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PreviewAdvancedSpecial charactersHelpHeadingLevel 2Level 3Level 4Level 5FormatInsertLatinLatin extendedIPASymbolsGreekGreek extendedCyrillicArabicArabic extendedHebrewBanglaTamilTeluguSinhalaDevanagariGujaratiThaiLaoKhmerCanadian AboriginalRunesÁáÀàÂâÄäÃãǍǎĀāĂ㥹ÅåĆćĈĉÇçČčĊċĐđĎďÉéÈèÊêËëĚěĒēĔĕĖėĘęĜĝĢģĞğĠġĤĥĦħÍíÌìÎîÏïĨĩǏǐĪīĬĭİıĮįĴĵĶķĹĺĻļĽľŁłŃńÑñŅņŇňÓóÒòÔôÖöÕõǑǒŌōŎŏǪǫŐőŔŕŖŗŘřŚśŜŝŞşŠšȘșȚțŤťÚúÙùÛûÜüŨũŮůǓǔŪūǖǘǚǜŬŭŲųŰűŴŵÝýŶŷŸÿȲȳŹźŽžŻżÆæǢǣØøŒœßÐðÞþƏəFormattingLinksHeadingsListsFilesDiscussionReferencesDescriptionWhat you typeWhat you getItalic''Italic text''Italic textBold'''Bold text'''Bold textBold & italic'''''Bold & italic text'''''Bold & italic textDescriptionWhat you typeWhat you getReferencePage text.<ref>[https://www.example.org/ Link text], additional text.</ref>Page text.[1]Named referencePage text.<ref name="test">[https://www.example.org/ Link text]</ref>Page text.[2]Additional use of the same referencePage text.<ref name="test" />Page text.[2]Display references<references />↑ Link text, additional text.↑ Link text==History== ===Caravan era=== The first regularly scheduled American television newscast in history was made by NBC News on February 21, 1940, anchored by [[Lowell Thomas]] (1892–1981), and airing weeknights at 6:45 p.m. It was simply Lowell Thomas in front of a television camera while doing his NBC network radio broadcast, the television simulcast seen only in New York.<ref>{{Cite book|first=Lowell|last=Thomas|title=So Long Until Tomorrow|location=New York|publisher=Wm. Morrow and Co|year=1977|isbn=0-688-03236-2|pages=[https://archive.org/details/solonguntiltomor00thom/page/17 17]–19|author-link=Lowell Thomas|url-access=registration|url=https://archive.org/details/solonguntiltomor00thom}}</ref> In June 1940, NBC, through its flagship station in [[New York City]], W2XBS (renamed commercial WNBT in 1941, now [[WNBC]]) operating on channel one, televised 30¼ hours of coverage of the [[Republican National Convention]] live and direct from [[Philadelphia]]. The station used a series of relays from Philadelphia to New York and on to upper [[New York State]], for rebroadcast on W2XB in [[Schenectady, New York|Schenectady]] (now [[WRGB]]), making this among the first "network" programs of NBC Television. Due to wartime and technical restrictions, there were no live telecasts of the 1944 conventions, although films of the events were reportedly shown over WNBT the next day. About this time, there were irregularly scheduled, quasi-network newscasts originating from NBC's WNBT in New York City, ([[WNBC]]), and reportedly fed to WPTZ (now [[KYW-TV]]) in Philadelphia and [[WRGB]] in Schenectady, NY. Such as, Esso sponsored news features a well as The War As It Happens in the final days of World War II, another irregularly scheduled NBC television newsreel program which was also seen in New York, Philadelphia and Schenectady on the relatively few (roughly 5000) television sets which existed at the time. After the war, ''NBC Television Newsreel'' aired filmed news highlights with narration. Later in 1948, when sponsored by [[Camel (cigarette)|Camel Cigarettes]], ''NBC Television Newsreel'' was renamed ''[[Camel Newsreel Theatre]]'' and then, when [[John Cameron Swayze]] was added as an on-camera anchor in 1949, the program was renamed ''[[Camel News Caravan]]''. In 1948, NBC teamed up with ''[[Life (magazine)|Life]]'' magazine to provide election night coverage of President [[Harry S. Truman]]'s surprising victory over [[List of governors of New York|New York governor]] [[Thomas E. Dewey]]. The television audience was small, but NBC's share in New York was double that of any other outlet.<ref>[http://www.tvobscurities.com/2009/02/new-york-city-hooper-ratings-for-election-night-1948/ "New York City Hooper Ratings for Election Night 1948"] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090302083754/http://www.tvobscurities.com/2009/02/new-york-city-hooper-ratings-for-election-night-1948/ |date=March 2, 2009 }} TVObscurities.com.</ref> The following year, the ''[[Camel News Caravan]]'', anchored by [[John Cameron Swayze]], debuted on NBC. Lacking the graphics and technology of later years, it nonetheless contained many of the elements of modern newscasts.<ref name="Matusow">{{Cite book|last=Matusow|first=Barbara|title=The Evening Stars: The Making of the Network News Anchor|url=https://archive.org/details/eveningstarsm00matu|url-access=registration|location=Boston|publisher=Houghton Mifflin Company|year=1983|isbn=9780395339688}}</ref> NBC hired its own film crews and in the program's early years, it dominated CBS's competing program, which did not hire its own film crews until 1953.<ref name="Matusow"/> (by contrast, CBS spent lavishly on [[Edward R. Murrow]]'s weekly series, ''[[See It Now]]''<ref name="Matusow"/>). In 1950, [[David Brinkley]] began serving as the program's [[Washington, D.C.|Washington]] correspondent, but attracted little attention outside the network until paired with [[Chet Huntley]] in 1956.<ref name="Whitworth">{{Cite magazine|last=Whitworth|first=William|title=An Accident of Casting|magazine=The New Yorker|date=August 3, 1968}}</ref> In 1955, the ''Camel News Caravan'' fell behind [[CBS]]' ''[[CBS Evening News|Douglas Edwards with the News]]'', and Swayze lost the already tepid support of NBC executives.<ref name="Matusow"/> The following year, NBC replaced the program with the ''[[Huntley-Brinkley Report]]''. Beginning in 1951, NBC News was managed by Director of News [[William R. McAndrew|Bill McAndrew]], who reported to Vice President of News and Public Affairs J. Davidson Taylor.<ref name="Frank">{{Cite book|last=Frank|first=Reuven|title=Out of Thin Air: The Brief Wonderful Life of Network News|url=https://archive.org/details/outofthinairinsi00fran_43|url-access=registration|location=New York|publisher=Simon & Schuster|year=1991|isbn=9780671677589}}</ref> ===Huntley-Brinkley era=== [[File:NBC logo 1954.svg|thumb|The NBC logo in 1954]] [[File:NBC News promotional photo 1961.JPG|thumb|NBC News had close to 700 correspondents and cameramen in 1961 who were stationed throughout the world. Film was received in the United States by plane or by the jointly operated NBC-[[BBC]] transatlantic film cable.]] [[File:David Brinkley 1962.JPG|thumb|[[David Brinkley]], one of the network's first anchors]] Television assumed an increasingly prominent role in American family life in the late 1950s, and NBC News was called television's "champion of news coverage."<ref>{{Cite book|last=Manchester|first=William|title=The Death of a President|url=https://archive.org/details/deathofpresiden00manc|url-access=limited|location=New York|publisher=Harper & Row|year=1967|page=[https://archive.org/details/deathofpresiden00manc/page/190 190]|author-link=William Manchester}}</ref> NBC president [[Robert Kintner]] provided the news division with ample amounts of both financial resources and air time.<ref name="Matusow"/> In 1956, the network paired anchors [[Chet Huntley]] and [[David Brinkley]] and the two became celebrities,<ref name="Whitworth"/> supported by reporters including [[John Chancellor]], [[Frank McGee (journalist)|Frank McGee]], [[Edwin Newman]], [[Sander Vanocur]], [[Nancy Dickerson]], [[Tom Pettit]], and Ray Scherer. Created by Producer [[Reuven Frank]], NBC's ''[[The Huntley–Brinkley Report]]'' had its debut on October 29, 1956.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/politics/2003/06/13/journalist-helped-usher-in-heyday-of-network-news/6960cc59-67b1-4b01-93ff-6fef486c454e/|title=Journalist Helped Usher In Heyday of Network News|last=Barnes|first=Bart|date=June 13, 2003|newspaper=The Washington Post}}</ref> During much of its 14-year run, it exceeded the viewership levels of its CBS News competition, anchored initially by [[Douglas Edwards]] and, beginning in April 1962, by [[Walter Cronkite]]. NBC's Vice President of News and Public Affairs, J. Davidson Taylor, was a Southerner who, with Producer Reuven Frank, was determined that NBC would lead television's coverage of the [[civil rights movement]].<ref name="RobertsAndKlibanoff">{{Cite book|last1=Roberts|first1=Gene|last2=Klibanoff|first2=Hank|title=The Race Beat: The Press, the Civil Rights Struggle, and the Awakening of a Nation|url=https://archive.org/details/racebeatpressciv00gene|url-access=limited|location=New York|publisher=Alfred A. Knopf|year=2006|page=[https://archive.org/details/racebeatpressciv00gene/page/155 155]|isbn=9780679403814|author-link=Gene Roberts (journalist)}}</ref> In 1955, NBC provided national coverage of [[Martin Luther King Jr.]]'s leadership of the [[Montgomery bus boycott]] in [[Montgomery, Alabama]], airing reports from Frank McGee, then News Director of NBC's Montgomery affiliate [[WSFA|WSFA-TV]], who would later join the network.<ref name="Halberstam"/> A year later, John Chancellor's coverage of the [[Little Rock Nine|admission of black students]] to [[Little Rock Central High School|Central High School]] in [[Little Rock, Arkansas]] was the first occasion when the key news story came from television rather than print<ref name="Halberstam">{{Cite book|last=Halberstam|first=David|title=[[The Fifties (book)|The Fifties]]|location=New York|publisher=Villard Books|year=1993|author-link=David Halberstam}}</ref> and prompted a prominent U.S. senator to observe later, "When I think of Little Rock, I think of John Chancellor."<ref name="Frank"/> Other reporters who covered the movement for the network included Sander Vanocur, Herbert Kaplow, Charles Quinn, and Richard Valeriani,<ref name="RobertsAndKlibanoff"/> who was hit with an ax handle at a demonstration in [[Marion, Alabama]] in 1965.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Raines|first=Howell|title=My Soul Is Rested: Movement Days in the Deep South Remembered|location=New York|publisher=G.P. Putnam's Sons|year=1971|pages=371–72}}</ref> While Walter Cronkite's enthusiasm for the space race eventually won the anchorman viewers for CBS and NBC News, with the work of correspondents such as Frank McGee, Roy Neal, [[Jay Barbree]], and [[Peter Hackes]], also provided ample coverage of American crewed space missions in the [[Project Mercury]], [[Project Gemini]], and [[Project Apollo]] programs. In an era when space missions rated continuous coverage, NBC configured its largest studio, [[NBC Studios (New York City)|Studio 8H]], for space coverage. It utilized models and mockups of rockets and spacecraft, maps of the Earth and Moon to show orbital trackage, and stages on which animated figures created by puppeteer [[Bil Baird]] were used to depict movements of astronauts before on-board spacecraft television cameras were feasible. (Studio 8H had been home to the [[NBC Symphony Orchestra]] and is now the home of ''[[Saturday Night Live]].'') NBC's coverage of the [[Apollo 11|first Moon landing]] in 1969 earned the network an [[Emmy Award]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.nbcnews.com/id/5462500|title=The Moments before the Eagle Landed|publisher=NBC News|date=July 20, 2004|first=Jay|last=Barbree}}</ref> In the late 1950s, Kintner reorganized the chain of command at the network, making [[William R. McAndrew|Bill McAndrew]] president of NBC News, reporting directly to Kintner.<ref name="Frank"/> McAndrew served in that position until his death in 1968.<ref name="Frank"/> McAndrew was succeeded by his Executive Vice President, Producer Reuven Frank, who held the position until 1973.<ref name="Frank"/> On November 22, 1963, NBC interrupted various programs on its affiliate stations at 1:45 p.m. to announce that [[Assassination of John F. Kennedy|President John F. Kennedy had been shot]] in [[Dallas]], [[Texas]]. Eight minutes later, at 1:53:12 p.m., NBC broke into programming with a network bumper slide and [[Chet Huntley]], [[Bill Ryan (journalist)|Bill Ryan]] and [[Frank McGee (journalist)|Frank McGee]] informing the viewers what was going on as it happened; but since a camera was not in service, the reports were audio-only. However, NBC did not begin broadcasting over the air until 1:57 p.m. ET. About 40 minutes later, after word came that JFK was pronounced dead, NBC suspended regular programming and carried 71 hours of uninterrupted news coverage of the assassination and the [[State funeral of John F. Kennedy|funeral]] of the president—including the only live broadcast of the fatal shooting of Kennedy's assassin, [[Lee Harvey Oswald]], by [[Jack Ruby]] as Oswald was being led in handcuffs by law-enforcement officials through the basement of Dallas Police Headquarters.<ref>{{cite book|author=NBC News|title=There Was a President|location=New York|publisher=Random House|year=1966}}</ref> ===''NBC Nightly News'' era=== [[File:Nightlynewslogo2019.png|thumb|NBC Nightly News logo in 2019]] NBC's ratings lead began to slip toward the end of the 1960s and fell sharply when Chet Huntley retired in 1970; he died of [[cancer]] four years later, in 1974. The loss of Huntley, along with a reluctance by RCA to fund NBC News at a similar level as CBS was funding its news division, left NBC News in the doldrums. NBC's primary news show gained its present title, ''[[NBC Nightly News]]'', on August 3, 1970. The network tried a platoon of anchors (Brinkley, McGee, and [[John Chancellor]]) during the early months of ''Nightly News''. Despite the efforts of the network's eventual lead anchor, the articulate, even-toned Chancellor, and an occasional first-place finish in the [[Nielsen ratings|Nielsens]], ''Nightly News'' in the 1970s was primarily a strong second.<ref name="Matusow"/> By the end of the decade, NBC had to contend not only with a powerful CBS but also a surging [[American Broadcasting Company|ABC]], led by [[Roone Arledge]]. [[Tom Brokaw]] became sole anchor in 1983, after co-anchoring with [[Roger Mudd]] for a year, and began leading NBC's efforts. In 1986 and 1987, NBC won the top spot in the [[Nielsen ratings|Nielsens]] for the first time in years,<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1989/11/29/arts/abc-surpasses-cbs-in-evening-news-ratings.html?pagewanted=print|title=ABC Surpasses CBS in Evening News Ratings|work=The New York Times|date=November 29, 1989|first=Jeremy|last=Gerard|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170827130510/http://www.nytimes.com/1989/11/29/arts/abc-surpasses-cbs-in-evening-news-ratings.html?pagewanted=print|archive-date=August 27, 2017}}</ref> only to fall back when Nielsen's ratings methodology changed. In late 1996, ''Nightly News'' again moved into first place,<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/e/a/1997/03/12/STYLE6031.dtl&type=printable|title=CBS tops Nielsens 2nd week in row|work=SFGate.com|publisher=San Francisco Examiner|date=March 12, 1997}}</ref> a spot it has held onto in most of the succeeding years. [[Brian Williams]] assumed primary anchor duties when Brokaw retired in December 2004.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.wistv.com/story/2639853/tom-brokaw-retires-makes-way-for-brian-williams-on-nbc-nightly-news |title=Tom Brokaw retires, makes way for Brian Williams on "NBC Nightly News" - wistv.com - Columbia, South Carolina |publisher=wistv.com |date=December 2, 2004 |access-date=August 5, 2015 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150620233407/http://www.wistv.com/story/2639853/tom-brokaw-retires-makes-way-for-brian-williams-on-nbc-nightly-news |archive-date=June 20, 2015 }}</ref> In February 2015, NBC suspended Williams for six months for telling an inaccurate story about his experience in the [[2003 invasion of Iraq]].<ref name="auto">{{Cite news|url = http://press.nbcnews.com/2015/02/10/a-note-from-deborah-turness/|title = A Note from Deborah Turness|date =February 10, 2015 |work = NBC News |access-date =February 11, 2015}}</ref> He was replaced by [[Lester Holt]] on an interim basis. On June 18, 2015, it was announced that Holt would become the permanent anchor and Williams would be moved to MSNBC as an anchor of breaking news and special reports beginning in August.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/lester-holt-named-anchor-nbc-nightly-news-n377831 |title=Lester Holt Named Anchor of 'NBC Nightly News' |date=June 18, 2015 |publisher=NBC News |access-date=August 5, 2015 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150726022602/https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/lester-holt-named-anchor-nbc-nightly-news-n377831 |archive-date=July 26, 2015 }}</ref> [[File:NBC Nightly News Set.jpg|left|thumb|NBC Nightly News Set in 2008]] In 1993, ''[[Dateline NBC]]'' broadcast an investigative report about the safety of [[General Motors]] (GM) trucks. GM discovered the "actual footage" utilized in the broadcast had been rigged by the inclusion of explosive incendiaries attached to the gas tanks and the use of improper sealants for those tanks. GM subsequently filed an anti-defamation lawsuit against NBC, which publicly admitted the results of the tests were rigged and settled the lawsuit with GM on the very same day.<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=kf0zqDyLgBkC&pg=PA191|title=Speaking Respect, Respecting Speech|author=Richard L. Abel|publisher=[[University of Chicago Press]]|date=May 6, 1998|page=191|isbn=9780226000565|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160624065118/https://books.google.com/books?id=kf0zqDyLgBkC&pg=PA191|archive-date=June 24, 2016}}</ref> On October 22, 2007, ''Nightly News'' moved into its new high definition studios, at Studio 3C at [[NBC Studios (New York)|NBC Studios]] in 30 Rockefeller Plaza in New York City. The network's 24-hour cable network, [[MSNBC]], joined the network in New York on that day as well. The new studios/headquarters for NBC News and MSNBC are now located in one area.{{citation needed|date=October 2012}} === 2007–2016 === [[File:NBC News 2013.svg|thumb|Previous 3D version of the 1986 NBC News logo, used from 2013 to 2023. The original 1986 logo remains in use for other NBC News programs and special reports, as well as digital and social media platforms.]] During the [[Financial crisis of 2007–2010|financial crisis of 2007–2008]], NBC News was urged to save $500 million by NBC Universal. On that occasion, NBC News laid off several of its in-house reporters such as [[Kevin Corke]], Jeannie Ohm and Don Teague. This was the largest layoff in NBC News history. After the sudden death of the influential moderator [[Tim Russert]] of ''[[Meet the Press]]'' in June 2008, [[Tom Brokaw]] took over as an interim host; and on December 14, 2008, [[David Gregory (journalist)|David Gregory]] became the new moderator of the show until August 14, 2014, when NBC announced that NBC News Political Director [[Chuck Todd]] would take over as the 12th moderator of [[Meet the Press]] starting September 7, 2014. David Gregory's last broadcast was August 10, 2014.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/chuck-todd-takes-helm-meet-press-n180916 |title=Chuck Todd Takes Helm of 'Meet the Press' |date=August 14, 2014 |publisher=NBC News |access-date=August 5, 2015 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150711112836/https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/chuck-todd-takes-helm-meet-press-n180916 |archive-date=July 11, 2015 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.nbcnews.com/id/25145431/ns/politics/ |title=NBC's Tim Russert dead at 58 - politics |publisher=NBC News |date=June 14, 2008 |access-date=August 5, 2015 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150709014741/http://www.nbcnews.com/id/25145431/ns/politics |archive-date=July 9, 2015 }}</ref> By 2009, NBC had established leadership in network news, airing the highest-rated morning, evening, and Sunday interview news programs.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2009/03/09/business/media/09nbc.html|title=A Matrix of News Winners Buoys NBC|work=The New York Times|date=March 8, 2009|first1=Bill|last1=Carter|first2=Brian|last2=Stelter|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170827132801/http://www.nytimes.com/2009/03/09/business/media/09nbc.html|archive-date=August 27, 2017}}</ref> Its ability to share costs with MSNBC and share in the cable network's advertising and subscriber revenue made it far more profitable than its network rivals.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2010/03/01/business/media/01network.html|title=Network News at a Crossroads|newspaper=The New York Times|date=February 28, 2010|first1=Brian|last1=Stelter|first2=Bill|last2=Carter|page=B1|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170414162150/http://www.nytimes.com/2010/03/01/business/media/01network.html|archive-date=April 14, 2017}}</ref> [[File:NBC Nightly News Broadcast.jpg|thumb|right|200px|NBC Nightly News broadcast, March 2008.]] On March 27, 2012, NBC News broadcast an edited segment from a 911 call placed by [[George Zimmerman]] before he [[Killing of Trayvon Martin|shot Trayvon Martin]]. The editing made it appear that Zimmerman volunteered that Martin was black, rather than merely responding to the dispatcher's inquiry, which would support a view that the shooting was racially motivated. A media watchdog organization accused NBC News of engaging in "an all-out falsehood." While NBC News initially declined to comment,<ref>{{cite web|first=Paul|last=Bond|title=NBC News Accused of Editing 911 Call in Trayvon Martin Controversy (Video)|url=https://hollywoodreporter.com/news/trayvon-martin-nbc-news-editing-911-call-306359|work=[[The Hollywood Reporter]]|date=March 30, 2012|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120331180746/http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/trayvon-martin-nbc-news-editing-911-call-306359|archive-date=March 31, 2012}}</ref> the news agency did issue an apology to viewers.<ref name=Zimmerman>{{Cite news|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/erik-wemple/post/nbc-issues-apology-on-zimmerman-tape-screw-up/2012/04/03/gIQA8m5jtS_blog.html|newspaper=The Washington Post|first=Erik|last=Wemple|title=NBC issues apology on Zimmerman tape screw-up|date=April 4, 2012|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171118072141/https://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/erik-wemple/post/nbc-issues-apology-on-zimmerman-tape-screw-up/2012/04/03/gIQA8m5jtS_blog.html|archive-date=November 18, 2017}}</ref> ''[[The Washington Post]]'' called the statement "skimpy on the details on just how the mistake unfolded."<ref name=Zimmerman /> On December 13, 2012, NBC News reporter [[Richard Engel]] and his five crew members, Aziz Akyavaş, Ghazi Balkiz, John Kooistra, Ian Rivers and Ammar Cheikh Omar, were [[NBC News team kidnapping in Syria|kidnapped in Syria]]. Having escaped after five days in captivity, Engel said he believed that a [[Shabiha]] group loyal to [[Bashar al-Assad|al-Assad]] was behind the abduction, and that the crew was freed by the [[Ahrar al-Sham]] group five days later.<ref>{{citation |author1=[[Brian Stelter]] |author2=Sebnem Arsu |title=Richard Engel of NBC Is Freed in Syria |work=[[The New York Times]] |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2012/12/19/business/media/richard-engel-of-nbc-is-released-in-syria.html |date=December 18, 2012 |access-date=December 8, 2015 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151106002812/http://www.nytimes.com/2012/12/19/business/media/richard-engel-of-nbc-is-released-in-syria.html |archive-date=November 6, 2015 }}</ref> Engel's account was however challenged from early on.<ref>{{cite web |author=Jamie Dettmer |title=Richard Engel's Kidnapping: A Behind the Scenes Look |work=[[The Daily Beast]] |url=http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2012/12/22/richard-engel-s-kidnapping-a-behind-the-scenes-look.html |date=December 22, 2012 |access-date=December 8, 2015 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151210203034/http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2012/12/22/richard-engel-s-kidnapping-a-behind-the-scenes-look.html |archive-date=December 10, 2015 }}</ref> In April 2015, NBC had to revise the kidnapping account, following further investigations by ''[[The New York Times]]'', which suggested that the NBC team "was almost certainly taken by a Sunni criminal element affiliated with the [[Free Syrian Army]]," rather than by a loyalist [[Shia]] group.<ref>{{cite news |author1=Ravi Somaiya |author2=[[C. J. Chivers]] |author3=Karam Shoumali |work=The New York Times |title=NBC News Alters Account of Correspondent's Kidnapping in Syria |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2015/04/16/business/media/nbc-news-alters-account-of-correspondents-kidnapping-in-syria.html |date=April 15, 2015 |access-date=December 8, 2015 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160117073318/http://www.nytimes.com/2015/04/16/business/media/nbc-news-alters-account-of-correspondents-kidnapping-in-syria.html |archive-date=January 17, 2016 }}</ref> In 2013, John Lapinski was Director of Elections, replacing Sheldon Gawiser. In 2015, the election team's [[decision desk]] group was given its first permanent space at 30 Rockefeller, replacing the News Sales Archives that had occupied the space previously.<ref>{{cite news|last1=Ariens|first1=Chris|title=NBC News Unveils Its First Permanent Decision Desk|url=http://www.adweek.com/tvnewser/nbc-news-unveils-its-first-permanent-decision-desk/274832|work=AdWeek|date=October 15, 2015}}</ref> The NBC News Division was the first news team to possess the [[Donald Trump Access Hollywood tape|tape of Donald Trump recorded by ''Access Hollywood'']], after a producer of the NBC show had made the News Division aware of it; the News Division internally debated publishing it for three days, and then an unidentified source gave a copy of the tape to ''[[The Washington Post]]'' Reporter [[David Fahrenthold]], who contacted NBC for comment, notified the Trump campaign that he had the video, obtained confirmation of its authenticity, and released a story and the tape itself, scooping NBC.<ref name="Fernandez">{{cite news |url=http://people.com/politics/donald-trump-hot-mic-tape-leaked/ |title=This Is How the Hot Mic Tape of Donald Trump Was Leaked |last=Fernandez |first=Alexia |date=October 8, 2016 |publisher=People |access-date=October 9, 2016 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161009114656/http://people.com/politics/donald-trump-hot-mic-tape-leaked/ |archive-date=October 9, 2016 }}</ref><ref name=Fahrenthold>{{Cite news |first=David A. |last=Fahrenthold |author-link=David Fahrenthold |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/trump-recorded-having-extremely-lewd-conversation-about-women-in-2005/2016/10/07/3b9ce776-8cb4-11e6-bf8a-3d26847eeed4_story.html |title=Trump recorded having extremely lewd conversation about women in 2005 |newspaper=The Washington Post |date=October 7, 2016 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161007201254/https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/trump-recorded-having-extremely-lewd-conversation-about-women-in-2005/2016/10/07/3b9ce776-8cb4-11e6-bf8a-3d26847eeed4_story.html |archive-date=October 7, 2016 }}</ref><ref name=WP-LewdTape-RaceWasOn>{{cite news |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/style/the-caller-had-a-lewd-tape-of-donald-trump-then-the-race-was-on/2016/10/07/31d74714-8ce5-11e6-875e-2c1bfe943b66_story.html |title=A caller had a lewd tape of Donald Trump. Then the race to break the story was on. |last=Farhi |first=Paul |date=October 7, 2016 |newspaper=The Washington Post |access-date=October 9, 2016 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161008123118/https://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/style/the-caller-had-a-lewd-tape-of-donald-trump-then-the-race-was-on/2016/10/07/31d74714-8ce5-11e6-875e-2c1bfe943b66_story.html |archive-date=October 8, 2016 }}</ref> Alerted that the ''Post'' might release the story immediately,<ref name="WP-LewdTape-RaceWasOn" /> NBC News released its own story shortly after the ''Post'' story was published.<ref name="explain">{{Cite news |url=http://www.politico.com/blogs/on-media/2016/10/donald-trump-comments-women-access-hollywood-229331 |title=Access Hollywood, Washington Post explain how they found the Donald Trump video |publisher=[[Politico]] blogs |access-date=October 8, 2016 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161009114756/http://www.politico.com/blogs/on-media/2016/10/donald-trump-comments-women-access-hollywood-229331 |archive-date=October 9, 2016 }}</ref><ref name=NYT2017>{{cite news|last1=Koblin|first1=John|title=How Did NBC Miss Out on a Harvey Weinstein Exposé?|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2017/10/11/business/media/nbc-news-harvey-weinstein.html?_r=0|work=The New York Times|date=October 11, 2017|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180112054234/https://www.nytimes.com/2017/10/11/business/media/nbc-news-harvey-weinstein.html?_r=0|archive-date=January 12, 2018}}</ref> === Sexual misconduct and NBC News === [[File:Matt Lauer 2012 Shankbone.JPG|thumb|[[Matt Lauer]] in 2012]] On November 29, 2017, NBC News announced that [[Matt Lauer]]'s employment had been terminated after an unidentified female NBC employee reported that Lauer had sexually harassed her during the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi, Russia, and that the harassment continued after they returned to New York.<ref>{{cite news|author=<!--Not stated-->|title=Matt Lauer Allegedly Sexually Harassed Colleague During 2014 Sochi Olympics: Report| url=https://www.usmagazine.com/celebrity-news/news/matt-lauer-allegedly-sexually-assaulted-colleague-during-2014-sochi-olympics-report/|magazine=[[Us Weekly]]|date=November 29, 2017|access-date=December 4, 2017}}</ref> NBC News management said it had been aware that ''The New York Times'' and ''Variety'' had been conducting independent investigations of Lauer's behavior,<ref name="de Morales">{{cite web|last1=de Morales|first1=Lisa|title=Two More Complaints Against Matt Lauer Filed Wednesday: Report|url=https://deadline.com/2017/11/matt-lauer-two-more-complaints-sexual-harassment-1202216962/|website=Deadline|date=November 29, 2017|access-date=November 30, 2017|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171130012556/http://deadline.com/2017/11/matt-lauer-two-more-complaints-sexual-harassment-1202216962/|archive-date=November 30, 2017}}</ref> but that management had been unaware of previous allegations against Lauer.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://money.cnn.com/2017/11/29/news/lack-statement-lauer/index.html |title=Read Andy Lack's statement on Matt Lauer's firing |work=[[CNN]] |date=November 29, 2017 |access-date=December 2, 2017 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171202102811/http://money.cnn.com/2017/11/29/news/lack-statement-lauer/index.html |archive-date=December 2, 2017 }}</ref><ref name=Reuters29Nov17>{{Cite news |url = https://www.reuters.com/article/us-people-mattlauer/nbc-news-fired-today-show-co-host-matt-lauer-for-sexual-misconduct-idUSKBN1DT1NY |title = NBC News fires 'Today' co-host Matt Lauer for sexual misconduct |last1 = Cherelus |first1 = Gina |last2 = Allen |first2 = Jonathan |work = Reuters |access-date = November 29, 2017 |url-status = live |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20171129133553/https://www.reuters.com/article/us-people-mattlauer/nbc-news-fired-today-show-co-host-matt-lauer-for-sexual-misconduct-idUSKBN1DT1NY |archive-date = November 29, 2017 |df = mdy-all }}</ref> Linda Vester, a former NBC News correspondent, disputed the claims that management knew nothing, saying that "everybody knew" that Lauer was dangerous.<ref>{{cite web|access-date=October 19, 2019|title=Former NBC News correspondent Linda Vester blasts network for Matt Lauer probe: 'We all knew Matt was dangerous'|url=https://www.yahoo.com/entertainment/former-nbc-news-correspondent-linda-vester-blasts-network-for-matt-lauer-probe-we-all-knew-matt-was-dangerous-165954734.html|website=yahoo.com|date=October 17, 2019 }}</ref> According to [[Ronan Farrow]], multiple sources have stated that NBC News was not only aware of Lauer's misconduct beforehand, but that Harvey Weinstein used this knowledge to pressure them into killing a story that would have outed his own sexual misconduct.<ref name="vanityfair" /><ref>{{cite web|access-date=October 19, 2019|title=Harvey Weinstein threatened to expose Matt Lauer in 2017 if NBC didn't kill misconduct story: Ronan Farrow|url=https://www.yahoo.com/entertainment/harvey-weinstein-threatened-to-expose-matt-lauer-in-2017-if-nbc-didnt-kill-misconduct-story-ronan-farrow-182241549.html|website=yahoo.com|date=October 17, 2019 }}</ref> ''Variety'' reported allegations by at least ten of Lauer's current and former colleagues.<ref name=Variety29Nov2017>{{Cite news |url = https://variety.com/2017/biz/news/matt-lauer-accused-sexual-harassment-multiple-women-1202625959/ |title = Matt Lauer Accused of Sexual Harassment by Multiple Women (Exclusive) |last1 = Setoodeh |first1 = Ramin |last2 = Wagmeister |first2 = Elizabeth |date = November 29, 2017 |access-date = December 3, 2017 |work = Variety |url-status = live |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20171203003742/http://variety.com/2017/biz/news/matt-lauer-accused-sexual-harassment-multiple-women-1202625959/ |archive-date = December 3, 2017 |df = mdy-all }}</ref> Additional accusations went public in the ensuing days.<ref name="de Morales"/><ref name="USAToday">{{cite web| url = https://www.usatoday.com/story/life/people/2017/11/30/matt-lauer-releases-statement-after-firing-there-no-words-express-my-sorrow/908287001/| title = Matt Lauer scandal: There may be as many as 8 victims, Lauer breaks his silence| last = Jensen| first = Ellen| access-date = November 30, 2017| work = [[USA Today]]| url-status = live| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20171130134652/https://www.usatoday.com/story/life/people/2017/11/30/matt-lauer-releases-statement-after-firing-there-no-words-express-my-sorrow/908287001/| archive-date = November 30, 2017| df = mdy-all}}</ref> NBC News President [[Noah Oppenheim]] suggested an investigation into alleged sexual misconduct by [[Harvey Weinstein]] after NBC contributor [[Ronan Farrow]] pitched a general idea to report on sexual harassment in Hollywood.<ref>{{cite news|last1=Guthrie|first1=Marisa|title=Ronan Farrow, the Hollywood Prince Who Torched the Castle|url=https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/features/ronan-farrow-hollywood-prince-who-torched-castle-1073405|access-date=January 11, 2018|work=The Hollywood Reporter|date=January 10, 2018|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180111004520/https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/features/ronan-farrow-hollywood-prince-who-torched-castle-1073405|archive-date=January 11, 2018}}</ref> After a 10-month investigation by Farrow and NBC Producer Rich McHugh, NBC chose not to publish it.<ref name=NYT>{{cite news|last1=Koblin|first1=John|title=How Did NBC Miss Out on a Harvey Weinstein Exposé?|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2017/10/11/business/media/nbc-news-harvey-weinstein.html?_r=0|access-date=January 10, 2018|work=[[The New York Times]]|date=October 11, 2017 |url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180111164900/https://www.nytimes.com/2017/10/11/business/media/nbc-news-harvey-weinstein.html?_r=0|archive-date=January 11, 2018}}</ref><ref name=apnews>{{cite web|access-date=October 19, 2019|title=Farrow details lack of enthusiasm at NBC for Weinstein story|url=https://apnews.com/704b06d0aef8494484f365d98ea7137c|date=October 15, 2019|website=AP NEWS}}</ref> The story, with very few changes, was published a few weeks later in the ''[[New Yorker Magazine]]'' instead.<ref name="vanityfair">{{cite magazine|access-date=October 19, 2019|title="Stand Down": Ronan Farrow's Producer on How NBC Killed Its Weinstein Story|url=https://www.vanityfair.com/news/2019/10/how-nbc-killed-its-weinstein-story|magazine=Vanity Fair|date=October 11, 2019}}</ref> A story on the subject of Weinstein's alleged behavior also appeared several days earlier in ''[[The New York Times]]''.<ref name=WP>{{cite news|last1=Farhi|first1=Paul|title=Why did NBC News let the Weinstein blockbuster get away? Once again, questions mount.|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/style/why-did-nbc-news-let-the-weinstein-blockbuster-get-away-once-again-questions-mount/2017/10/11/d845714a-ae98-11e7-be94-fabb0f1e9ffb_story.html|access-date=January 11, 2018|newspaper=[[The Washington Post]]|date=October 11, 2017|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180128175103/https://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/style/why-did-nbc-news-let-the-weinstein-blockbuster-get-away-once-again-questions-mount/2017/10/11/d845714a-ae98-11e7-be94-fabb0f1e9ffb_story.html|archive-date=January 28, 2018}}</ref> Following criticism for missing a major story it had initiated, NBC News defended the decision, saying that at the time Farrow was at NBC, the early reporting still had important missing necessary elements.<ref name=HR>{{cite news|last1=Guthrie|first1=Marisa|title=Why Ronan Farrow's Harvey Weinstein Bombshell Did Not Run on NBC|url=https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/why-ronan-farrows-harvey-weinstein-bombshell-did-not-run-nbc-1047671|access-date=January 10, 2018|work=The Hollywood Reporter|date=October 11, 2017|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180111165102/https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/why-ronan-farrows-harvey-weinstein-bombshell-did-not-run-nbc-1047671|archive-date=January 11, 2018}}</ref> Farrow later disputed this characterization, saying that he had multiple named accusers willing to come forward and that the version ultimately published in the ''New Yorker'' had very few changes from the version that NBC News rejected.<ref name="vanityfair" /><ref name=apnews /><ref name=HR /> This version went on to win the [[Pulitzer Prize for Public Service]] in April 2018.<ref>{{cite news|last1=Dzhanova|first1=Yelena|title=Pulitzer Prizes award reporters who detailed sexual assault in Hollywood|url=https://www.nbcnews.com/business/business-news/pulitzer-prizes-award-reporters-who-detailed-sexual-assault-hollywood-n866431|work=NBC News|date=April 16, 2018}}</ref> A former NBC News executive has said that the story on Weinstein was killed because NBC News was aware of the sexual misconduct by Lauer; in [[Catch and Kill: Lies, Spies, and a Conspiracy to Protect Predators]], Ronan Farrow cites two sources within [[American Media, Inc.]] stating that the story was killed in response to an overt threat from Weinstein to out Lauer.<ref name="vanityfair" /><ref>{{cite web|first1=Patrick|last1=Ryan|access-date=October 19, 2019|title=Ronan Farrow says NBC's alleged cover-up of sexual misconduct is 'bigger' than Matt Lauer|url=https://www.usatoday.com/story/entertainment/books/2019/10/14/ronan-farrow-new-book-catch-and-kill-alleged-cover-up-harvey-weinstein-matt-lauer/3948761002/|website=USA Today}}</ref> === Hiring of Ronna McDaniel === In March 2024, NBC News hired [[Ronna McDaniel]], the former chairwoman of the Republican National Committee (RNC) from 2017 to 2024. The hire stirred controversy, as McDaniel had been a staunch [[Donald Trump]] loyalist during her tenure at the RNC. She made false claims of voter fraud after Joe Biden won the 2020 presidential election, which she sought to overturn.<ref>{{Cite news |date=25 March 2024|accessdate= 26 March 2024 |title=NBC News Faces Rebellion Over Hiring of Former Republican Party Chair | url=https://www.nytimes.com/2024/03/25/business/media/nbc-ronna-mcdaniel-rebellion.html |first=Michael M. | last=Grynbaum| work=New York Times}}</ref><ref name=":1">{{Cite news |last3=McCormick |first1=Isabella|last1= Simonetti| first2= Joe|last2= Flint| first3=John |title=Rachel Maddow Joins Growing Mutiny at MSNBC Over Hiring of Ronna McDaniel |url=https://www.wsj.com/business/media/msnbcs-joe-scarborough-and-mika-brzezinski-condemn-hiring-of-ronna-mcdaniel-125ac4ad |date=25 March 2024|accessdate= 26 March 2024 |work=WSJ |language=en-US}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Full-scale revolt: MSNBC personalities object to NBC News' hiring of Ronna McDaniel as a contributor |url=https://apnews.com/article/nbc-news-mcdaniel-todd-election-fraud-683aa560f0824725023dacde0f504ad6 |access-date=2024-03-26 |date = 2024-03-26|first=David|last=Bauder|website=AP News |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |last=Barr |first=Jeremy |date=2024-03-26 |accessdate=2024-03-26 | title=NBC facing on-air ‘insurrection’ over hiring of Ronna McDaniel |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/style/media/2024/03/25/rachel-maddow-ronna-mcdaniel-msnbc-pundits-object/ |work=Washington Post |language=en-US |issn=0190-8286}}</ref> After she was hired by NBC, McDaniel backtracked on her claims, saying that Biden won the 2020 election "fair and square" and condemned political violence.<ref name=":1" /> She said of her conduct as RNC chair, "When you’re the RNC chair, you — you kind of take one for the whole team, right? Now I get to be a little bit more myself."<ref>{{Cite news |date=2024 |title=Ronna McDaniel said the quiet part out loud on NBC |url=https://www.politico.com/news/2024/03/25/ronna-mcdaniel-nbc-trump-00148926 |work=Politico}}</ref> ==== Reversal of hiring ==== After a day of on-air protests by various MSNBC anchors including [[Rachel Maddow]], [[Mika Brzezinski]], [[Joe Scarborough]], [[Chuck Todd]], and [[Nicolle Wallace|Nicole Wallace]], NBC announced on 26 March that McDaniel will not be hired by the network.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/style/media/2024/03/26/nbc-drops-ronna-mcdaniel-backlash/ |title=NBC reverses decision to hire Ronna McDaniel after on-air backlash|first=Jeremy|last=Barr|website=washingtonpost.com|publisher=The Washington Post|date=|accessdate=}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=https://apnews.com/article/nbc-news-republican-committee-ronna-mcdaniel-483647e9eca547a981002e4179d3b2e5 |title=NBC has cut ties with former RNC head Ronna McDaniel after employee objections, some on the air|first=Jeremy|last=Bauder|website=apnews.com|publisher=Associated Press|date=|accessdate=}}</ref> Summary: Please note that all contributions to Christianpedia may be edited, altered, or removed by other contributors. 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