership will never go up for them if they only keep having radical Democrats on spewing their garbage.”

In a memo sent to employees, MSNBC President Rebecca Kutler said the new name is meant to reflect the network’s mission to provide “breaking news and best-in-class opinion journalism.” She added that the change was not taken lightly. “I want to acknowledge that for many of you who have spent years or decades here, it is hard to imagine the network by any other name,” Kutler wrote. “This was not a decision that was made quickly or without significant debate.”

Execs are promising big changes in addition to a new name as the network goes into crisis mode over tanking ratings, which has left current staffers worrying about their jobs. “It’s gonna be a bloodbath,” warned an insider amid growing rumors that layoffs are on the horizon. “The network’s making sweeping changes and no one’s job is safe. Execs are desperate to stop the ratings free fall, but it might be too late.” The struggling network previously canceled The ReidOut, hosted by Joy Reid, and shuffled several of its other hosts into new time slots, including Michael Steele, Symone Sanders-Townsend, Katie Phang and Alicia Menendez. Insiders said the changes are all a reflection of President Donald Trump’s rise to power and the network’s seeming lack of connection to American viewers who are flowing to conservative outlets like Fox News.