Rashida Jones led a news network often accused of being too “woke.” Piers Morgan has for the last few years railed against people taking such a stance.
Together, they hope to carve out new territory in the media sector.
Jones has been named CEO of Uncensored, the content company founded by Morgan. She is charged with expanding the company’s reach, launching new verticals, and creating opportunities for new voices and talent.
“Piers developed an incredible platform with Uncensored that’s already going head-to-head with legacy media,” Jones said in a statement. “In today’s fragmented media world, audiences are craving real conversations grounded in authenticity, rigor, and open debate. Uncensored not only delivers that—it’s ahead of the curve.”
Her arrival at the company, as incongruous as it might seem at first glance, takes place after Morgan in December unveiled plans to extend his own “Uncensored” show into other topic areas. Morgan’s “Uncensored” intends to launch verticals tied to subjects including long-form interviews, sports, true crime, and royals, among others — all to debut in months to come. Morgan has been working with WME, one of the industry’s top talent agencies, to build his business. WME will work alongside Morgan’s business manager, Alan S. Goldman of Gelfand, Rennert & Feldman, and Alex Campbell, executive editor of Uncensored. The move represented a homecoming, of sorts. Morgan had been represented by WME for years, but left in 2009 when his longtime agent, John Ferriter, parted ways with the firm. Ferriter passed away in 2019. It was one of his WME agents, Bradley Singer, who introduced Morgan and Jones, according to a person familiar with the matter.
How did the two meet? Jones, who left MSNBC in January of last year, had been consulting for Antenna Group, working with its chairman, Theodore Kyriakou, according to the person familiar with the matter. Antenna Group has become one of Uncensored’s lead outside shareholders. Morgan was seeking an executive who understands content, distribution, and how to build a new enterprise this person says. At MSNBC, Jones had launched several digital products and programs, testing hybrid series that aired on both MSNBC and a corresponding digital platform.
Morgan and his colleagues have been working with The Raine Group, an investment bank that specializes in the media sector, on a $30 million fundraising round that was expected to value the company at about $130 million, according to people familiar with the business. Investors in “Uncensored” include Raine’s venture fund; Antenna Group’s Kyriakou; and family offices. Joe Ravitch, a Raine partner and co-founder, will join the board of “Uncensored,” and will oversee the fundraising round with Erik Hodge, a Raine partner, according to people familiar with the matter.
Since leaving MSNBC, Jones launched Imagine Strategies, where she advises media, sports and tech companies in their M&A and content strategies. She was also named a fellow of The Knight Center for the Future of News at Arizona State University’s Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication.
