MSNBC has named Stephanie Ruhle as the new host of The 11th Hour, taking over for Brian Williams, who departed the network last year. MSNBC President Rashida Jones said Ruhle would bring “her business acumen, hard-hitting interview style and original reporting to the viewers in that slot,” noting that Ruhle would continue in her role as an NBC News senior business analyst.
In a message posted to Twitter, Ruhle’s former co-anchor Ali Velshi described her as someone who had “amazing energy and empathy,” and would give The 11th Hour “her business and economics expertise and her fearless questioning.”
Ruhle has been anchoring dayside for MSNBC, and her move to late night will result in the 9 a.m. ET time slot becoming part of an expanded Morning Joe. “This expansion will give us an opportunity to extend the reach of the program, which has become so well known for its signature perspective and analysis, as well as its news-making exclusive interviews with top lawmakers, senior government officials and thought leaders,” Jones said in a memo to MSNBC staff Thursday morning.
For MSNBC, replacing Williams was always going to be a challenge, as the 11th Hour was cut to order for Williams’ unique skillset—classic network anchorman, but also a guy with a powerful sense of humor. The show he created was designed to be a counter to the cable news standard of partisans arguing back and forth over issues.
“I won’t do it,” Williams told me in 2019 when I spent an evening with him and the 11th Hour show team. “I know it’s a staple of other corners of cable. I won’t do it and I won’t raise my voice...we try to present the day and to do it as fairly as we can. When we have to call out and raise our hand and say this is not normal, I hope that’s not mistaken for a point of view. It’s only meant as a correction against history and norms.”
When Williams signed off in December after 28 years with NBC News, he told the loyal 11th Hour audience that the program would go on. “Thank you for being here with us,” he said. "Us, meaning the people who produce this broadcast for you. And you...well, without you, there is no us.”
