Lots going on at the Peacock Network.
News that David Gregory has been tipped to anchor "Meet the Press" leaked earlier this week, and since then the folks at NBC have been wondering who did it.
Thursday's NY Post reports:
NBC is holding back from anointing David Gregory as the new host of "Meet the Press" because "they're furious about leaks" that tipped off the media, well-placed sources told Page Six. The infamous in-house squabbling over Tim Russert's replacement "is at a new peak" said one tipster, with some NBC suits and talent sore over the network's widely reported choice of Gregory - who had yet to be confirmed as of last night. Another source said the brass blame MSNBC host Chuck Todd for tipping off media blogs on Gregory's new gig - for which Todd was a top contender - and ruining the announcement that was planned to be made this Sunday by interim "Meet the Press" host Tom Brokaw.
As noted in an earlier post here, David Gregory? Yawn. Zzzz. JackRabbit Café would have shaken things up and tapped Rachel Maddow for the moderator spot.
Then there's this from Politico.com:
As Politico reported today, Chris Matthews is moving closer to making a run for the Senate, and according to multiple sources, he is now in contract negotiations with NBC.
The “Hardball” host’s contract up in June 2009, but I’ve heard that the two sides are negotiating this week.
What’s still unclear is whether the current talks are to renew his contract ahead of schedule — as the network recently did with Keith Olbermann last month — or to break it, in order to start early on a Senate campaign in Pennsylvania.
One Democratic operative, who recently discussed the Senate run with Matthews, told Politico: “It’s the MSNBC stuff that’s going to jam him up. I said, 'If you want to be a U.S. senator, step up and get into the race.'”
Network executives have made no secret that Matthews’ current yearly salary, around $5 million, would be reduced under a new contract.
If Matthews plans to stay, it might be advantageous to negotiate now, while his ratings are inflated from the intense interest in the 2008 campaign. The Senate rumor, to some insiders, has been viewed as a ploy to increase his worth to the network for the purpose of negotiations.
Matthews’ agent, Richard Liebner of N.S. Bienstock, declined to comment on Matthews' contract when reached earlier this week. (Liebner is also David Gregory's agent, so he's already pretty busy this week).
MSNBC also declined to comment.
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