David Shuster told his Twitter followers Monday night that he's "returning to the airwaves" as a substitute radio host this week.
The brief message was notable because it had been more than five months since Shuster last tweeted and even longer since he'd been on the air. The MSNBC host has kept a low profile since April, when the network suspended him indefinitely for exploring job opportunities with rival CNN. But Shuster's MSNBC contract just ended this month, allowing him to now speak publicly about breaking with the network.
"I had no intention of blindsiding or humiliating or embarrassing anybody at MSNBC," Shuster said of the CNN news last April. "I regret that it got out the way it did."
Shuster, in his first interview since the contract expired, told The Cutline that he enjoyed a "great eight-and-a-half years" at MSNBC. During that time, Shuster served various roles, including dayside anchor, host of a 6 p.m. show, and guest host for Keith Olbermann on "Countdown." But there were some rocky moments, too, such as the two-week suspension in 2008 for remarks made about Hillary Clinton and daughter Chelsea.
Still, Shuster didn't speak of any management gripes on Tuesday. "I harbor no ill will," he said.
Shuster said that the time away from MSNBC has been something of a blessing.
Since April, he finished a master's degree in public policy at Georgetown, has been doing volunteer work at a Washington D.C. charter school, and had more opportunities to see friends and family. And now that the MSNBC contract's done, he plans to get back to work.
"I accepted full-time job in journalism starting after the first of the year," Shuster said, while adding that he can't get into "the details until the thing is ready to go."
But he's not headed to CNN or a rival news network. Shuster said he's working on a new venture that he believes "will have a huge impact on political journalism."
An MSNBC spokesman confirmed that Shuster was no longer with the network.
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