Rick Kaplan‘s goodbye to MSNBC staffers:

“I want to let you all know that today I’m leaving MSNBC. It is not often in professional life that someone has the opportunity to end his tenure on such a high note. I couldn’t be more proud of the progress we’ve made together over the last 2 and a half years.

Together, we’ve increased MSNBC’s viewership 25% in primetime and 19% in dayside. Over just the last year, we’ve had great success across the board, with Hardball and Countdown coming into their own. All of our primetime programs have improved tremendously in their production and content. Together we had a great election year in ’04 and you’re poised to improve on that excellence this fall.

It truly has been an honor to work with all of you who make up the best team in TV news. My genuine hope is that you continue to grow and build on the momentum we’ve achieved together at MSNBC.”