A look at the person in charge of MSNBC Primetime…
We don’t usually get these types of profiles of behind the scenes people. The St. Louis Post Dispatch’s Gail Pennington has a profile of MSNBC’s Vice President of Primetime Programming; Bill Wolff…
Dismissing any “lucky break” talk, Kaplan says Wolff “is an extraordinary talent and has been a terrific addition to our team. He’s a perfect blend of smarts and wit, and I knew when I first met him that he would be exactly the right person to lead our prime time - someone who could be both respected and appreciated.”
Wolff’s watch includes overseeing shows by MSNBC hosts Carlson, Chris Matthews, Keith Olbermann, Rita Cosby, Joe Scarborough and Dan Abrams.
“Every morning I meet with the executive producers of each show to discuss as a group the stuff we might talk about that night,” Wolff says of a typical day at MSNBC’s headquarters in Secaucus, N.J. “Of course, we’re not sure at 9 a.m. what the day will hold, but this gives us a head start on possible themes.
“All day long, problems crop up, and I never know what the new problem will be. It’s a thousand little things. I put out a lot of little fires.”
Managing such colorful hosts could also be volatile, but Wolff, using an analogy to his favorite baseball team, says that’s rarely the case.“All the personalities are different, but I look at what I do not as managing them so much as helping them. What does Tony (La Russa) tell Albert (Pujols)? Albert knows what to do.”
One early test for Wolff and his team was the Jet Blue crisis, in which a crippled jet circled for hours, burning off fuel before making a safe emergency landing.
“Passengers on that plane were watching it happen on TV, and we knew MSNBC (along with Fox News Channel) was one of their choices,” Wolff notes. “From what we heard later, a lot did choose us.”
If this guy is so brilliant, how does Kaplan explain the hiring of Rita?
I honestly tried to watch her last night. But it’s her voice! I quickly fled.
How can anyone with a voice like that have a talk show!!!
Comment by Cara — November 2, 2005 @ 12:00 pm
Uh…Rita was hired before Wolff took over…
Comment by Spud — November 2, 2005 @ 12:14 pm
Why am I reminded of the old fairy tale “Three Billy Goats Gruff” every time Rita speaks? She entertains and informs but she also irritates.
Comment by Roger C. — November 2, 2005 @ 12:17 pm
Spud,
Yes, it is my understanding that Kaplan was responsible for Rita’s being hired.
I didn’t make my comment clear. I meant, how did Kaplan explain to Wolff that he (Kaplan) had hired Rita. Perhaps I have my facts wrong, and that Kaplan is not the guilty one.
Comment by Cara — November 2, 2005 @ 2:06 pm
According to the program ranker, Rita Cosby is MSNBC’s highest rated show with 400K. Last time it came out I think she had 700K. So, it wasn’t a totally bad move. I haven’t seen the “Cosby gets it” in the lower thirds lately. When at FNC she had a hungry news organization behind her. At MSNBC, I feel they are in so much turmoil, it really doesn’t matter. Do people want to go on Cosby’s show with little exposure?
Comment by Terance — November 2, 2005 @ 2:32 pm