MSNBC to 30 Rock: Inside the NBCU Town Hall Meeting…
During today’s Town Hall meeting featuring Jeff Zucker, Randy Falco, Jay Ireland, and Steve Capus there was a question and answer period and one of the questions asked was about what was going to happen with MSNBC and which parts were moving where. Steve Capus answered the question…
This presents a great opportunity. You know there’s been a lot of - a lot of talk about MSNBC - some of it good - some of it completely baseless. And let me be perfectly clear about it. This is going to ensure the future of MSNBC. And it is a news channel that has done great things for the last 10 years. I spent a long time there in Secaucus working with a fantastically talented group of people. There is a spirit and an energy that is palpable when you walk through the doors over there. We want to have that here at 30 Rock. They get on the air quicker than anybody else. They’re aggressive, they’re smart, it looks great. There’s some really fantastic momentum and some great stories there right now with Hardball, Keith Olbermann, and our daytime programming. There’s a lot of things that are going very well at MSNBC these days. This move will make it stronger.
We need to work more closely together between NBC News and MSNBC and having MSNBC in the heart of the news organization here at 30 Rock will do just that. And it will give the opportunity for The Today Show to have more daily interaction with the people from MSNBC. Nightly News to have more interaction on a daily basis - hourly basis - story by story - with MSNBC.
So that’s why we wanted to make this move. When you ask about specifics about who is going to be where - you know - 30 Rock affords a lot of opportunities for us to try some different things. But you know what? We also have a world class facility in Englewood Cliffs with our friends at CNBC. And some of our operations will move there. It only makes sense. We have a lot of opportunity to try some different things using that facility there. And so in the next weeks you’ll hear some specific things about people that will be moving. We’re going to move the Net Desk to 30 Rock. We will move the daytime programming to 30 Rock. We’re working on a primetime plan. We’re working on long form tape which has become a big part of what we’re doing. And I should also knock down the bad story that’s out there that we’re turning the channel into “the tape channel” all day long. That’s not our intention here. This is a news channel that we’re proud of and we’re investing in for the future.
I wonder what on-air talent will be sacrificed then? I’m sure the management wouldn’t be too sad to see the back of Rita Cosby, who must be earning more than all the other daytime anchors combined
Comment by Mr A — October 19, 2006 @ 3:49 pm
If Rita is indeed sacrificed, any bets on her returning to Fox News? She would actually be an improvement over Julie Banderas and Kimberly what’s-her-name.
Comment by Bob — October 19, 2006 @ 4:04 pm
LOL Rita back to FNC?!?! I don’t think so!
Frankly, I don’t think ANYONE wants her…even local stations will shread her resume…
Comment by Anonymous — October 19, 2006 @ 4:36 pm
I wonder what on-air talent will be sacrificed then?
The two that are safe are the same two as when Abrams took over. Capus says it in the first paragraph above.
Comment by erljr — October 19, 2006 @ 5:19 pm
I don’t think anyone on primetime is safe given that NBCU won’t announce what the new MS-CNBC-whatever primetime lineup is yet.
Comment by Goldfish — October 19, 2006 @ 6:46 pm
Since you don’t want to read the post Goldfish:
“There is a spirit and an energy that is palpable when you walk through the doors over there. We want to have that here at 30 Rock. They get on the air quicker than anybody else. They’re aggressive, they’re smart, it looks great. There’s some really fantastic momentum and some great stories there right now with Hardball, Keith Olbermann, and our daytime programming. There’s a lot of things that are going very well at MSNBC these days. This move will make it stronger.”
Comment by erljr — October 19, 2006 @ 8:41 pm
I read the comment in several publications. I’ve lived through a lot of company layoffs. What management says and what they do often do not jibe. I’ll believe it when I see it myself.
Comment by Goldfish — October 19, 2006 @ 8:47 pm
I can assure you that at least one of the things mentioned in the blog transcript will be a lie. When Abrams became GM, he told everyone that MSNBC would not become a Crime Network. It took 2 weeks for the Doc Block to come to be, and the Doc Block is nothing but crime. You have crime marathons on major holidays. You have the appointment of a Legal analyst at MSNBC… you have MSNBC Daytime news covering crime all the time.
So this is just a smoke screen. We will find out in a couple weeks what is REALLY going to happen.
Comment by Nobody — October 19, 2006 @ 9:03 pm
Whatever spirit and energy that existed probably has evaporated a bit since the announcement.
Comment by Goldfish — October 19, 2006 @ 9:40 pm