Peter Kafka

Recent Posts by Peter Kafka

Former NPR CEO Vivian Schiller Set to Land at NBC News

Former National Public Radio head Vivian Schiller, who left her last job under a political cloud, looks to have found a new position. She’s in talks to work at NBC News, where she’ll oversee digital projects.

People familiar with the company say Schiller, who once ran the New York Times’ Web site, will report to NBC News chief Steve Capus. Both Schiller and NBC declined to comment.

[UPDATE: Now NBC has announced the hire: Schiller will be chief digital officer, a new position.]

Schiller resigned from NPR in March, following a series of political flare-ups: The final straw was the release of a gotcha video that showed one of her lieutenants criticizing Republicans and the Tea Party.

If she shows up at NBC, I wouldn’t be shocked to see yelps from partisans who will argue that her hiring proves that the network is biased toward the left, etc.

Then again, NBC’s new owner, Comcast, is getting used to political controversy. Most recently, it has been asked to explain why it hired an FCC commissioner that had just voted on the company’s recent merger.

Latest Video

View all videos »

Search »

There was a worry before I started this that I was going to burn every bridge I had. But I realize now that there are some bridges that are worth burning.

— Valleywag editor Sam Biddle