MSNBC has announced that Chris Hayes will take over the 8 PM slot on the channel starting April 1. Hayes currently hosts “Up with Chris Hayes” on Saturdays and Sundays, and has long been viewed as a “next generation” talent for the network, at the age of 34. MSNBC plans to reveal more details on the new show in the coming weeks.

“I am thrilled to be joining Rachel and Lawrence in primetime,” said Hayes in a statement. “I’ve absolutely loved hosting UP on the weekends and I’m looking forward to thinking through the news five nights a week.”

Hayes will be taking the place of Ed Schultz, who will shift to MSNBC’s weekend lineup next month, part of an expansion of weekend programming at the channel.

“Chris has done an amazing job creating a franchise on weekend morning,” said MSNBC president Phil Griffin in a statement. “He’s an extraordinary talent and has made a strong connection with our audience. This is an exciting time for MSNBC.”

Hayes joined MSNBC in 2011, and has served as a regular fill-in host for Rachel Maddow and “The Last Word with Lawrence o’Donnell.” The Times’ Brian Stelter spoke to people at MSNBC, and gathered why the channel decided to go with Hayes:
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25-54 demographic (Live +SD)

• Total day: FNC: 266 | MSNBC: 136 | CNN: 148 | HLN: 189

• Primetime: FNC: 363 | MSNBC: 239 | CNN: 165 | HLN: 285

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25-54 demographic (Live +SD)

• Total day: FNC: 276 | MSNBC: 140 | CNN: 189 | HLN: 93

• Primetime: FNC: 321 | MSNBC: 245 | CNN: 296 | HLN: 116

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This week in the TVNewser Twitter Index, we are taking a look at primetime cable news shows, and how they stack up on the social network.

It is important to note some discrepancies in the numbers up front. The tracker is looking at the followers of shows, not hosts, that is for another week. Because some hosts are so popular on Twitter (i.e. Piers Morgan) the show follower count may be affected.

Fox News:

“The O’Reilly Factor”: 338,236

“Hannity”: 196,929 (Hannity: 637,690)

“On the Record”: NA (Greta Van Susteren: 275,211)

Van Susteren is a huge social media presence, making a show Twitter page unnecessary  Hannity is as well, but his show still retains its own page. O’Reilly, of course, leads the way.

MSNBC:
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MSNBC’s State of the Union coverage, anchored by Rachel Maddow and Chris Matthews, begins at 8pmET Tuesday night. Maddow and Matthews will be joined by Al Sharpton, Ed Schultz and Lawrence O’Donnell, as well as Chris Hayes and Melissa Harris-Perry.

Matthews will anchor an additional live hour from 12am-1amET. More from MSNBC after the jump. Read more

MSNBC is facing criticism today about the editing of a portion of the legislative hearing on guns in Hartford, CT earlier this week. Neil Heslin, the father of a Sandy Hook Elementary school shooting victim, was speaking before a committee at which local citizens, including gun rights advocates, attended. MSNBC portrayed a portion of the clip — toward the end of Heslin’s 15 minutes of testimony — as though he was being heckled. The 33-second clip aired on Tamron Hall‘s show, Martin Bashir‘s show and later on Al Sharpton‘s show. Here it is:

But MSNBC edited out the fact that Heslin posed a question: “I wish … I ask if there’s anybody in this room that can give me one reason…,” he began. Fox News produced a segment today taking MSNBC to task over the edit. An MSNBC spokesperson tells WaPo’s Eric Wemple, “We’re reviewing the video in question.”

But the storyline continued into primetime, on Lawrence O’Donnell‘s show. Meanwhile, rather than talk around the issue, CNN’s Piers Morgan actually talked with Heslin. “It didn’t really faze me and it was no more and no less than I would have expected,” he said. “It wasn’t the answer to my question. It was a response.” But was it heckling? MSNBC, for one, has decided it is.

> Update: MSNBC will address the edit on Bashir’s show Wednesday.

> More: Ari Melber, filling in for Bashir, played the entire clip including Heslin’s question. At the end of the clip, Melber said, “Martin and many other who is saw Mr. Heslin’s testimony have called that interruption heckling. Some disagree. He wanted you to hear it in full so you can draw your own conclusion.”

Inside Cable News which has been closely monitoring MSNBC’s programming shift from news to opinion, has this take:

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MSNBC had an extremely strong start to 2013, posting significant ratings gains in just about every hour. In primetime, every single show was up compared to January 2012 in broth total viewers and the key adults 25-54 demo.

The ratings for January, 2013:

• Primetime (Mon-Sun): 790K Total Viewers / 235K A25-54
• Total Day (Mon-Sun): 491K Total Viewers / 160K A25-54

“The Ed Show” at 8 PM was up +4% in total viewers and +23% in the demo. 9 PM’s “Rachel Maddow Show” was up +11% in total viewers and +32% in the demo. “The Last Word with Lawrence O’Donnell” was up +26% in total viewers and +34% in the demo. “The last Word” drew 240,000 demo viewers, just behind FNC’s  ”On the Record,” which drew 243,000.

Other highlights: at 4 PM, “Martin Bashir” was up +41% in total viewers and +102% in the demo, easily showing the most growth of any show on the network. Both editions of “Hardball” at 5 and 7 PM were up double digits in the demo, and up in total viewers as well. “PoliticsNation” at 6 PM was up +8% and +29% in total and demo viewers, respectively, while “The Cycle” at 3 PM was up +8% and +56%, respectively. The network’s weekend programming was also up.

In the morning, “Morning Joe” was up +10% and +27% in total and demo viewers.

The full release from MSNBC is after the jump.

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MSNBC’s Tamron Hall is the subject of Mediabistro’s latest So What Do You Do? interview. Hall talks about her new role on the “Today” show, how she balances delivering news without inserting her opinions, and how her show is different from MSNBC’s primetime programming:

Rachel [Maddow], to me, is more than a “pundit.” She’s phenomenal, and I think she offers a reasonable perspective based on who she is and her political views. I think she does a fantastic job at it. I feel the same way about Chris [Matthews] and Lawrence [O'Donnell] and Ed [Schultz] and, of course, Rev. Al [Sharpton]. So, they offer something different that has resonated for reasons that I think are obvious. People want to hear those perspectives.

That’s not what we do on NewsNation. I don’t have the same role on MSNBC as Rachel.  I discuss obvious questions. Right now, we have gun control debate. Why does someone need a gun clip with 20 rounds? That’s not right or left. That’s an obvious question. Now, upon me asking that question, you will have some people who will say, “Oh, she’s a lefty” or “That’s MSNBC’s left-leaning perspective.” No, it’s not. It’s a logical question. So, for me, our show is not an opinion show, but it’s not a show that’s afraid of opinions.

MSNBC’s coverage of President Obama’s second inauguration kicks off on Sunday with “Up with Chris Hayes” and “Melissa Harris-Perry,” both of which will be live from Washington, DC. Chuck Todd anchors coverage of the private swearing-in ceremony at 11:50amET; Alex Witt will take over at 12:30pmET.

On Monday, “Morning Joe” will broadcast from The Dubliner from 5:30-10amET. Rachel Maddow, Chris Matthews, Lawrence O’Donnell, Ed Schultz and Al Sharpton will anchor from 10am-4pmET. The anchors will host their respective primetime shows from D.C.

More from MSNBC after the jump. Read more

25-54 demographic (Live +SD)

• Total day: FNC: 274 | MSNBC: 144 | CNN: 113 | HLN: 96

• Primetime: FNC: 332 | MSNBC: 170 | CNN: 137 | HLN: 143

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