Greta Van Susteren has over the course of her career held forth for both CNN and Fox News Channel. Now she’s going to do the same for MSNBC. The NBCUniversal-owned cable-news outlet said Thursday that it had hired Van Susteren to anchor its 6 p.m. hour, which had previously been occupied by a political-news program, “With All Due Respect.”
That program, hosted by John Heilemann and Mark Halperin, had been produced by Bloomberg Television and re-played on MSNBC as part of a programming agreement. Van Susteren, who left Fox News Channel in the wake of a contract dispute last year, will now hold down the hour in an original program, the network said. Her show, “For the Record with Greta,” will debut Monday, Jan. 9
Her hire marks the second time in recent days that NBCUniversal has dipped into a talent pool long associated with the conservative-leaning Fox News Channel and suggests that the company, where NBCU News Group chairman Andy Lack oversees both MSNBC and NBC News, is working to lure an audience that it perceives to be in tune with the current political climate, in which Republicans control the White House and both sides of Congress. NBC News said Tuesday that it had hired Fox News primetime host Megyn Kelly to launch both a daytime program and a Sunday newsmagazine.
“Greta is a true pro with a proven record of tough journalism,” said Phil Griffin, MSNBC’s president, in a prepared statement. “Her broad range of experience and sharp news judgment will be of great value to MSNBC as we build on our momentum going into a new year and a new administration.”
Van Susteren is a cable-news veteran. She spent more than a decade at CNN, working as a legal analyst and co-hosting or hosting programs like “Burden of Proof” or “The Point.” She anchored “On the Record” at Fox News Channel for 14 years, leaving that network last year after a contract dispute. Prior to her career in journalism, Van Susteren was a criminal defense and civil trial attorney. She graduated with a Bachelor’s degree in economics, with distinction, from the University of Wisconsin. She earned a Juris Doctor and a Master of Law from Georgetown Law.
