MSNBC has hired Scott Matthews, who has most recently been vice president and news director at WABC-TV, as its senior vice president of newsgathering. Matthews is a key component of MSNBC President Rebecca Kutler’s plans to build up a news operation as the network prepares to separate from Comcast and will no longer have the resources of NBC News.

Scott Matthews, a veteran of CNBC and WABC's local-news operations, among other venues, has been named senior vice president of newsgathering for MSNBC, spotlighting the progressive-news outlet's plans as it faces a separation from NBC News in a looming spin-off of the company's cable assets into a new company.

MSNBC has hired veteran news producer and executive Scott Matthews to be its new Senior Vice President of Newsgathering on Thursday, as new President Rebecca Kutler continues to revamp the cable channel since taking the top job earlier this year.