The New York Observer » Jeff Zucker

Jeff Zucker, Unemployed Man, to Receive Award at Star-Studded Center for Communication Luncheon

Former NBC Universal CEO Jeff Zucker will be honored at the Center for Communication's Annual Luncheon on Nov. 1, according to an update on the center's website. At the ceremony Zucker will receive the Frank Stanton award for his work in media.

Zucker's current work in media, however, is a bit up in the air. Read More

Dick Cavett Mouths off on Montauk at Wainscott Secretariat Screening

The prince most often associated with polo is Harry, but at last night's private screening of Secretariat in Wainscott, the prince getting all the polo players' attention was Rare Prince, a handsome chestnut steed and a great-grandson of the triple-crown winner whose story the soon-to-be released Disney film chronicles. The kind-eyed horse, a former racehorse Read More

Jeff Zucker: ‘Things Are Going Incredibly Well’

"Nobody is entitled to any job. Having said that, there's probably never been a better time to be in this role at NBC Universal. Things are going incredibly well, and I'm excited to continue doing that, and looking forward to continuing to do that for quite some time." — NBC Universal CEO Jeff Read More

NBC and Comcast Merge and That’s … O.K.

Let the record show that Al Franken, freshman senator from Minnesota, bears little resemblance to Al Franken, onetime Saturday Night Live funnyman. At an otherwise genteel subcommittee grilling of the top executives from NBC Universal and Comcast over their proposed media mega-merger last week, Mr. Franken had none of the self-doubt of his famously sheepish Read More

Leno the Loner

"What Leno is doing now is slimy,” said Thomas J. Kelly.

It was the afternoon of Monday, Jan. 18, and Mr. Kelly, a 33-year-old comedian, was standing on the outskirts of Rockefeller Plaza, catching his breath. For the past half-hour, Mr. Kelly had been striding back and forth in front of the NBC headquarters in Read More

A Bright Spot in the Leno Debacle? The Failure of NBC’s Cynical Strategy

Jay Leno jammed his hands in his suit pockets. He looked up at the crowd. No matter how much your network mucks things up, Mr. Leno had learned long ago, you still have to entertain the audience. After all, jokes about Tiger Woods' penis don't tell themselves.

"This week, the video game publisher Electronic Arts Read More

As Channel 4′s Night Newscast Has Slipped Behind (Thanks, Leno!), WCBS-2 Has Soared

In the month of December, for the first time in modern history, CBS' flagship station in New York, WCBS-2, scored a major victory at 11 p.m.—surging ahead among late night news viewers, and winning the entire month in total households with a 4.9 rating, narrowly topping the formidable WABC-7 newscast (4.8 rating) and trouncing Sue Read More

Once Comcast Owns NBC, Who’s the Boss of Whom?

Ted Harbert knows what it feels like to miss out narrowly on a top entertainment job at NBC.

In the winter of 2000, Mr. Harbert was running NBC Studios in L.A. when network bosses passed him over (along with a field of other strong potential candidates) and announced that a young news producer named Jeff Zucker Read More

With Negotiations Stalled, Broadcast Union Launches Site on ‘The Grinch at NBC’; Theatens to Disrupt NBC’s Annual Holiday Telecast

Happy holidays, NBC!

Today, National Association of Broadcast Employees and Technicians (NABET-CWA) Local 11, which represents several thousand employees at NBC Universal, announced that they are celebrating the holidays at NBC by launching a web site, http://NBCStoleChristmas.com, highlighting "the 'Grinch' within NBC" and threatening to disrupt the network's 12th annual "Christmas in Rockefeller Center" telecast, Read More

NBC’s Adventurous Foray into Repurposed Local News

"The beauty of this show is that it's got content from all over the NBC Universal platforms," said Matt Glassman.

It was Wednesday afternoon, and Mr. Glassman, a senior producer of content at NBC's local owned-and-operated station in Washington D.C., was on the phone with The Observer talking about a newfangled, pioneering-type show called Daily Connection.

The Read More

30 Rock’s Hard Rocker

Jon Bon Jovi kissed Ann Curry on the cheek. It was a chilly morning in mid-October outside the Today studios at Rockefeller Plaza. Ms. Curry was wearing a peacoat and dark stockings. Mr. Bon Jovi had on jeans and aviator sunglasses. Matt Lauer stood between them. They had news!

Mr. Lauer explained to the guests Read More

NBC Universal Seeking Another Round of Voluntary Buyouts from News Staff

Looks like the buyout offers are coming early this year at 30 Rock.

The Observer has learned that in recent days NBC Universal executives have approached a large number of employees across its news divisions and bureaus, announcing that the company is looking for unspecified number of staffers to take voluntary buyouts. In a series of Read More

Rock ‘n’ Blogroll: Diller, Murdoch, Zucker Friend Each Other at Internet Week Soiree

Diller, Murdoch, Zucker Friend Each Other at Internet Week Soiree: An Observer photo Read More

Is NBC Working on a Live at 5 Format Killer?

Could the station that 30 years ago gave birth to the "Live at Five" news format now be plotting the eventual demise of the early evening news genre?

Rumors are currently swirling at WNBC-4, NBC's flagship station in New York, that executives at NBC Universal are considering the creation of a daily 5 p.m. lifestyle show Read More

David Carey, Jason Binn, and Others Get ‘Introspective’ At Condé Nast Executive Cafeteria

You would think that a book sporting the subtitle How Successful People Do It—And What We Can Learn From Them is about being hideously successful and how to get there. But at the book party for What Makes You Tick? Wednesday Night at the Condé Nast Building, co-author Michael Berland made sure to note—repeatedly—that Read More