Former MSNBC personality Ed Schultz is joining the Kremlin-backed television organization RT America to host a prime-time news program, the channel announced Thursday.
Schultz, a liberal commentator known for discussing middle-class issues on his MSNBC show that was canceled last summer, will host a weeknight prime-time show.
{mosads}He will work from the RT America studios in Washington, D.C., starting Jan. 25, and will preside over the anchor desk, focusing on presidential-year news, according to the channel.
Schultz was spotted in the media spin room at a debate in October speaking on behalf of Democratic presidential candidate Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), whom he often interviewed on his MSNBC show.
He also defended RT on Thursday from those who accuse it of airing pro-Russian propaganda. Schultz blasted traditional cable media in a statement saying, “big money and corporate interest drown out a lot of voices.”
“RT completes the picture of the events in the US and around the globe, giving viewers access to a range of stories, voices and opinions, and a real opportunity to speak their minds,” he added.
Last month, RT aired a bizarre ad celebrating its 10th anniversary that featured actors portraying an elderly President Obama and Secretary of State John Kerry.