Former MSNBC host Mehdi Hasan launching his own media company

Former MSNBC pundit Mehdi Hasan is launching a new media company catering to the progressive left.

Hasan’s new media outlet, named “Zeteo,” which comes from the ancient Greek word for seeking out and striving, will be a new media organization “that seeks answers for the questions that really matter, while always striving for the truth,” according to a Substack website for the company.

Hasan told The Washington Post this week he has raised $4 million for the venture and said he plans to host a streaming show, publish podcasts and written pieces eventually charge $6 per month via yearly subscriptions.

“This is one of the biggest news years of our lives, and that’s why I wanted to do something like this,” he told the Post. “I’m not a businessman. I’m not an entrepreneur. I’ve never done anything like this before. It’s a huge gamble. But if I wasn’t confident, I wouldn’t be doing this.”

Hasan’s weekend prime-time show was canceled last year by MSNBC, which offered for him to stay on as a paid contributor, an olive branch he ultimately declined.

The progressive commentator also this week joined The Guardian as a regular columnist.

Hasan is the latest in a slew of former cable news pundits to launch media companies and brands of their own.

The ousted Fox News pundit Tucker Carlson started the Tucker Carlson Network last year, and former CNN anchor Don Lemon plans to launch a show on X, formerly known as Twitter, later this month.