Is Rashida Jones married? All we know about MSNBC first black president as she steps down amid Comcast spinoff

Rashida Jones, MSNBC's president, who made history in 2021 by being the first black person to head a major cable news network, is set to step down from her duties as president and pass the baton to Rebecca Kutler.

This transition comes as MSNBC’s parent company, Comcast has agreed to separate many of its cable TV networks into a new publicly traded entity, tentatively called SpinCo. This new company will encompass MSNBC, CNBC, USA Network, Oxygen, E!, SYFY, and the Golf Channel.

In an article by The Daily Beast, Jones's colleagues speak about how she has managed to balance her demanding career with motherhood, often working 18-hour days while staying connected with her two children—a 15-year-old son, and a 12-year-old daughter, through FaceTime. As reported by MTV Hustle, Rashida Jones is a divorced, mother of two and has been in a long-term relationship with Edward Fisher, a government and community relations executive at American University, for over six years.

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More about Rashida Jones

Rashida Jones had a unique childhood experience growing up in York, Pennsylvania, where she and her two siblings were among the few people of color in an otherwise homogeneous school. Recalling her experience to The Daily Beast, she said:

“There were three of us, we all went to school together, and we were known, because our school wasn’t very diverse."

"At various times we were the only three Black students in the school. The funny thing is there were two others at various points of our eight years of school there, and we still keep in touch.” she added.

Later, her family relocated to Richmond, Virginia, but the impact of racism remained a constant presence in her life. Rashida Jones has had a distinguished media career spanning several decades, during which she has held key roles in prominent television networks, shaping editorial strategies and leading teams in fast-paced environments.

She began her journey at The Weather Channel, where she worked from December 2004 to July 2011. Starting as a Senior Producer, Jones quickly rose through the ranks, becoming Executive Producer and eventually Director of Live Programming. In these roles, she was responsible for managing a large team of producers and on-air talent, creating popular programs like Wake Up with Al and Your Weather Today, and pioneering new approaches to breaking news coverage. Her work transformed The Weather Channel into a more competitive and dynamic space after its acquisition by NBC.

Jones then transitioned to NBC News in 2017, where she served as Senior Vice President until 2021. In this capacity, she contributed significantly to the network’s editorial strategies and its real-time news coverage. Her success at NBC News led to a major move to MSNBC in 2014, where she initially served as Managing Editor, overseeing the day-to-day production of dayside programs and coordinating breaking news coverage. By 2021, she was promoted to President of MSNBC, a role she still holds today but is set to retire soon.