Rashida Jones, president of MSNBC, is stepping down

MSNBC president Rashida Jones is stepping down from the position, the company announced Tuesday, a major shakeup at the news network just days before President-elect Donald J. Trump takes office.

Rebecca Kutler, senior vice president of content strategy at MSNBC, will succeed Ms. Jones as interim president, effective immediately. Ms Jones will remain in an advisory role until March.

“Rebecca is the ideal leader to guide us through this moment, and I look forward to working with her as we shape our shared future together,” Mark Lazarus, president of NBCUniversal Media Group, said in a note to employees.

Ms. Jones’ departure comes amid industry-wide pressure for the cable news industry, which has seen ratings decline since the US presidential election. During that period, MSNBC was the second most-watched cable network, ahead of CNN, but behind longtime leader Fox News.

Network executives hope audiences will return when Mr. Trump takes office and that viewers will try to dissect his early political moves. On Monday, the company announced that Rachel Maddow, its most popular host, would temporarily return to airing her hour-long show every week at 9:00 pm Eastern during Mr. Trump’s first 100 days in office.

MSNBC is one of a bundle of cable channels that its parent company, Comcast, plans to spin off into a new company later this year. CNBC, another news channel in Comcast’s cable portfolio, is also being singled out, along with entertainment networks like USA and Syfy.

Ms. Kutler is a cable news anchor with experience in the streaming business. Before joining MSNBC in 2022, Ms. Kutler was a key architect of CNN+, the ambitious streaming news service that was shuttered by Warner Bros. that year. Discovery.

This is a developing story. Check back for updates.