NBC News loses its leader in shake-up
The chairman of NBC News, Andrew Lack, will depart his role at the end of May, NBC Universal said on Monday, an abrupt end to the tenure of an executive whose tenacity and ability to withstand turmoil made for a long career in the fickle television news business.
The announcement brings to a close Lack’s tumultuous time at the helm of NBC News, during which he oversaw a turnaround in marquee properties such as the “Today” show and the cable channel MSNBC while grappling with a cascading series of controversies, including the toppling of star anchor Matt Lauer in a sexual harassment scandal and questions over the network’s coverage of Harvey Weinstein. Cesar Conde, the chairman of Telemundo, will effectively replace Lack. As the chairman of the NBC Universal News Group, a newly created position, Conde will have oversight of NBC News, MSNBC and CNBC.
Conde, 46, has impressed NBC Universal’s chief executive, Jeff Shell, with his stewardship of Telemundo, the Spanish-language network that has made strides under his leadership in catching up with its chief rival, Univision.
The president of NBC News, Noah Oppenheim, and the MSNBC president, Phil Griffin, will report to Conde, who will relocate to New York from the Telemundo office in Miami.
Lack was brought back to NBC News in 2015 — he ran its news division in the 1990s before decamping to a job in the music industry and at Bloomberg News. Lack had been widely expected to leave NBC News by the end of the year, though rumors of his imminent exit have swirled for years. Change at the top of NBC Universal’s corporate hierarchy may have prompted his exit.
In many ways, Lack succeeded. MSNBC had the highest ratings in its history, benefiting from a surge of interest in cable news during the Trump administration. “Today” and “Meet the Press” have stabilized.
But Lack has had to confront questions over what he and other NBC News bosses knew about Lauer’s alleged history of sexual misconduct. (Lauer has denied the allegations against him.) Lack has repeatedly said that he knew nothing of Lauer’s allegedly inappropriate workplace behavior, and said that he fired Lauer immediately upon first learning of an assault allegation against him in November 2017, just as the #Metoo movement was gaining steam.