Paula Reid Has Arrived at MS NOW

Paula Reid is setting up shop at MS NOW as the outlet’s new chief White House reporter, a move that has been anticipated since her exit from CNN was revealed in July.

She joins the Versant-backed news venue’s staff at a heady time. The nation stands just days away from critical midterm elections. Reid’s first day is Thursday, according to a memo sent by Sudeep Reddy, MS NOW’s Washington bureau chief.

“In this role, Paula will bring her deep experience to covering the administration, serve as a key reporting voice across MS NOW’s Washington Bureau, and help drive our newsroom’s investigative and enterprise journalism,” the executive said. Reid is expected to work closely with Scott Foster, who leads MS NOW’s White House unit, as well as journalists Vaughn Hillyard, Laura Barrón-López, Jake Traylor, Akayla Gardner, and a team of producers and photographers.

Reid most recently served as CNN’s chief legal affairs correspondent, covering the Justice Department, major federal investigations and the Supreme Court. She also served as a fill-in anchor at times. Prior to CNN, Reid spent more than a decade at CBS News, where she worked across the network’s investigative and justice reporting teams and later covered the Justice Department before being named White House Correspondent.

Reid turned down a chance to renew her contract at CNN, according to two people familiar with the situation, in part because of uncertainty about what will happen next at the news giant, recently placed under control of a new corporate parent, Skydance. MS NOW, meanwhile, has put a stronger emphasis on harder news and enterprise journalism under its president, Rebecca Kutler.

Reid is the latest in a string of experienced journalists to join MS NOW, including Peter Alexander, Eugene Daniels and David Rohde.