Controversial NBC News Chief Finally Forced Out

Controversial NBC News chairman Andy Lack has finally been forced out amid a major shakeup at the company.  Lack was widely believed to have killed Ronan Farrow's reporting on Harvey Weinstein.  Farrow later won the Pulitzer Prize for his reporting after it was published in the New Yorker magazine.

There had been rumors that Lack was on the chopping block after stories came to light that NBC was the target of an inquiry by the New York’s attorney general into allegations of sexual harassment, retaliation and gender discrimination.  Former NBC News anchor Linda Vester told reporters that she was one of the women who was interviewed as part of the investigation, and she said they wanted to know about any involvement that Lack had in claims of retaliation.  In 2018, Vester accused NBC News stalwart Tom Brokaw of making unwanted sexual advances, something that he denied.


In addition, talk had been rife for years that Lack was a "dead man walking" following a slew of high-profile scandals under his leadership.   During his time as chairman, Lack was repeatedly forced to deny that NBC News killed Ronan Farrow's Harvey Weinstein reporting.  Lack was universally ridiculed after he sent an exhaustive defense of the network's handling of Farrow's investigation of Weinstein to all NBC employees, denying that his close ties to Weinstein played any role in the network's rejection of Ronan Farrow's investigative reporting.

Lack was also at the helm when disgraced Today host Matt Lauer was forced out for sexual misconduct.   At the time, Lack released a statement claiming it was the 'first' time it had ever received a complaint about Lauer in his 30-year career at the network.  That statement was later revealed to be a lie, when reports surfaced that NBC insiders had long known about Lauer's apalling behavior.

Lack was also responsible for hiring controversial Fox News anchor Megyn Kelly for $69 million.  She struggled to hold ratings, and was later forced out after she tried to legitimize the use of blackface as part of a Halloween costume. 

While an executive producer in the CBS news division, Lack engaged in an extramarital affair with one of his correspondents,  Jane Wallace, who described him as "almost unrelenting" in his pursuit of her.   After the affair ended, she says Lack threatened her career and the network paid her for a non-disclosure agreement.

After Brian Williams lost his job as anchor of the NBC evening news for lying about his helicopter being shot down during the 2003 Iraq war, Lack controversially decided to bring Williams back as the breaking news anchor for MSNBC.