The commentator’s splitting from MSNBC on June 25 and says on his website that he has “been inspired by meeting countless ‘doers’ ” and decided “to collaborate and join with some of these leaders to experiment and explore new ways to tell their stories.” Is that really a smart move on the eve of a presidential election, Ratigan muses. In fact, he says, “the timing couldn’t be better.” He says that “the thrill of an opportunity to expand new systems that cost less and give us more in every part of life is impossible to pass up…. While I don’t know exactly how my own story will develop, I hope to share some initial details with you soon.” He added that he looks forward “to collaborating with all of you in learning, sharing, and building new ways to solve old problems in this expanding mission.” For now, MSNBC plans to move Martin Bashir’s show into Ratigan’s 4 PM ET time slot. The New York Times lauded Ratigan for being “a crusader of sorts, challenging cable news norms — and sometimes sticking out from the rest of MSNBC’s daily schedule.” The paper was told that he made an unusually high $1M a year.