MS NOW Hires CNN Veteran Paula Reid as Chief White House Reporter

MS NOW has hired former CNN chief legal affairs correspondent Paula Reid as its chief White House reporter, adding another veteran Washington journalist to its growing newsroom as the network ramps up coverage of the Trump administration.Reid begins her new role Thursday, according to an internal memo from Washington Bureau Chief Sudeep Reddy obtained by TheWrap. Her arrival, first reported as a possibility in July, marks another significant hire for the network as it builds an independent newsgathering operation following its separation from NBC News. The move also comes at a particularly contentious moment for White House journalists. MS NOW, CNN and Politico expanded their federal lawsuit Wednesday, accusing the Trump administration of continuing to restrict their access to presidential events despite a federal judge’s order restoring their White House press credentials. “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,” Reddy wrote in the memo. Reid will work alongside White House Director Scott Foster and a reporting team that includes senior White House reporter Vaughn Hillyard, Laura Barrón-López, Akayla Gardner and Jake Traylor. Reid’s departure from CNN was reported by TheWrap in June, ahead of Paramount Skydance’s acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery. Her move to MS NOW had been expected for months, but Thursday’s announcement officially confirms her new role. She joined CNN in 2021 after more than a decade at CBS News, where she covered the Justice Department and the White House. At CNN, she reported on Trump’s criminal cases, federal investigations and the administration’s overhaul of the Justice Department. She also served as a substitute anchor for weekend primetime broadcasts. Her hiring is the latest in a string of additions at MS NOW, which has been aggressively recruiting established journalists while other news organizations face cutbacks. The network has brought in former NBC News chief White House correspondent Peter Alexander, veteran Washington Post investigative reporter Carol Leonnig and former Politico journalist Eugene Daniels, among others. MS NOW says it has added more than 30 reporters and hundreds of newsroom positions over the past year, building its own reporting infrastructure after nearly three decades of relying on NBC News for newsgathering. In his memo, Reddy said the network would continue investing in its journalism ahead of next week’s midterm elections and the 2028 presidential race.