MSNBC is saying goodbye to a very familiar face with the departure of anchor and reporter Craig Melvin, who has been a fixture on the channel going back to 2011. News broke back in mid-March that he would be leaving his show on the successful cable network, and he said his goodbye in the March 31 episode of Craig Melvin Reports, which has aired at 11 a.m. As you might expect with the farewell after more than decade, the message was emotional, with Melvin getting choked up.
Craig Melvin isn't leaving television altogether or even going very far from MSNBC in the mornings, but it's still a big change, and he took the time to say goodbye with a meaningful message of gratitude and reassurance. Take a look:
.@CraigMelvin: "Thank you for letting me into your homes, your businesses, and your vehicles for an hour everyday. I appreciate you seeing the value of journalism." pic.twitter.com/HLyd3nzgQfMarch 31, 2022
The anchor got choked up early in the clip, when he credited his mom since she "cultivated the curiosity," his dad for teaching him "hard work," and his wife for enduring "long days and short nights and last-minute travel." He went on to thank viewers for tuning in and "seeing the value in journalism."
He also had some reassuring words for viewers that should put a stop to the rumor mill before it can get going. He explicitly said that he hasn't been fired and he's not quitting, but that they just "won't be able to meet up here at this time every day." That seemed to be the end of his message, and he passed it over to Andrea Mitchell, who hosts the NBC slot that aired after his, but she had a message for him. She said:
Not so fast, Craig, because you have been my neighbor for all these years and I know you're not going far. We'll be seeing you every morning on Today, anchoring Today, and on other NBC programs. But I just want to tell you how much you mean to me, how much I've loved following in your footsteps every day. And before that, our long friendship when you were at NBC-WRC here in Washington. You have never forgotten, also, your South Carolina roots, as we know so well from all your coverage of so many stories... So we just want to say, you are loved by your team and they wanted me to say, because they're too shy to say it themselves, so this is from them: thank you, Craig, for your guidance, your wit, your drive every day to do right by the viewer. Each of us – this is your team now – is grateful for our time together. Know that in your ten years as a host on MSNBC, you did some good.
Melvin was visibly even more emotional by the end of Andrea Mitchell's speech on behalf of herself and his team, and who can blame him? Those were some wonderful things to hear before signing off from his show for the last time, even though – as Mitchell mentioned – he's going to still be on TV every morning as an anchor of Today.
He has actually been part of the Today team going back to 2016 as a news anchor and co-host, and was bumped up to help take Megyn Kelly's place in the third hour back in 2019, after the former Fox News anchor was fired. So, regular viewers of that show will already be familiar with him. In fact, viewers noticed when he was absent back in 2020 when he (as well as Al Roker, who has been open about some of his health struggles) tested positive for COVID and had to miss some work.
As for what's in store next for Melvin and on MSNBC, Deadline reports that leaving his show will allow him to focus on NBC News' Today, and give him the opportunity to expand his role at that show. The plan at MSNBC is reportedly to fill the hour previously airing Craig Melvin Reports with a rotating lineup of anchors, until such a time as the network lands on a permanent replacement for the time slot.
For now, fans of Craig Melvin can be grateful that he's still going to be found on the small screen, if not on MSNBC in the mornings anymore. The 2022 TV schedule has delivered plenty of changes already, but you can find him on weekday mornings on NBC moving forward
