Ronan Farrow premiered his new MSNBC show, "Ronan Farrow Daily," on Monday, in perhaps the most prominent change to the network's heavily overhauled daytime lineup.
Though the network debuted other new shows, such as Joy Reid's "The Reid Report," and moved longstanding hosts like Andrea Mitchell and Tamron Hall to new timeslots, Farrow's program has been the most closely scrutinized, thanks to his youth and, above all, his celebrity.
The 26-year-old host has promised "a new generation of news show for a new, more engaged generation of viewers," while network president Phil Griffin called the show a "game changer for MSNBC."
The emphasis on younger viewers was apparent on Monday. There was a graphic behind Farrow that read, in part, "SPOKESPERSON FOR YOUTH." It also tried to incorporate social media through the "Battle of the Day" feature, which poses a question to viewers on Twitter (Monday's was who's been stronger on Ukraine — President Obama or Russia's Vladimir Putin?). The debut episode aired reports on student loan debt, people who dumpster dive for pot in Colorado and the negative effects of food aid in Kenya.
Farrow also attempted to set a casual, jokey air at the top of the hour, dropping wisecracks about how he watched great newsmen like Stephen Colbert, and making reference to his inexperience in front of the camera. But the show that followed mostly proceeded on relatively typical MSNBC grounds. His guests included NBC News chief foreign correspondent Richard Engel, David Axelrod, former Secretary of Defense William Cohen, Delaware governor Jack Markell and fellow MSNBC personalities Alex Wagner and Michael Steele.