MSNBC has reportedly decided who will get the cable channel’s 4 p.m. time slot following the resignation of Martin Bashir. TVNewser reports that the hour will go to Alex Wagner starting Jan. 13.
Wagner currently hosts MSNBC’s noon show "Now."
Bashir left the network amid a controversy over remarks he made about Sarah Palin, as we reported earlier this month. In a commentary in response to comments Palin made comparing slavery to the U.S. debt to China, Bashir implied that Palin deserved to have someone "s–t" in her mouth — invoking a reported punishment once used against slaves.
Wagner has been hosting "Now," a political panel discussion featuring commentators and journalists, since November 2011.
"Before joining MSNBC, Wagner was a reporter at The Huffington Post covering politics and business," the report notes, adding: "Wagner’s move to 4 p.m. ET opens up the noon ET spot on MSNBC. The network recently added Ronan Farrow to its lineup, who is set to debut in January at an as-yet-unannounced time."
Alex Wagner
Excellent decision
Funny, but I don’t hear anyone rushing to Bashir’s defense saying that MSNBC took away his “freedom of speech.”
Especially not freedom-of-speech advocate Sarah Palin. And Bashir did the right thing after doing the horrendous thing and resigned.
Today on Morning Joe, Joe was claiming no one on the left was ever attacked for what they have said. Tell that to Bill Maher who lost his ABC show or the Dixie Chicks whose careers were derailed and faced death threats after saying something negative about Bush.