As MSNBC staffers have their walking papers prepared, the hunt is on for who’s leaking info from the inside about all those job cuts coming. Peter Lauria’s item in today’s Post inadvertently points the finger at now-former Washington D.C. chief and Hardball EP Tammy Haddad, since Lauria wrote that she “left MSNBC of their own volition” when, as even mid-level staffers know, is a complete farce. (She left after a spat with Chris Matthews, where he blamed her for his low ratings.) Lauria also describes axed daytime programming VP Susan Sullivan in the same light, but Sullivan was forcibly removed and relocated to to NBC’s San Francisco affiliate, where she is news director. If either were providing info, of course, they get to write her own happy ending.
MSNBC chief Phil Griffin and NBC News SVP Mark Whitaker (the former Newsweek who came aboard in the spring) are trying to keep tempers cool as the message travels up the ladder to NBC News chief Steve Capus. So it’s Griffin’s new hire – Shannon High-Bassalik, the Miami news director he plucked from the outside, and who took over Dan Abrams’ job as general manager in October when MSNBC moved to 30 Rock – who’s responsible for mediating. She’ll also be your point person for addressing those building rumors that everyone from operations to the news desk is at risk.
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“There are going to be firings very soon — everybody is terrified.”
That’s the promise being made to us by a former NBC News network insider who maintains close ties with Mama Peacock’s news division. The axings, to be sure, will be part of a larger cost cutting move; “tens of millions is the figure being thrown around.”
“There’s even one rumor that the Nightly News could be shot on one ‘flash cam’. Which i can’t imagine.” Heh. Us either.
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• Could NBC’s properties be scoring all those Larry Birkhead exclusives because they have some sort of business relationship? Take that, The Insider.
• Nothing is more exhausting than being news executive everybody hates — except coming up with a catchy term like “media manifesto” that you hope everyone else will start using.
• Jon Friedman holds out his wang for Dave Zinczenko to touch it, fingers crossed that he will.
• So, like, Rosie O’Donnell is a big deal and stuff?
• Like most average working people, Matt Lauer had a bad day once.
• New Garden & Gun magazine takes one part Guns & Ammo, one part Home & Garden, and one part “out on a limb.”
NBC News president Steve Capus only needed until yesterday evening – only five days since the incident – to fire off a missive to all staffers about Don Imus’ recent transgressions. Banned from the airwaves for two weeks (but not until Monday), Imus gets a few more days of broadcasting not to reap the ratings windfall the controversy has caused, mind you, but “because we did not want to do anything to hurt the previously scheduled radiothon which raises money for some truly worthwhile organizations.”
The rest of Steve’s “internal dialogue is healthy of our organization” shtick after the jump.
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NBC’s $750 million budget cut will hit more than the production assistants running scripts around MSNBC’s Secaucus studio. Reports the Philadelphia Inquirer’s Gail Shister, the top-paid talent across NBC’s programming may be asked to take a reduced fee in order to meet GE chief Bob Wright’s bottom line requirements — otherwise, they’ll be directed toward the exit sign.
Individuals with rational thought processes might assume NBC’s brass would curry savings at the top, where salaries are most exhorbitant. So will NBC News chief Steve Capus be going after NBC Nightly News anchor Brian Williams’ $10 million annual cheque? Nah. How about Today newcomer Meredith Vieira same $10 million pay? Hells no. So, if not those outrageous expenses, then who?
“When somebody puts themselves into the talent ranks, they get judged differently,” Capus says. “They may be a hard worker, but there are other factors that come into play.
Such as: “On-air performance, or ratings, or how they carry themselves in the field, or what we think is their potential for growth.”
If that sounds as if it includes just about everybody in the news division, Capus insists that’s not the case. He says it’s not going to be a bloodletting, and that it won’t compromise the quality of NBC News programs.
So, to sum up: Capus wants cuts based on: 1) Talent not bringing in ratings; 2) Talent not adding much to “the quality” of NBC’s programming. It’s a pity we need to be the first to point to our item from last week, where MSNBC’s Tucker Carlson and Rita Cosby got name checked. Not surprisingly, they both fall into Capus’ categories.
NBC’s on-air talent is not immune from salary cuts [Gail Shister, Philadelphia Inquirer]
The details remain murky over Rick Kaplan’s resignation from the top spot at MSNBC. The public agitprop: that Kaplan willingly resigned after his two and a half years on the job. But buried inside a Philadelphia Inquirer story, as Inside Cable points out, is the insider quibbling.
Meanwhile, back at MSNBC ??????? NBC News president Steve Capus delivered the verdict to Kaplan, but industry insiders say Capus???????? boss, NBC Universal TV honcho Jeff Zucker, made the call.
Sources say the two Alpha males clashed on their visions for the network _ Zucker wanted more emphasis on crime and lots of repeats; Kaplan wanted more fresh news. Big Rick is about a foot taller than Zucker, but Zucker outranks him.
???????I fully didn????????t expect Rick to go as quickly as he did,??????? says Capus. Still, ???????I thought it was inevitable, at some point.???????
Meanwhile, TVNewser reports Kaplan yesterday met with Good Morning America brass about that open executive producer slot — which is good news for us. We’re just dying to hear about Kaplan and Diane Sawyer coming to blows about childhood obesity.
Kaplan Talks To ABC About GMA Job [TVN]
Related: Breaking: Rick Kaplan Splits MSNBC
• As the bidding begins for Knight-Ridder’s quite profitable newspaper assets, the question begs: Which newspapers, exactly, does Knight-Ridder publish? [NYT]
• NBC News prez Steve Capus thought ABC would surely go with Charlie Gibson. Everyone else thought Steve Capus would surely not then go on to take a pot shot at ABC. [TVNewser]
• We don’t even know what the magazine is about, but a free vibrator with purchase? You bet we’re buying. [WWD]
• Jack Shafer rubs his crystal ball to find out why more journos aren’t in jail. [Slate]
• A magazine aimed at pregnant women over 35? Lucky, Vogue, Glamour, Cosmopolitan and the rest finally have some competition. [WWD]
• Without Ted Koppel, the new Nightline looks more like 20/20. And without Barbara Walters, the new 20/20-esque Nightline looks like decoupage. [USA Today]
• Get Eliot Spitzer’s heart medication. Not only is the radio industry engaging in payola tactics, but now the U.S. military is buying off Iraqi newspapers to publish favorable stories penned by American soldiers. [LAT]
• Brian William’s nightly news lead continues to grow, thanks to all that viewer email he’s responding to. [AP]
• At John Huey’s super secret succession initiation at Time Inc., where Norm Pearlstine finally moves on out, guests were treated to hot water-revealing mugs of Huey’s, ahem, mug. [Gawker]
• Since the U.S. is far too flooded with celebrity weeklies, they’re now invading Canada. British tabloid Hello will set down across the northern border next August, where it’ll hope to beat native Bonnie Fuller at her own game. [Toronto Star]
• Blogger Panopticist goes way too far with the half-assed satirical rumor of the New York Times buying Gawker. Way. Too. Far. [Panopticist]
• Obligatory note: NBC makes official Steve Capus‘ position as NBC News president, a role he’s filled since September anyhow. [NYT]
Sweet Karl Rove, is Rick Kaplan actually on the way out? As soon as today?
Sounds like it could be, according to this ominous email circulating MSNBC’s in-house network. Not only are Jeff Zucker and Steve Capus about to make an announcement — they’re traveling all the way to New Jersey (Secaucus, no less) to make it.
From: Announcements @ MSNBC
To: @MSNBC Secaucus ALL
Sent: 10/6/2005 12:55 PM
Subject: Town Hall Meeting TomorrowJeff Zucker, President, NBC Universal TV Group, and Steve Capus, Acting President of NBC News will visit MSNBC for a town hall meeting this Friday at 1:00 pm. Together with Rick, they will answer your questions, as well as give you an update on what’s happening throughout the news division and network-wide. This is a great opportunity to hear from Jeff, Steve, and Rick. Please gather in the Production Studio at 12:45 pm on Friday. See you there!
12:45pm? Looks like Monica Crowley and Ron Reagan are going to have to hear it through the grapevine. (Or will they?) Even more ironic, Connected Coast to Coast was Kaplan’s idea.
• Martha! Howard! Cosmo? Kate White is teaming with Sirius for a 24-hour channel to launch in 2006. But at this point, we’re about the only ones without our own Sirius show. (Especially now that Oprah is signing on too. Jeez.)
• NBC News president Neal Shapiro is stepping down to pursue “the kind of creativity I’ve had in previous jobs.” Namely, mastering the elongated chevron knitting stitch. Jeff Zucker named his replacement: Steve Capus, who’s a bigger fan of the mistake rib.
• Meanwhile, Shaprio’s stepping down is just the latest blow that’s put network news on the brink of disaster that also includes ABC and CBS. Seating is first come, first served.
• Razor publisher (and Internet porn peddler) Richard Botto cut his staff loose on Thursday, notifying all that the struggling magazine would cease printing.
• Oh where, oh where, has MSNBC’s weekend staff gone? With Hurricane Katrina taking up all available resources, they’re operating on a skeleton crew — with honcho Rick Kaplan even exec producing their telethon. “there is NOBODY in charge … NOBODY!!!”
• Former ESPN reporter Adrian Karsten was found dead from apparent suicide after facing a prison sentence for failing to report more than $600,000 in income.