NBCUniversal announced that it hired The New York Times deputy managing editor Rebecca Blumenstein as president, editorial at NBC News, a new position in a revamped management structure at the company’s news division.
Blumenstein replaces Noah Oppenheim, who has been president of NBC News since 2017. He will be developing and producing projects in partnership with NBCU.
As part of the new structure, Libby Leist, who has overseen the Today show, has been promoted to executive VP, Today and Lifestyle, and Janelle Rodriguez, who led the launch of NBC’s streaming news channels, was named executive VP, NBC News Now.
Blumenstein, Leist and Rodriguez report to Cesar Conde, chairman of the NBCU News Group.
“The appointments of Rebecca, Libby and Janelle provide a powerful foundation for the News Group as it continues to grow its leadership position,” Conde said. “NBC News, together with CNBC and MSNBC and through our many programs and platforms, reaches more Americans than any other news organization. The extraordinary accomplishments of Rebecca, Libby and Janelle and their visions will keep us on the path of continued success, delivering the highest quality journalism in the United States and around the world.”
Before joining the Times in 2017, Blumenstein was with The Wall Street Journal.
“The news landscape is rapidly evolving, with mediums converging at a rate our industry has never seen. I look forward to building on the deep journalistic foundation at NBC News to help NBC News achieve its ambitions,” Blumenstein said. “I have loved every minute of working at The Times and learned so much working with many of the best journalists in the world.”
During Oppenheim's tenure running NBC News, Ronan Farrow investigated the sexual assault allegations against Hollywood independent film mogul Harvey Weinstein but did not broadcast them. Farrow took the story to The New Yorker which published the scoop at the same time as The New York Times broke its version of the award-winning story.
Oppenheim has been an author, screenwriter and producer. He is developing a limited series at Netflix starring Robert DeNiro tentatively titled Zero Day.
“We are grateful for Noah’s leadership during such an important time, both for us and our profession, and look forward to continuing to work with him in his new role,” Conde said. ■
