By Joe Flint
NBC News is bringing in new leadership after several
high-profile stumbles, according to a senior executive familiar
with the situation.
Andrew Lack, a former president of NBC News, is in advanced
talks to take a senior role in the division, the person said, and
Patricia Fili-Krushel, chairman of NBCUniversal News Group, is
expected to step down and take a different position at
NBCUniversal, a unit of Comcast Corp.
Meanwhile, Deborah Turness, the president of NBC News, is
expected to remain in the division, although her role could change
as well.
An NBC News spokesperson declined to comment
The impending shakeup comes just weeks after the six-month
suspension of "NBC Nightly News" anchor Brian Williams for false
statements he has made on and off the air regarding a 2003
reporting trip he took to Iraq at the start of the then war.
The Williams situation and the threat it poses to the "Nightly
News" show, which is the No. 1.-rated newscast on U.S. Television,
is just one of the challenges the network's news division
faces.
Its once high-flying morning show "Today" now trails ABC's "Good
Morning America." Last year, NBC News hired Jamie Horowitz, a top
ESPN executive, to give a makeover to "Today." However, Mr.
Horowitz was removed from his job soon after he started, after
clashes with the talent on the show.
MSNBC, the cable platform for NBC News, has also been struggling
in the ratings and is overhauling much of its daytime lineup.
A former producer for CBS's "60 Minutes," Mr. Lack ran NBC news
from 1993 to 2001, which was considered something of a glory period
for the unit. He also has held senior posts at Sony Corp. and
Bloomberg Media.
He is currently chief executive of the Broadcasting Board of
Governors, the federal agency that oversees Radio Free Europe and
Voice of America. Jeff Shell, the executive who oversees Comcast's
movie unit Universal Filmed Entertainment, is chairman of the
BBG.
Mr. Lack couldn't be reached for comment.
The Hollywood entertainment outlet Variety earlier reported on
the talks with Mr. Lack.
Access Investor Kit for Comcast Corp.
Visit
http://www.companyspotlight.com/partner?cp_code=P479&isin=US20030N1019
Access Investor Kit for Comcast Corp.
Visit
http://www.companyspotlight.com/partner?cp_code=P479&isin=US20030N2009
Subscribe to WSJ: http://online.wsj.com?mod=djnwires