MSNBC will draw on its talent roster of hosts and contributors for a daylong event in September, MSNBC Live: Democracy 2024, seeking to capitalize on its viewer fanbase desire to see network personalities live and in person.
The daylong Sept. 7 event at the Brooklyn Academy of Music will include discussions among the hosts and a dinner and a reception, along with a screening of an MSNBC film. Ticket prices will start at $119, the network said, with audience capacity of 2,000. The plans are to keep the September event in person only — no live streaming.
Luke Russert, the creative director of MSNBC Live and moderator of the day’s events, said that “one of the things we were interested in off the bat was what could we do with this incredibly engaged audience at MSNBC.”
The event will not only provide the in-person experience but longer conversations than are possible during telecasts, Russert said. When on book tour for Look for Me There: Grieving My Father, Finding Myself, Russert said that he witnessed first hand how much audiences valued “a degree of intimacy” that comes from in-person connections. That may be especially true since the Covid pandemic, as many live events series have rebounded.
The first session will feature Jen Psaki, Chris Hayes, Alex Wagner, Andrea Mitchell, Katy Tur and others with a look at the 2024 presidential race and major issues in the campaign. Steve Kornacki will break down the latest polls.
The second session will feature Rachel Maddow, Lawrence O’Donnell, Ari Melber, Stephanie Ruhle, Michael Steele, Alicia Menendez, Symone Sanders Townsend and others with their own discussion on the election year races.
The day also will include a dinner and reception — called This Is Who We Are — for 230 guests. There also will be a screening of a yet-to-be announced MSNBC film ahead of its theatrical debut.
MSNBC created the MSNBC Live event series in December, and held its first in-person event in March in Washington, with Psaki, Kornacki and Ruhle previewing the primary and President Joe Biden’s State of the Union address. That was a bit of a trial run for the larger event in September.
That followed other live events, including a tour last fall tied to Chris Hayes’ podcast, Why Is This Happening? With Chris Hayes. He and Maddow appeared for a discussion at the Town Hall in New York City. Reid and Maddow appeared at the Apollo Theatre earlier this year for a discussion about democracy and the 2024 election.
