NewsNation Boss Cherie Grzech Seeks the Cable News Middle in a Time of Trump 

For years, the cable news landscape has been dominated by the triumvirate of CNN, MSNBC, and, in particular, Fox News. But Cherie Grzech, the president of news and politics at NewsNation, is on a mission to expand that trio into a quartet. 

Grzech has led upstart cable channel NewsNation as its ratings have increased and its reporters have gained more access at the Trump White House. 

While the other cable networks are viewed to lean left or right, Grzech – who spent more than two decades at Fox News before joining NewsNation in 2021, a year after it launched – said her game plan for the channel is simple, recalling an early Fox News slogan: Report the facts and let viewers take it from there. 

“I think it’s about covering the news and not having an agenda,” Grzech told TheWrap during a recent interview. “It’s about finding out what is happening and telling people what you know from your reporting, and then letting them decide what they take and do with that information.”

Grezch, a Michigan State grad who came up through ranks of TV news at local stations and at WILX-TV in Lansing, Michigan, in 1995, where she was the youngest female news director in the U.S.   

So far, Grzech’s plan appears to be working at NewsNation, part of the giant media company Nexstar, which is the largest owner of TV stations in the country. During the first quarter of 2025, NewsNation’s full-day ratings increased 24% year-over-year, and its primetime ratings increased 2%. That modest primetime increase still stood out, considering Fox News was the only other cable news channel to see its primetime ratings increase during the quarter. 

Notably, NewsNation has the most politically balanced audience in TV news; 32% of NewsNation’s viewers self-identify as Democrats, 35% are Republicans, and 33% are independents, according to Nielsen. It can be seen in 67 million cable and satellite households.

Still, NewsNation has a way. to go before it officially crashes the cable news party. “Cuomo,” hosted by former CNN anchor Chris Cuomo, is the channel’s top-rated show, pulling in 167,000 viewers in primetime in April, per Nielsen. For comparison, Anderson Cooper’s show on CNN, which also airs at 8:00 p.m. ET, averaged 672,000 viewers during April, which was the lowest viewership of the three major cable channels at that time.

What’s more, NewsNation is in 67 million cable households. Although all the channels have lost linear reach because of cord cutting, NewsNation is nearing full carriage.

NewsNation has had some high-profile moments that have helped it gain more attention in the last year. The channel hosted a town hall with vice presidential candidate JD Vance in October 2024, and last week, Cuomo co-hosted a town hall with Bill O’Reilly and Stephen A. Smith that looked at President Trump’s first 100 days back in the White House. The president called in to the town hall for a phone interview – and made headlines when he said he would “love” to see Smith run for president in 2028. “Cuomo” scored its best ratings ever thanks to the town hall, with nearly 360,000 people watching, per Nielsen.

TheWrap recently spoke to Grzech about her first year leading NewsNation, how her time at Fox News has influenced her leadership, and how to reestablish the American public’s trust in the mainstream media. The interview was edited for length and clarity.

It’s been a year since you were named president. Can you share what your main focus has been in that year – what you wanted to come in and change? 

Grzech: There are two components to what has happened over the last year with my role – one is president of NewsNation, and then it was expanded to President of The Hill. Really, what that’s developed is spending some time putting together the “DC Power Center,” as I call it, in Washington.

So certainly, a lot of the news has been focused around both the campaign and the presidency changing over, and we’re using the resources of The Hill (a Nexstar publication covering D.C.), NewsNation and Nexstar all together here in Washington. And I’ve been working on reorganizing that a bit to make sure that we’re able to really build our visibility – which I think we’ve we’ve done a tremendous job in just covering the news and allowing people to understand that there’s a place to go if you’re looking for the day’s events and what’s happening and what it means to you. And we can do that through all of our strong alliances. 

When it comes to breaking through in a busy cable environment, how are you doing that? I saw your ratings are up 24% in the first quarter compared to last year, so what has been the secret sauce that has led to more attention?  

Grzech: Like you said, in a very short amount of time of four years [since launching], we’ve been able to get on into a very competitive landscape. And I think it comes down to the pure credibility of what we do every day. And dare I say – we just do the news. I think we’re providing the American public with something they are searching for, and that is an outlet where they can find a balanced product, hear what is going on, and let them decide what it means for their lives. 

NewsNation’s total-day ratings were up big compared to last year, but primetime was up only 2%. A few of the other non-Fox News cable channels saw their primetime ratings drop in the first quarter, so it is not like an increase is a bad thing. But is there anything you have in mind to boost primetime viewership? 

Grzech: It’s [about] being better tomorrow than we are today. Over the four-year period, we’ve seen triple-digit increases in primetime. And even if you look at quarter to quarter, we’re the fastest-growing cable network out there right now. 

So I think it’s providing a consistent product, day in and day out, and allowing the viewers – when they do come to us – to hold true to the brand and the news and keep growing from there. It takes growth every day, right? It takes continuous determination and dedication to the product. And that’s what we’ve done, and it’s done well for us, and that’s what we continue to plan to do. 

It seems like you are going for the anti-MSNBC, anti-Fox News approach where you’re going to try and be down the middle as much as possible. Am I reading that correctly?

Grzech: There’s some established media that has chosen to take routes of, you know, talking to a certain viewer. We’re news driven, and we let the news take us where it is, and then we let the public decide what that means. That’s our process. We have respect for every point of view.

Let’s take a step back for a moment. You spent more than a decade at Fox News – how did your time there influence what you do today? 

Grzech: I think the most interesting thing is that I started at Fox in 2000, right when it was in its infancy, and it has become the network that it is today. And now I’m at NewsNation, and, you know, it’s once again building and starting from the ground up. I really enjoy that building and creating and growing, and that’s something that we’re able to do. 

We’re in a very fortunate position to other networks, because we’re starting in this competitive new landscape, and we’re able to evaluate where it is presently and build the product from there. And I think that’s just an exciting and a fortunate place to be in this time. 

Let’s talk about the cable landscape. Do you even think we’ll be looking at cable ratings a few years down the line? Are things shifting more towards digital – and if so, are you shifting in that direction as well? 

Grzech: It’s always about meeting the audience or the viewer where they’re at. And so I think it definitely is something that you are growing into, and you want to make sure that your product is where people can find it – on their phone, in their car, wherever it may be. 

But I think the brand, and what you do on a daily basis, is what brings people there. They want to, they want to have it with them, wherever they go. So we will ebb and flow. We’re nimble, we’re flexible, we’re willing to make the changes that need to be made, and we didn’t start decades ago [to] where we have to re-adapt all of our systems. We are only looking at doing that from the time that we’ve been in service. Which is, again, very fortunate, because you can kind of evaluate the landscape in a different way and make smarter choices about it.

The talent showcased on NewsNation – Chris Cuomo was obviously on CNN, Dan Abrams is well known. And at the same time, you have some lesser-known hosts. What is that balance you are trying to strike? Is it going after big names that the audience will recognize instantly or trying to cultivate new names that viewers can gravitate towards? 

Grzech: If you look across our network, I think we have people represented here from almost every network that’s out there. I think the approach goes back to the brand, which is that of, different voices, differing opinions, and an open dialog. I think it’s about being able to have different dialogues with people and respecting how each person thinks. To understand why we have probably more in common than we disagree on, and I think too many times people focus on that disagreement versus defining the middle ground.

And speaking of “middle ground,” the Nielsen data appears to back that up – that NewsNation has the most balanced viewership. Was there a concerted effort to try and be a channel for viewers of all political backgrounds? 

Grzech: That’s exactly what we came into the marketplace for – we came in to not have an agenda, but to offer a place where you get differing opinions. So as long as that rating is where it is presently, that’s what our goal is. 

Does that mean if it shifted 20 points in favor of Democrats or Republicans suddenly, would you be concerned? It sounds like you like the balanced viewership. 

Grzech: Yes absolutely. Our goal is to make sure that we’re representing all Americans. We’re news for all Americans, and our goal is to make sure we’re providing a balanced take at what’s happening across the country. When you look at the political spectrum and you know the polarization that’s been happening. I think the goal is that you’re fair and you’re balanced in your approach. 

Recently, NewsNation has been asking more questions during the White House press briefings. Can you fill me in on how that’s developed – did you have to apply for the “new media” seat, or simply when the new administration came in, you have been getting called on more? 

Grzech: I think from the perspective of what we see and what we know is that the White House wanted to shake up things a bit there. And for those folks who have been in the established media for a very long time, there’s been systems in place for them to get the questions in. 

The way I look at it is, [the Trump Administration] has provided us access. And it’s allowed us to get in there and ask the questions that other folks might want answered. I think from that perspective, access is always good, so the more, the better. There wasn’t any application process that was done or anything like that. I think it’s just a matter of them wanting to expand the pool. And for us, I think we’ve been able to show that, again, that independent-minded viewers are watching us, and we’re approaching it from a fair manner – and then we got that opportunity. 

You’ve mentioned “fair” and “balanced” a few times, and that has reminded me – a Gallup poll last fall found the American public’s trust in the media is at an all-time low. Not to have you point your finger at anyone in particular, but what do you think the mainstream media’s shortcomings have been the past few years – and how are you trying to not make the same mistakes? 

Grzech: It’s about covering the news and not having an agenda. It’s about finding out what is happening and telling people what you know from your reporting, and then letting them decide what they take and do with that information. 

I think it is something that is lacking, because in a lot of ways, people get caught up with the same type of stories, and they just keep turning them out. And I think for us, we follow the news, and we go with the stories that happen each day – not driving any kind of agenda, but following what’s happening. And not every story is political, right? 

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