MSNBC announced a new name for the network on Monday after being thrown out of the NBCUniversal club and forced to drop both the NBC and the peacock logo from their branding.
The network’s new name will be MS NOW.
Alongside the announcement, however, journalists who report on it—not the ones who work for it—were sent a bizarre set of demands ordering them not to call it MS NOW when they first mention the network in a story or broadcast.
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The email says journalists must write out MY SOURCE NEWS OPINION WORLD (MS NOW) the first time the network is name-checked, and then they can use MS NOW, but only if they include the space in the middle of the acronym. It was unclear if the name is supposed to be written in bold typeface as well as Trump-style all caps, but the CEO of the new parent company, Versant, Mark Lazarus, used the same bold and all caps formulation in a memo sent to staff, which was seen by the Daily Beast.
A spokeswoman declined to comment on whether the space was intended to emphasize that it should be pronounced “M.S. Now.”
The network’s biggest star Rachel Maddow told Variety that she didn’t know how the new name of her employer was supposed to sound. “I will admit to having no idea how to pronounce ‘MS NOW,’” she told Variety.
In what they seemed to think was a concession, MSNBC suggested that media outlets were also allowed to call MS Now, My Source for News, Opinion, and the World, if they wanted to sound conversational. The Oxford comma is apparently compulsory.
The name change came as parent company Comcast plans to separate several of its brands including CNBC and MSNBC from NBCUniversal.
An internal memo, obtained by the Daily Beast, said that MSNBC had wanted to retain its brand and iconic peacock logo but NBCUniveral decided that those should not be included as part of the spin-off.
“As we all know, the peacock is synonymous with NBCUniversal, and it is a symbol they have decided to keep within the NBCU family,” Lazarus wrote.
“This gives us the opportunity to chart our own path forward, create distinct brand identities, and establish an independent news organization following the spin.”
Several other cable networks that are moving over to Versant as part of the rebrand, including CNBC, Golf Channel, and SportsEngine, will also drop the peacock logo as the company separates itself from NBC News, which will remain under Comcast.
The CNBC acronym, which stands for Consumer News and Business Channel, will remain, but it will be getting a new logo.
Rebecca Kutler, MSNBC’s president, also discussed the shake-up at the network in a Monday memo to employees.
“I want to acknowledge that for many of you who have spent years or decades here, it is hard to imagine the network by any other name,” Kutler said. “This was not a decision that was made quickly or without significant debate.”
On Monday, a post on MSNBC’s news site acknowledged that “it may be hard to imagine this network by any other name” than the one it’s had since 1996.
“We understand. But our promise to you remains as it always has. You know who we are, and what we do,” the post added. “Regardless of our name, our commitment to this community remains as strong as it’s ever been and in the months ahead we will unveil new ways to connect with you directly.”
The message ended by quoting a rather different line from Maddow: “Watch this space.”
Maddow herself has previously said she supported the MSNBC and NBC split, telling tech journalist Kara Swisher in a podcast that it would allow employees to “apply our own instincts, our own queries, our own priorities, to getting stuff that we need from reporters and correspondents,” via The Washington Post.
A specified timeframe for when the changes will take place was not announced, but it is expected by the end of the year.
