Actress Rashida Jones congratulates TV exec Rashida Jones on historic MSNBC promotion
Dec. 8 (UPI) -- Actress Rashida Jones is celebrating TV executive Rashida Jones' historic promotion at MSNBC.
The 44-year-old actress congratulated Jones in an Instagram post Monday after Jones was named the next president of MSNBC.
Jones, presently a senior vice president at MSNBC, will replace Phil Griffin as network president in February. She will be the first Black executive to lead a major cable news organization.
Rashida Jones, an actress known for playing Anne Perkins on Parks and Recreation, shared an image made by her friend Jed Whedon that shows herself sitting on Jones' shoulder. The image is inspired by the Elf on the Shelf meme challenge.
"Congrats to Rashida Jones!! The FIRST BLACK PERSON EVER to run a major cable news network!! I'm so proud to share a name with you also take this #myelf challenge to the next level. Rashida Jones on Rashida Jones INFINITY. ZOOM IN," Rashida Jones wrote.
"*big ups to @misterkarate for coming in hot and fast with the photoshop skills," she added.
Jones previously served as director of live programming for The Weather Channel and as a news director for an NBC affiliate in Columbia, S.C. In a memo to NBC employees Monday, NBCUniversal News Group chairman Cesar Conde praised Jones' knowledge of the network.
"Rashida knows and understands MSNBC, in part because it's where she started when she first joined NBCU seven years ago," Conde said. "She knows that it is the people who work here that make it great, and she understands its culture. She also appreciates the impact and potential of the brand."