A Readout for 'The Reidout'

The meeting, which lasted nearly 30 minutes, featured pointed questions, raw emotions, and a discussion of the changes ahead—including the revelation that the entire staff had been laid off. Here are the key takeaways:

• Reid's final show is uncertain: Kutler told staffers that MSNBC would like Reid to host a final show, but indicated it was not certain whether Reid would agree to do so. “We are waiting to get a response from Joy and her team about how she would like to handle that, and we want to defer to her on that," Kutler said. At another point in the meeting, Kutler said, "The hope is that we will have a final show with Joy."

• MSNBC will announce its programming changes on Monday: Kutler said that the cancellation of Reid's show is only "one piece of a broader slate of programming changes that will be laid out tomorrow." Replacing Reid's show will be a panel program hosted by Symone Sanders Townsend, Michael Steele, and Alicia Menendez. The three currently host "The Weekend." In addition to the cancellation of Reid’s program, Wagner is also losing her 9pm show, which she has anchored Tuesday through Friday. (Wagner will remain on MSNBC as a correspondent.) Kutler said the changes will go into effect in April. Until then, she is hoping the current staff of ‘The Reidout’ will produce the 7pm hour, which will feature rotating hosts.

• The staff of "The Reidout" has been laid off: A staffer directly pressed Kutler about the fate of the show's staff, asking, “So to make this explicitly clear, we are being terminated currently with the option to apply within the company, right?” Kutler confirmed that they were being cut, but said they are employees through April and will receive severance.

• There will be 100+ new roles added this week: Kutler said that more than 100 new roles at MSNBC will be posted this week and that impacted staffers are encouraged to apply for them. Kutler said there will be more MSNBC employees six months from now than there are today.

• Donald Trump was not a factor, Kutler insisted: When asked directly whether the Trump administration played a role in deciding whether to cancel Reid’s show, Kutler responded: “No, it did not.” Kutler said the changes across MSNBC have been based on "data analysis and programming strategy" that she believes will "best position MSNBC for the year ahead."

• Staffers expressed outrage about leaks to the press: Throughout the meeting, staffers expressed outrage that they learned of the show's fate in media reports instead of hearing from leadership directly. One staffer told Kutler it was a "terrible, terrible way to learn about our fate." Kutler repeatedly said she shared the frustration and that she was "incredibly disappointed that this happened in this way." It goes without saying, but obviously having the programming changes leak in an uncontrolled manner was not something Kutler wanted either.

Despite MSNBC’s assurances that new roles will be available, staffers exited the meeting shaken. The shock of learning about their show’s fate, married with uncertainty about what comes next, spurred significant frustration with MSNBC brass—which came through during the Sunday meeting.

While Kutler pointed to the more than 100 new jobs being posted this week as a sign of hope for the staffers, for those who have worked on "The ReidOut," the meeting drove home a difficult reality: Their show is over, and their future at the progressive network is not certain.