Rita Cosby will join MSNBC, it was announced today by Rick Kaplan, President of MSNBC. Cosby will start with the network in June and will anchor a daily evening program. In addition, she will serve as a special correspondent. Cosby’s program is in development and will debut in the fourth quarter.
A three-time Emmy Award winner, Cosby most recently served as host of Fox News Channel’s “The Big Story Weekend Edition” and “Fox News Live with Rita Cosby.” She is known for her exclusive interviews with top newsmakers, including her historic back-to-back interviews with former Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat and Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon. Cosby has also interviewed former Presidents Ford, Reagan, Bush, and Clinton. Cosby also made headlines with her exclusive Michael Jackson interview. Additionally, Cosby was granted a rare, private meeting with Pope John Paul II after receiving an exclusive letter from Timothy McVeigh explaining why he carried out the Oklahoma City bombing.
“Rita is a tireless and talented journalist and we are thrilled to welcome her to MSNBC,” said Kaplan. “She continually manages to secure the most sought after interviews and handles them brilliantly. Rita will play a prominent role at MSNBC as an anchor and special correspondent. We are looking forward to starting development of her new program.”
“Being asked to anchor a daily evening show is a tremendous opportunity for me,” said Cosby. “I am anxious to get started and look forward to being an integral part of the MSNBC team.”
While at Fox News Channel, Cosby secured a host of exclusive interviews with world leaders including former Serbian President Slobodan Milosevic from The Hague. Cosby was also the first journalist to report the identities of the Washington, DC area sniper suspects. She was the first journalist to see suspected terrorists held at Guantanamo and was also the first to interview former Iraqi POW Thomas Hamill, a contractor whose daring escape made headlines. Additional interviews include Mike Tyson, David Berkowitz (“The Son of Sam”) and flight attendant Anne Marie Smith, which led to a U.S. Attorney’s Office investigation of Representative Gary Condit. Prior to joining Fox News Channel, Cosby worked at WBTV, the CBS affiliate in Charlotte, North Carolina. She has received three Emmy Awards for investigative reporting, a Matrix Award and the National Foundation for Women Legislators’ Media Award for Excellence. She earned her bachelors degrees from the University of South Carolina, graduating with honors.
