IWMF Congratulates Rashida Jones on Promotion to President of MSNBC

The International Women’s Media Foundation (IWMF) commends MSNBC for promoting Rashida Jones to its network president. We are delighted to see Jones make history as the first Black woman to lead a major television news network and encourage other news outlets to instill practices that move Black women and women of color into leadership roles.

Jones’ promotion is a well-deserved recognition of her long list of accomplishments in the media industry. Currently a senior vice president for news at MSNBC, Jones has distinguished herself as a leader with, “a laser-like focus and grace under pressure,” as noted by NBCUniversal News Group Chairman Cesar Conde.

Jones will be the highest-ranking Black woman in TV news, an industry that continues to lack gender parity and racial diversity – as of 2019, just three percent of newsroom leaders were Black women. A national reckoning for racial justice in 2020 has only underscored the importance of building newsrooms that are representative of our country, especially at the highest levels.

The work to create a more equitable, representative news media is far from over. We encourage media outlets to lead by example in their hiring and promotion practices, and congratulate Rashida Jones and MSNBC for making history this week.