There’s a serious ladies problem at “boys club” NBC News. Hot off the heels of Tamron Hall’s departure at “Today,” Deborah Turness has been replaced by Noah Oppenheim as president of NBC News, due to her “promotion” to run NBC News International in Europe.
Meanwhile, big boss Andy Lack is scratching his head about why female viewership is down on flagship “Today” and “NBC Nightly News.”
An insider told us of the staff changes, “Morale is down and women are pissed. NBC is back to being a boys club now. When Ann Curry was fired, there were no women in charge and . . . Pat Fili-Krushel and Turness were brought in . . . now it’s back to all boys. Many women in the organization didn’t see Turness as a strong supporter.”
A high-level female executive said: “Deborah’s record of supporting women speaks for itself, and any suggestion otherwise is clearly a pathetic attempt by competitors concerned about NBC News’ winning streak and the big new venture Deborah will be leading.”
But “Today” and “Nightly News” viewership is slipping among women aged 25 to 54.
“ ‘Today’ is down 7 percent and ‘Nightly’ is down 4 percent. Women aren’t tuning in, while they’re pushing female executives and talent out,” our source said. “Andy Lack doesn’t have to think too hard to figure that one out.”
But an NBC source said, “NBC News’ shows are No. 1, and ‘Today’ and ‘Nightly News’ handily beat the competition in women 25 to 54. Women hold more than half of all VP level positions at NBC News.”