Alex Witt signs off from MS NOW this Sunday after nearly 27 years anchoring the network’s weekend news coverage, marking the end of one of cable news’s longest tenures in an era when such staying power has become increasingly rare.
Witt, 65, joined MSNBC (now MS NOW) in 1999 and will anchor her final “Alex Witt Reports” broadcast on September 6, then transition to filling in on various daytime hours through the rest of the year, according to a Variety report published September 3. Antonia Hylton, one of the co-hosts of “The Weekend: Primetime,” will take over the weekend anchor role.
The departure is part of a broader weekend programming overhaul at MS NOW, which is reducing live evening programming on weekends and expanding its reliance on podcasts and taped content. According to the Los Angeles Times, MS NOW is shifting resources toward a new direct-to-consumer streaming service launching September 9 and expanding its live event business. “The Weekend: Primetime,” the discussion program that aired alongside Witt’s newscast, has already ended.
Witt’s weekend newscast became one of the few programs on MS NOW that delivered straight news without opinion commentary, a distinction that helped build her audience loyalty over the decades. According to Variety, director Aaron Sorkin watched Witt regularly and emailed her for months before asking her to consult on his HBO series “The Newsroom.” Actor Rami Malek once approached her at a festival to tell her he was an avid viewer.
“We deliver the same news as everyone else,” Witt said in an interview with Variety, discussing her weekend role. “There has been a lot on weekends” — she was anchoring when the U.S. ousted Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro from power earlier this year and when major international stories broke on Saturday and Sunday afternoons.
A Rare Career in Cable News
Witt’s nearly three-decade run at one network stands out as increasingly uncommon in cable news. According to Variety, few journalists remain with a single outlet for such an extended period, and as the economics of the industry shift, that trend is likely to accelerate. Other long-serving cable anchors include Wolf Blitzer, Christiane Amanpour, and Anderson Cooper at CNN, and Sean Hannity, Brian Kilmeade, and Steve Doocy at Fox News. At MS NOW, only correspondent Chris Jansing comes close to matching Witt’s tenure.
Witt attributes her longevity to focusing on delivering news rather than seeking the spotlight. “I’ve never played politics and never sought the limelight,” she told Variety. “I just love the news.” She credited her long-standing partnership with executive producer Nick Kovijanic, who postponed his own retirement to stay through her final broadcast. “He’s my right arm. We finish each other’s sentences,” she said.
When Witt leaves MS NOW, she plans to return to California, her home state, where she may pursue writing a book, teaching, or other endeavors. MS NOW President Rebecca Kutler called Witt “a beloved longtime member of our MS NOW family” and “a continued, trusted, and steady presence for our audiences.”
Sources
- Variety — Alex Witt’s final broadcast date (September 6), her joining MS NOW in 1999, her age, her post-departure plans, her quotes about longevity in cable news, and her partnerships with Aaron Sorkin and Rami Malek
- Los Angeles Times — MS NOW’s weekend programming changes, the cancellation of “The Weekend: Primetime,” Antonia Hylton’s succession, the streaming service launch, and MS NOW President Rebecca Kutler’s statement
