On Thursday’s broadcast of her MS NOW program, “Money Power Politics,” anchor Stephanie Ruhle saved the hardest question for last. The host’s mother, Louise, part of a live studio audience that had been convened for the show, let loose with a scathing series of queries about the future of the U.S. The fusillade impressed one of Ruhle’s on-set guests, Democratic party stalwart Rahm Emannuel.
Soon, so too will MS NOW viewers. The Versant Media-backed news outlet intends to dispatch a growing number of its on-screen personnel to interact with live crowds — sometimes in studio and occasionally as part of events, but also as part of a new subscription app that hinges on unscripted twice-daily conversations between users and MS NOW anchors and correspondents. The way Ruhle responded to the crowd gathered Thursday in an Englewood Cliffs, N.J., studio that is part of its Versant sibling CNBC, could serve as an indicator of what’s to come.
If the anchor has her way, she says, she’d be able to do a linear telecast with an in-studio crowd more frequently. MS NOW’s new “Membership” subscription calls for Ruhle and colleague Ali Velshi to hold a live session with subscribers once per week. Others such as Rachel Maddow and Jen Psaski will also take part in different sessions, as will the broader group of hosts at “Morning Joe.” MS NOW, which still makes the bulk of its revenue from TV operations, is placing new emphasis on a series of live convocations between its audience and its best-known on-air staff.
The next one takes place later this week in Dallas and Arlington — not an area of the country known for the blue-state politics usually espoused during MS NOW’s primetime lineup. Response to the chance to interact online with anchors has been encouraging, says Marcus Mabry, MS NOW’s senior vice president for content strategy. Several TV-news organizations have mounted formats with in-studio audiences in the mix.
Sean Hannity in 2023 started doing a few live broadcasts with a small crowd of about two dozen at Fox News Channel’s New York headquarters. Chris Hayes tried his hand at a Friday-night show done in front of a large, live crowd in Studio 6A at NBCUniversal’s New York center before MS NOW was spun off from NBC. NBC News was eager to place Hoda Kotb and Jenna Bush Hager in front of a live studio audience before the coronavirus pandemic got in the way.
Pressure is growing to get it right. Younger viewers who might in the past have gravitated to traditional news are showing more interest in independent journalists and pundits who use digital media to gain traction. Looser formats and more chances for audience interaction from outlets like MS NOW could attract some of the crowds that might otherwise stick with newsletters and video podcasts.
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