The highest producer of “NBC Nightly Information” is the most recent NBC Information staffer to be a part of the corporate that’s splitting off from NBC Information — and taking staff and a few crucial income with it.
Meghan Rafferty spent practically 4 years because the voice in Lester Holt’s ear as he anchored “NBC Nightly Information.” Now, with Holt transferring on to a brand new function on the NBCUniversal information division, she is going to tackle a brand new government place at Versant, the corporate that’s being spun off from NBCU later this yr.
Rafferty will be a part of Versant as vp of stories requirements, starting in early September, serving to to oversee the standard of reporting and content material at flagship Versant properties like MSNBC and CNBC. It’s not unusual for the manager producer of a flagship broadcast information program to change together with a swap in anchors. Ben Mayer, a senior broadcast producer at “Nightly” who has additionally labored on MSNBC morning applications with anchors together with Joe Scarborough, Mika Brzezinski and Kasie Hunt, will tackle the present’s government producer function on an interim foundation.
Rafferty is the most recent NBC Information worker to transfer to Versant — an indication of the alternatives that the brand new firm evening supply some journalists and producers in a roiled media sector, but additionally of a number of the worries NBC Information staffers have about their destiny as soon as the company transaction is accomplished. There may be rising hypothesis that the absence of MSNBC and CNBC from the NBCUniversal information operations might drive a recalibration of assets, in accordance to two individuals aware of newsroom conversations.
Amongst those that have left outstanding function at NBC Information in latest weeks are Brian Carovillano named senior vp, requirements and editorial Partnerships for information at Versant, and to whom Rafferty will report; Tom Clendenin, who had been CMO for NBCUniversal Information Group, and who will take up related duties for CNBC and MSNBC; and Jessica Kurdali, a senior talent-relations government at NBCU’s information properties, who was named senior vp of expertise technique at Versant. Journalists who’ve jumped to Versant from NBC Information embody Ken Dilanian, Brandy Zadrozny, David Noriega, and Vaughan Hillyard.
Prior to becoming a member of NBC Information, Rafferty labored for CNN for a decade, working with anchors together with Wolf Blitzer and Christiane Amanpour.