NBC Plans Major Job Cuts At MSNBC, News Division

NBC boss Jeff Zucker is expected to make big cuts on the newsgathering and operational side of the company's news division, including eliminating an entire level of MSNBC's management team, in a bid to save between $20 million and $40 million, The Post has learned.

Sources inside or close to NBC yesterday claimed the cuts, which are expected to come down this week or next, will be weighted evenly between NBC News and MSNBC. CNBC staffers are being shielded from this round of cuts because Zucker wants the network to be at full strength now that the battle with Fox Business Network has begun. (FBN is owned by News Corp., which also owns The Post.)

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Comments

[Centaur]

Please Mr. Zucker, get rid of that "lil twit" Tucker!

[HeevenSteven]

Get rid of the fact checkers and tart up the anchors, and they can go head-to-head with FOX.

[MA]

I've got some ideas!
Tart up some cute underage looking boys and girls and have them "suggestively" troll the corridors of the House and Senate.
Watch the hillarity when some of our honorable politicians get busted!
Drop wallets and purses with $1000 and a remote controlled dye pack and see the fun when the host of the show accuses people of theft then sets it off when they deny it!
Good hard hitting news!!!

[dora rice]

I am sure Fox will scoop up loser Tucker . Tucker should come out of the closet. I think he would feel better.

[frankdwyer]

Rachel Maddow is so vastly superior to almost every pundit on television that I'm assuming she has no chance to get her own show. Pity. I'd be tivoing any Rachel Maddow show I missed, just as I do Keith's. She is decent, cheerful, honest, thoughtful, clear, economical, kind, good-humored, and vastly well-informed. The need for a political commentator who deserves those adjectives (and who else does?) is urgent. Please, please let her have her own show, instead of improving everybody else's every day.

[Wanjiru]

...Egads! you're right-that IS Zucker... looked like Al Roker to me at first... was sweating bullets there for a sec- for the brothers..­.


.

[swift goat pet for truth]

MSNBC needs a new strategy.
Since Olbermann is working out so well, how about shows to Rachel Maddow?
How about a video version of Huffington Post?

Hey, its not like they are doing so well now, so what the heck?

[nellieh]

Christ! Not Buchannon! Where the hell will he go!? He'll have to take his cot and refrigerator box under a bridge somewhere! Look! where will we hear "look!" every time he wants to change his point in mid-sentence if he goes. He performs like an organ grinder's monkey on every show MSNBC has except the predator show. Maybe. And to think they axed Dopnahue when he was at the top of his time slot and have kept Tucker. What a zed. If his old man didn't have influence in DC he would be holding cue cards on the "View" learning at Sherri's knee. And he would need him to get that job. Why aren't the ones at the top, who made the lousy decisions, paying for their mistakes? They will pat themselves on the back, give themselves a raise and say what wonderful managers we are. Only in America!

[Harrier]

When ever a young executive comes in an downsizes to get a quick profit, the end result is a more destroyed network because it has no infrastructure to improve or grow. The just stay on life support. The hard decisions that need to be made are always on the programming side.

As an outsider, the answer is simple: for the political commentary, get a show with David Gurgen that regularly brings on retired Presidents, leaders of different countries and high office of all parties. That will enable a lot of spin offs and the other programs can be changed to compliment some of the topics that appear to me hitting. Getting a moderate unbias voice out there is what is needed particularly when things are over the top. someone needs to speak the truth instead out talking points.

The program needs to also beef up it's approach to finance. It needs to have people who have worked the floor or major financial companies to explain what is happening. A lot of what they say has nothing for the viewer. They need to summarize long medium and short term pictures and then the day to day activities. It's not hard or expensive if they understand the market fundamentals.

They also need an entertainment section-something like what's happening in Hollywood and fashion. Some adventure and sports and real hard hitting revelations on what and how bills are getting morphed and who is lobbying and getting the benefits.

Right now, most viewer feel they are getting the short end if the stick. Studio executives are off in their own world and politicians are off doing anything they want and most of it is completely against what the tax payers want.

Also stations should always be stating their mission

[VivaZapata]

Zucker like other CEOs are the overpaid and utterly useless ones. He should cut ugly fat from MSNBC's budget and fire himself.

[ohiomark]

You see Libs, no ratings = no revenue = layoffs.

Thank god for capitalism.

[Emma Lou]

What a relief. Keep Olbermann. Get rid of Chris Matthews, Tim Russert and Joe S- they are so biased and cocky and never newsworthy.

[fourex]

I started to laugh. I had no idea that MSNBC did news programs. What are they?

[MNmommy]

Get rid of Tucker, Willie, Joe, Dan and Matthews. Keep Mika, Rachel, both Davids and Keith.

[LeftLeaner]

Please eject Tucker AND JOE Scarborough.

They are a waste of space.

But, KEEP a Political/News format from 6-9 A.M., since all the OTHER Networks are doing infotainment during that time slot, and there is a need for some REAL NEWS during that time.

Mika Brzynski's good, and so is David Schuster. I saw him this morning, and he rocked.

I think he's got a future.