NBC Brass Forced to Take Sides Over Lindsay Lohan 36776

As you’ll know from reading the Post with any frequency, they’ve pretty much got it out for NBC. Sure, when biz reporter Peter Lauria delivers a Peacock item in harsh light, sometimes (most of the time?) it’s the network’s own fault. Other times, he just likes to rub it in. So where does today’s item about new-ish Jeff Zucker deputy Mark Whitaker fall?

Reports Lauria, in a decently fair assessment:

Known in the print world for his impeccable journalistic credentials and deep Rolodex, the former Newsweek editor has sparked tension almost from the beginning for both his editorial calls and resistance to getting involved in recruitment efforts, according to a half-dozen sources inside the news division or close to it.

One of these sources pointed to a division-wide contribution call between NBC’s various news operations that took place on May 30 – just nine days after his arrival – in which Whitaker pushed hard for coverage of Lindsay Lohan’s alcohol issues.

That position has created friction between Whitaker and “Nightly News” anchor Brian Williams, who is not only frustrated at being usurped by ABC’s Charlie Gibson in the ratings but also was quoted that same day in the Boston Herald saying that he wouldn’t cover Lohan on his newscast.

For the record, Whitaker says he never wanted Nightly News to cover the story. Just Dateline, the Today show, in between calls from The Banker on Deal or No Deal, and in the middle of Pam and Jim’s love affair on The Office.