The top producer of “NBC Nightly News” is the latest NBC News staffer to join the company that is splitting off from NBC News — and taking employees and some critical revenue, as well as expenses, with it.
Meghan Rafferty spent nearly four years as the voice in Lester Holt’s ear as he anchored “NBC Nightly News.” Now, with Holt moving on to a new role at the NBCUniversal news division, she will take on a new executive position at Versant, the company that is being spun off from NBCU later this year.
More from Variety
Versant Names Tom Rogers Senior Adviser
Comcast Sets Board of Directors for Versant Spin-Off Company
CNBC Shake-Up Has David Cho Replace Dan Colarusso as Editorial Chief
Rafferty will join Versant as vice president of news standards, beginning in early September, helping to oversee the quality of reporting and content at flagship Versant properties like MSNBC and CNBC. It is not uncommon for the executive producer of a flagship broadcast news program to change along with a switch in anchors. Ben Mayer, a senior broadcast producer at “Nightly” who has also worked on MSNBC morning programs with anchors including Joe Scarborough, Mika Brzezinski and Kasie Hunt, will take on the show’s executive producer role on an interim basis.
Rafferty is the latest NBC News employee to move to Versant — a sign of the opportunities that the new company night offer some journalists and producers in a roiled media sector, but also of some of the worries NBC News staffers have about their fate once the corporate transaction is completed. There is growing speculation that the absence of MSNBC and CNBC from the NBCUniversal news operations could force a recalibration of resources, according to two people familiar with newsroom conversations.
Among those who have left prominent role at NBC News in recent weeks are Brian Carovillano named senior vice president, standards and editorial Partnerships for news at Versant, and to whom Rafferty will report; Tom Clendenin, who had been CMO for NBCUniversal News Group, and who will take up similar duties for CNBC and MSNBC; and Jessica Kurdali, a senior talent-relations executive at NBCU’s news properties, who was named senior vice president of talent strategy at Versant. Journalists who have jumped to Versant from NBC News include Ken Dilanian, Brandy Zadrozny, David Noriega, and Vaughan Hillyard.
NBC News has long expected some staffers to find new opportunities at Versant, says a person familiar with the news division, and is “supportive of their efforts and wishes them the best.”
Prior to joining NBC News, Rafferty worked for CNN for a decade, working with anchors including Wolf Blitzer and Christiane Amanpour.
Best of Variety
New Movies Out Now in Theaters: What to See This Week
‘Harry Potter’ TV Show Cast Guide: Who’s Who in Hogwarts?
Final Emmy Predictions: Talk Series and Scripted Variety – New Blood Looks to Tackle Late Night Staples
Sign up for Variety’s Newsletter. For the latest news, follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.
