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Posts tagged as “Brian Williams”

The New York Times Magazine and Pulitzer Prize Winner Nikole Hannah-Jones’ “1619 Project” to Become Docuseries at Hulu

The New York Times Magazine and Pulitzer Prize Winner Nikole Hannah-Jones’ “1619 Project” to Become Docuseries at Hulu

By goodblacknews on April 3, 2021

According to Variety.com, a collaboration between Lionsgate Television, The New York Times, and Oprah Winfrey’s Harpo Films will create a docuseries for streaming platform Hulu based on The 1619 Project from New York Times Magazine’s and Nikole Hannah-Jones‘ journalistic examination of slavery and racism in the U.S. from 1619 to current times.

Emmy-nominated and Peabody Award-winner Shoshana Guy will serve as showrunner and executive producer. Kathleen Lingo, editorial director for film and TV at The New York Times, will also executive produce along with Caitlin Roper, The Times’ executive producer for scripted film and TV.

Academy Award-winning director Roger Ross Williams will produce and oversee the series with producing partner and co-executive producer Geoff Martz and also direct the first episode.

To quote from Variety.com:

The series falls under a distribution agreement between Lionsgate and Disney General Entertainment Content’s BIPOC Creator Initiative led by Tara Duncan.

The 1619 Project connected the centrality of slavery in U.S. history with an account of the racism that endures in so many aspects of American life today. It was launched in August 2019 on the 400th anniversary of the arrival of the first enslaved Africans in the English colonies that would become the United States. It examines the legacy of slavery in America and how it shaped nearly all aspects of society, from music and law to education and the arts, and including the principles of our democracy itself.

“The 1619 Project is an essential reframing of American history,” Williams said. “Our most cherished ideals and achievements cannot be understood without acknowledging both systemic racism and the contributions of Black Americans. And this isn’t just about the past—Black people are still fighting against both the legacy of this racism and its current incarnation. I am thrilled and grateful for the opportunity to work with The New York Times, Lionsgate Television, Harpo Films and Hulu to translate the incredibly important The 1619 Project into a documentary series.”

‘I’m Not A Token Or A Mammy’ Melissa Harris-Perry Walks Away From Her MSNBC Show After Pre-Emptions

By goodblacknews on February 27, 2016
Melissa Harris-Perry said she had received no word about whether her MSNBC show had been canceled. (Credit: Fred R. Conrad/The New York Times)

article by John Koblin via nytimes.com

In an unusually public flare-up, one of MSNBC’s television personalities clashed with the network on Friday in a dispute about airtime and editorial freedom and said she was refusing to host the show that bears her name this weekend.

The host, Melissa Harris-Perry, wrote in an email to co-workers this week that her show had effectively been taken away from her and that she felt “worthless” in the eyes of NBC News executives, who are restructuring MSNBC.

“Here is the reality: Our show was taken — without comment or discussion or notice — in the midst of an election season,” she wrote in the email, which became public on Friday. “After four years of building an audience, developing a brand and developing trust with our viewers, we were effectively and utterly silenced.”

In a phone interview, Ms. Harris-Perry confirmed she would not appear on the show this weekend. She said she had received no word about whether her show, which runs from 10 a.m. to noon on Saturdays and Sundays, had been canceled, but said she was frustrated that her time slot had faced pre-emptions for coverage of the presidential election. She said she had not appeared on the network at all “for weeks” and that she was mostly sidelined during recent election coverage in South Carolina and New Hampshire. (She was asked to return this weekend.)

In her email, Ms. Harris-Perry wrote that she was not sure if the NBC News chairman, Andrew Lack, or Phil Griffin, the MSNBC president, were involved in the way her show was handled recently, but she directed blame toward both.

“I will not be used as a tool for their purposes,” she wrote. “I am not a token, mammy or little brown bobble head. I am not owned by Lack, Griffin or MSNBC. I love our show. I want it back.”

Lester Holt Becomes Permanent Anchor for NBC "Nightly News"

By goodblacknews on June 18, 2015

Lester Holt Anchor for NBC (Photo: ew.com)
NBC Anchor Lester Holt (Photo: ew.com)

Lester Holt will take over the anchor chair at NBC’s “Nightly News” permanently, while Brian Williams takes another position in the organization in the wake of his disclosure earlier this year that he falsified details of a reporting trip to Iraq, according to press reports released Wednesday night.
NBC News declined to comment on the reports, made by CNN and The Wall Street Journal. Robert Barnett, an attorney for Brian Williams who has represented him in negotiations with NBC, also declined to comment after being email Wednesday evening.
Williams’ fate remains uncertain, though The New York Times reported Thursday he could move to MSNBC, the cable-news network also owned by parent NBCUniversal.
The moves, which the reports suggested could be announced as early as Thursday, would help stem a period of tumult for NBC News. The NBCUniversal unit has seen its flagship evening newscast lose in the ratings to ABC News’ “World News Tonight,” anchored by David Muir. Season to date, the ABC newscast has edged out “Nightly News” in the audience most coveted by advertisers, viewers aged 25 to 54.
NBC News has yet to disclose to the public the results of an investigation into Williams’ behavior, the scope of which included not only his false descriptions of a ride aboard a Chinook helicopter, but also certain descriptions of events he purported to take part in during travels for NBC News. The company is clearly banking on the idea that the wide appeal Williams had with viewers will endure if it removes him from a position where trust and credibility are paramount. ABC News faced a similar issue recently its chief anchor, George Stephanopoulos, disclosed he had made charitable donations to the Clinton Foundation without telling viewers, even when those contributions could create the perception of a bias.
If Williams is received well by viewers, he could lend a boost to MSNBC, which has struggled with ratings as of late against rivals Fox News Channel and CNN. The network has reworked its daytime schedule to focus more heavily on breaking news while reserving is primetime schedule for personalities who view events through a progressive or liberal lens.
Holt, meantime, has held his own with Muir, sometimes winning more overall viewers to the NBC newscast week by week. NBC has not lent his newscast any promotion since he took the reins of the program from Williams in February.
Meantime, the anchor has scored some noticeable scoops, including an exclusive interview with the bystander who captured video of a South Carolina police officer shooting Walter Scott, and even led the newscast one evening from a seat in a helicopter. If Holt can keep his facts straight about the chopper, he will likely enjoy his tenure in the anchor seat.
article by Brian Steinberg via Variety.com