When MSNBC splits from NBC News later this year as part of Comcast’s “SpinCo” pivot, it will lean in hard to digital as a growth engine. On Tuesday, MSNBC president Rebecca Kutler announced that Madeleine Haeringer will be the executive tasked with leading that charge.Haeringer, most recently the executive vp and general manager of Crooked Media, is joining MSNBC as its senior vp of digital, audio and longform, effective May 7.Haeringer is no stranger to the company, having previously spent some 22 years at NBC News and MSNBC, including a run as senior vp of editorial at NBC News. But in new role, she will be tasked with continuing to grow MSNBC’s presence on social and digital video platforms, and expanding its burgeoning podcast business, in addition to overseeing longform.“Just last month, MSNBC saw record-breaking engagement on YouTube and ranked as the #1 news brand on the platform; MSNBC.com reached 36 million unique visitors and 864 million minutes and ranked #1 in the competitive set for total minutes; and MSNBC Audio saw more than 12 million downloads across MSNBC showcasts and originals,” Kutler wrote in a memo to staff Tuesday, adding that Haeringer and the leadership team will “continue to build on MSNBC’s recent successes in these spaces — supercharging our investments on YouTube and TikTok, newsletter products and deep-dive perspective pieces, original podcasts and showcasts, and more.““I’m thrilled to be rejoining the MSNBC team and am eager to dive back in alongside such a talented group,” Haeringer says. “This is a real opportunity to contribute to a new vision and growth for MSNBC and I can’t wait to get to work.”Kutler is in the process of building out an entire senior team and an entire news division at MSNBC, which will split with NBC News once the spinoff announced last year is complete. She already hired Scott Matthews to lead newsgathering, and the search is still on for a new D.C. bureau chief. However, some talent will be split as well. Steve Kornacki, an MSNBC staple in recent years, inked a new deal that will see him continue contributing to NBC News, but not MSNBC.
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