As The Dust Settles..What's Going On At NBC News?

Noah Oppenheim, president of NBC News since early 2017, will leave the organization in an unorthodox shake-up that will elevate three different executives, effectively separating the massive news outlet into different pieces, all of which will report to Cesar Conde, chairman of NBCUniversal’s portfolio of news assets, reports Variety.

Under a new structure, Libby Leist, the NBC News executive who oversees “Today,” and Janelle Rodriguez, the NBC News executive who supervises the streaming outlet NBC News Now, will both report to Conde. They will be joined by Rebecca Blumenstein, a senior editor at The New York Times who will take up the role of president of editorial for NBC News and who will also report to Conde. Blumenstein is charged with oversight of editorial, news gathering, bureaus, field operations, booking, “Meet the Press,” “Dateline,” and NBC News Studios. 

The reorganization means that NBC News’ most popular programs will no longer be under the oversight of a single editorial executive. “Today” will continue to be led by Leist, while Rodriguez will oversee “NBC Nightly News.” The New York Times previously reported Blumenstein’s move to NBC and Oppenheim’s decision to step down.

News organizations face a different set of challenges than they have in the past, given the disruption forced upon them by streaming video and social media. Since taking the reins of NBCUniversal’s news operations in May of 2020, Conde has spurred the development of a portfolio of different products, some ad-supported, some subscription-based. The separation of different assets under specific executives might allow each to guide them on their own bespoke strategy.

Speculation about Oppenheim’s departure has swirled among agents and NBC News personnel for weeks, though NBC News spokespeople have professed to have no knowledge of the matter. But the executive, who had carved out a career as a screenwriter before rejoining NBC News to take the helm of “Today” in 2015, has been in talks with NBCUniversal on a departure plan since the fall, according to a person familiar with the situation. He is known to have several projects in the works with other parts of NBCUniversal, including a potential series based on the news business.

The NYTimes reports Oppenheim leaves his role after a six-year tenure that coincided with huge changes in the business model of TV news and the frenetic pace of the Trump presidency and a worldwide pandemic.

An NBC veteran who began as a producer for the Chris Matthews show “Hardball,” Oppenheim took on major roles at CNBC and “Today” before ascending to lead NBC News. He led an expansion of the network’s digital operations, including the debut of a fast-growing ad-supported streaming service, NBC News Now. NBC News Now generates more than 30 million hours of viewership monthly, the network said.

His tenure was also marked by controversy. Ronan Farrow, a former journalist and anchor at MSNBC, accused leadership at NBCUniversal, including Mr. Oppenheim, of trying to conceal a blockbuster investigation into allegations of sexual assault against the film producer Harvey Weinstein. Oppenheim said that Farrow’s story, as reported for the network, did not meet its standards for publication.