OFF THE LEASH

Canceled MSNBC Host Katie Phang Reveals Her Next Move

Katie Phang had teased the pivot when she signed off her show for the last time.

Katie Phang has announced her next venture following the cancellation of her MSNBC show earlier this year.

The journalist has launched a YouTube channel in partnership with MeidasTouch, the left-leaning media network said in a press release Wednesday.

“YouTube is the perfect place for Katie Unleashed,” Phang, an attorney and legal analyst, posted on X. “We’ll talk about the law, politics, and culture. You’ll hear from trusted, familiar voices. And you’ll hear from new voices with fresh takes.”

“It’s time we realize WE are the cavalry we’ve been waiting for,” she added."

MeidasTouch, which bills itself as “the nation’s top independent pro-democracy media network,” called Phang a “respected voice in both law and media” and hailed their new collaboration.

“This partnership marks an exciting new chapter for both Phang and MeidasTouch as they expand their efforts to build a powerhouse platform for independent, hard-hitting journalism and analysis—at a time when it is needed more than ever,” it said in its news release.

The group’s YouTube channel has 4.84 million subscribers. Phang’s new channel, which made its first post on Tuesday, has nearly 90,000.

In her first video, Phang was joined by MediasTouch co-founder Ben Meiselas.

“When it came time for me to get out of mainstream media and find my way into the holy land of independent journalism, I could not think of a better place to be than [with] the guys at MeidasTouch,” she said before kicking off her analysis.

Phang has also launched a Substack account, and shares commentary and interviews on the subscription-based newsletter platform. She’s also continuing on as a legal commentator at MSNBC.

The commentator teased her next move on the final episode of MSNBC’s The Katie Phang Show late last month, telling viewers she intended to “meet you where you are at places like Substack and YouTube with fellow truth tellers like MeidasTouch.”

In February, she revealed she had been “stunned” to learn her show was being canceled as part of MSNBC’s major shake-up of its lineup.

REPRESENTATION MATTERS

‘Stunned’ MSNBC Host Speaks Out After Show Gets Canceled

Julia Ornedo

“I was proud to platform more AAPI voices than any other cable show ever,” she said at the time. “And I was, and remain, proud to have been one of the only AAPI hosts with her name on a show. Representation matters.”

The network axed an array of shows, including those hosted by Joy Reid and Alex Wagner, in February, giving more airtime to figures like former White House press secretary Jen Psaki and Democratic strategist Symone Sanders-Townsend.

The Miami-based Katie Phang Show was cut as part of the network’s closure of its Miami broadcasting operations.

MSNBC’s ratings nosedived after the presidential election, but saw a significant rebound in the new year.

Following a November announcement, the network is in the process of being spun off from NBCUniversal and Comcast into a new entity called Versant Media.

See more of our coverage in your search results.

ADD THE DAILY BEAST ON GOOGLE

Josephine HarveySenior News Reporter

Got a tip? Send it to The Daily Beast here.