NBC PRESSURES BRIAN WILLIAMS to resign

[mystery-ak]

http://www.politico.com/playbook/0415/playbook18048.html


GARDEN BRUNCH EDITION -- NBC PRESSURES BRIAN WILLIAMS to resign: Leaks aim to cut his leverage – OBAMA’S NEW MEME: ‘Bucket!’ – POTUS on ‘Black-ish’ -- B’DAY: Larry Grisolano, Luke Frans

By Mike Allen

4/26/15 11:26 AM EDT

By Mike Allen (mallen@politico.com; @mallen) and Daniel Lippman (dlippman@politico.com; @dlippman)

THE BUZZ: Longtime broadcast executives say a triple crown of leaks about Brian Williams late last week appear to be an effort by NBC News to shame him into resigning, to avoid the messiness and possible additional expense of the firing. The brutal leaks were designed to send the message to Brian Williams and his superlawyer, Robert Barnett: “You’re dead. Now negotiate.”

This is the effect of the leaks, if not the intention. NBC insiders say his return is still possible. Look for a resolution over the next several weeks.

Williams was reported to be under a contract of as much as $50 million (five years, at up to $10 million each). Speculation is that he’ll get $20 million to $30 million to leave. The $20 million camp says that he’s so weak, he’ll get less than 50 cents on the dollar. The $30 million camp says Brian has plenty of ways to embarrass the bosses and colleagues who threw him under the bus, and NBC should stop the bleeding/leaking. “He knows things, too,” a wise man pointed out.

--A FEW PROBLEMS with this theory: Some of the leaks are arguably inaccurate. The Williams camp believes that it can disprove them, and that only a small number of incidents will prove to be problematic. And even those are explainable.

continued

[mountaineer]

More news from the Titanic, er, 30 Rock:

Brian Williams won’t go down without a fight
By Claire Atkinson
April 28, 2015 | 10:18pm
NY Post

This time, Brian Williams may not be exaggerating.

Talks between the exiled anchor and NBCUniversal have recently become tense — with the 55-year-old newsman saying he will not have his “NBC Nightly News” job taken away without a battle, The Post has learned.

“Brian is saying he’s not going down without a fight and [is] threatening to make it really ugly — worse than Ann Curry,” a source close to NBC told The Post.

In 2013, Curry departed NBC’s “Today” in a downpour of negative publicity. She made a teary emotional on-air goodbye as co-host Matt Lauer looked on awkwardly. Curry and Williams are both represented by a pit bull lawyer — Bob Barnett at Williams & Connolly.

“They want Brian to resign,” said one source. “If they have to fire him, they can’t control him.”

The tense state of the Williams-NBCUniversal relationship has become clear of late.

On April 24, the newest findings from NBC’s internal probe — which turned up 11 instances of Williams stretching the truth — were leaked.

Three days later, a pro-Williams report surfaced saying NBC News boss Andy Lack was looking for ways to save his beleaguered anchor.

On Tuesday, the anti-Williams faction seemed to fight back — telling the Hollywood Reporter that Lack is not convinced Williams can return.

And so it goes.

Williams was suspended in February without pay until August after he claimed — in an apparent attempt to beef up his war zone bona fides — to have been on an aircraft that took enemy fire. That claim was later shot down.

Lester Holt has hosted “NBC Nightly News” in Williams’ absence.

Without a doubt, there is an increasing urgency within NBCUniversal management ranks to bring the prickly situation to an end. “ABC World News Tonight,” hosted by David Muir, said Tuesday that for the last four weeks it led “NBC Nightly News” in total viewers — the first time that has happened in years. ABC also won for the third straight week in the key 25- to 54-year-old demographic sought by advertisers — though NBC is ahead season-to-date.

As talks between Williams and Comcast’s NBCUniversal unit heat up, Williams is believed to be trying to ensure that he is entitled to a payout under the five-year $10-million-per-year deal he signed last year.

“They are not going to give him an opportunity to do an Ann Curry,” said a source familiar with news management.

Former “Meet the Press” anchor David Gregory was kept off air to prevent him from making any on-air remarks about his departure.

“NBC seems intent on damaging him,” said a friend of Williams. “No one is speaking out in his defense.”

Meanwhile, NBC News has said no decisions have been made about Williams’ future and several staff tell The Post they are conflicted about their colleague, saying that he deserves punishment but also that he is a talented, popular professional.

NBC star Lauer has had several dinners with Williams to discuss the situation and is supportive of his friend, a source told The Post.