NBC News facts for kids
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| News division of | NBC |
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| Key people | Rebecca Blumenstein (President) |
| Founded | February 21, 1940 |
| Headquarters | 30 Rockefeller Plaza, New York City, U.S. |
| Major Bureaus |
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| Area served | Worldwide |
| Broadcast programs |
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| Divisions | NBC News International |
NBC News is the news part of the American TV network NBC. It's a big division of NBCUniversal, which is owned by Comcast. NBC News creates many news shows and reports for people all over the world.
The team at NBC News works hard to bring you important stories. They have a president, Rebecca Blumenstein, who leads all their news operations. NBCUniversal also has other news channels like MSNBC, CNBC, and Noticias Telemundo for Spanish speakers.
NBC News made history by airing the first regular TV news show in America on February 21, 1940. Their main offices are in New York City at 30 Rockefeller Plaza. They produce famous shows like NBC Nightly News, the morning show Today, and the long-running interview program Meet the Press. You can also find many old news videos from the NBCUniversal Archives online.
Contents
History of NBC News
Early Days of TV News
The very first regular American TV newscast was on February 21, 1940. It was hosted by Lowell Thomas and shown in New York. In June 1940, NBC's New York station, W2XBS (now WNBC), showed over 30 hours of the Republican National Convention. This was one of the first "network" TV programs, using relays to send the signal to other cities.
After World War II, NBC aired NBC Television Newsreel, which showed filmed news highlights. Later, in 1948, this show became Camel Newsreel Theatre. When John Cameron Swayze joined as an anchor in 1949, it was renamed Camel News Caravan. This show had many features of modern newscasts. NBC hired its own film crews, which helped it become popular.
In 1950, David Brinkley started working as a reporter in Washington. He became well-known when he was paired with Chet Huntley in 1956. By 1955, Camel News Caravan was not as popular as CBS's news show. So, NBC decided to replace it with a new program.
The Huntley-Brinkley Era
In the late 1950s, TV became a big part of American homes. NBC News was known for its strong news coverage. In 1956, NBC brought together anchors Chet Huntley and David Brinkley. They became very famous, supported by a team of talented reporters.
Their show, The Huntley–Brinkley Report, started on October 29, 1956. For many years, it had more viewers than its main competitor, the CBS News program.
NBC News played a key role in covering the civil rights movement. In 1955, they reported on Martin Luther King Jr.'s leadership during the Montgomery bus boycott. A year later, John Chancellor's reports on the Little Rock Nine were very important. Other reporters also covered the movement, sometimes facing danger.
NBC News also provided extensive coverage of American space missions, like Project Mercury and Project Apollo. They even set up their largest studio, Studio 8H, for space coverage. This studio used models and maps to show what was happening in space. In 1969, NBC won an Emmy Award for its coverage of the first Moon landing.
On November 22, 1963, NBC interrupted its regular shows to announce that John F. Kennedy had been shot. They provided 71 hours of continuous news coverage of the event and the president's funeral. This included the only live broadcast of Lee Harvey Oswald's shooting.
The NBC Nightly News Era Begins
After Chet Huntley retired in 1970, NBC's news ratings started to drop. The main news show was renamed NBC Nightly News on August 3, 1970.
For a while, Nightly News had different anchors, including John Chancellor. By the 1980s, Tom Brokaw became the main anchor. In the late 1990s, Nightly News became the top-rated evening newscast, a position it has often held since. Brian Williams took over from Brokaw in 2004. In 2015, Lester Holt became the permanent anchor.
In 1993, Dateline NBC aired a report about the safety of General Motors trucks. It was later found that the footage used in the report was not accurate. NBC publicly admitted the error and resolved the issue with General Motors.
In 2007, Nightly News moved into a new high-definition studio in New York City. The cable news channel MSNBC also moved to the same location, bringing all NBC News operations together.
Changes and Challenges (2007–2016)
During a tough economic time, NBC News had to reduce costs. This led to some staff changes.
After the passing of Meet the Press moderator Tim Russert in 2008, David Gregory became the new host. Later, in 2014, Chuck Todd took over as the moderator.
By 2009, NBC News was a leader in TV news, with highly-rated morning, evening, and Sunday shows.
In 2012, NBC News broadcast an edited part of a 911 call related to a shooting incident. The editing made it seem like something was said that wasn't. NBC News later apologized for this mistake.
In 2012, NBC News reporter Richard Engel and his team were taken while reporting in Syria. They escaped after five days. Later, NBC had to update their account of what happened after more information came out.
In 2015, the NBC election team got a permanent space for their "decision desk," where they analyze election results.
In 2016, the Donald Trump Access Hollywood tape became public. NBC News had the tape first but debated publishing it. Another news organization released the story, and then NBC News released its own report shortly after.
Recent Developments
In March 2024, NBC News hired Ronna McDaniel, who used to lead the Republican National Committee. This decision caused some debate, especially because of her past statements about the 2020 election. During an interview on Meet the Press, McDaniel clarified her views, saying that Joe Biden won the 2020 election fairly.
However, after some NBC and MSNBC anchors expressed concerns, NBC announced on March 26, 2024, that they would not hire McDaniel.
In 2025, NBC News was asked to move out of its long-time workspace at the Pentagon. NBC News expressed disappointment about this decision.
Leaders of NBC News
Many talented people have led NBC News over the years. Here are some of the presidents:
- William R. McAndrew (1965–1968)
- Reuven Frank (1968–1973, 1981–1985)
- Richard Wald (1973–1977)
- Lester Crystal (1977–1979)
- William J. Small (1979–1981)
- Lawrence Grossman (1985–1988)
- Michael Gartner (1988–1993)
- Andrew Lack (1993–2001)
- Neal Shapiro (2001–2005)
- Steve Capus (2005 – 2013)
- Deborah Turness (2013–2017) – the first woman to lead the division.
- Noah Oppenheim (2017–2023)
- Rebecca Blumenstein (2023–present)
NBC News Programs
Current NBC News Shows
- Meet the Press (since 1947) – A Sunday morning interview show.
- Today (since 1952) – A popular morning news and talk show.
- Today 3rd Hour (since 2018)
- NBC News Daily (since 2022)
- NBC Nightly News (since 1970) – The main evening newscast.
- Saturday Today (since 1992)
- Dateline NBC (since 1992) – A news magazine show.
- Early Today (1982–1983; since 1999)
- Today with Jenna & Friends (since 2025)
- Sunday Today with Willie Geist (since 2016)
NBC News Now Programs
NBC News Now is a free streaming news service.
- Meet the Press Now (since 2022)
- Morning News Now (since 2022)
- Hallie Jackson Now (since 2021)
- NBC News Daily (since 2021)
- Top Story with Tom Llamas (since 2021)
- Stay Tuned Now with Gadi Schwartz (since 2023)
Past NBC News Shows
- Camel News Caravan (1948–1956)
- The Huntley-Brinkley Report (1956–1970)
- First Tuesday/Chronolog (1969–1973)
- Weekend (1974–1979)
- NBC News Overnight (1982–83)
- NBC News at Sunrise (1983–1999)
- NBC Nightside (1991–1998)
- Today with Kathie Lee and Hoda (2008–2019)
- Rock Center with Brian Williams (2011–2013)
- Megyn Kelly Today (2017–2018)
- Today with Hoda & Jenna (2019–2025)
Other Productions
NBC News also creates content for the internet and other news channels like CNBC and MSNBC. They produce a daily show called Stay Tuned for Snapchat.
NBC News International
In 2016, NBCUniversal planned to buy a part of Euronews, a European news group. This deal was completed in 2017. However, in 2020, NBCUniversal sold its share in Euronews to focus on a new service called NBC Sky World News, which was later canceled.
NBC News Radio
NBC News Radio is a radio news service. It's produced by iHeartMedia with NBC News. You can listen to it online and on many radio stations. It provides news, sports, and other features throughout the day.
The current NBC News Radio uses reports from NBC News reporters. It also gives hourly newscasts to over 1,000 radio stations. WOR in New York City is its main station.
NBC News Radio is NBC's first all-news radio format since the NBC News & Information Service (NIS) closed in 1977. The original NBC Radio Network was sold in 1987.
NBC News Units
Current Units
- NBCUniversal Archives: A collection of historic footage and news.
- NBC News Studios: A team that makes documentaries.
- NBC News Channel: A service that provides news videos and reports to NBC's local TV stations. It's based in Charlotte, North Carolina, with offices in major cities like New York City, Washington, D.C., Chicago, and Los Angeles.
- NBC News Digital Group: This group runs NBCNews.com and other online news services.
- NBC News Now: A free streaming news channel launched in 2019. It broadcasts live news during weekdays and shows NBC news programs overnight and on weekends. You can watch it on YouTube and the Peacock streaming service.
NBC News Offices (Bureaus)
Main Offices
- New York City: This is the main headquarters for NBC News.
- Universal City, California (Los Angeles): The West Coast office.
- Washington, D.C.: The office for covering government and politics.
- London, England, UK: The main office for European news.
Other Offices in the United States
- Atlanta
- Boston
- Chicago
- Denver
- Fort Worth – Dallas, Texas
- Houston
- Miami – Fort Lauderdale, Florida
- New Britain – Hartford – New Haven, Connecticut
- Philadelphia
- San Diego
- San Jose – San Francisco – Oakland, California
- San Juan
- Charlotte
International Offices
- Johannesburg, South Africa
- Kabul, Afghanistan
- Nairobi, Kenya
- Abuja, Nigeria
- Lagos, Nigeria
- Cape Town, South Africa
- Singapore
- Sydney, Australia
- Melbourne, Australia
- Managua, Nicaragua
- Tokyo, Japan
- Hong Kong
- Beijing, China
- Istanbul, Turkey
- Frankfurt, Germany
- Baghdad, Iraq
- Beirut, Lebanon
- Jerusalem, Israel/Palestine
- New Delhi, India
- Jakarta, Indonesia
- Bangkok, Thailand
- Tehran, Iran
Famous Coverage
NBC News was the first American news organization to interview two Russian presidents, Vladimir Putin and Mikhail Gorbachev. Tom Brokaw was also the only American TV news reporter to see the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989.
Notable People at NBC News
Anchors
- Peter Alexander – Weekend Today Co-Anchor
- Mika Brzezinski – Morning Joe Co-Anchor
- José Díaz-Balart – NBC Nightly News Saturday Anchor
- Dylan Dreyer – 3rd Hour Today Co-Anchor & Weather Anchor
- Willie Geist – Sunday Today Anchor & Morning Joe Co-Anchor
- Savannah Guthrie – Today Co-Anchor
- Jenna Bush Hager – Co-host of Today with Jenna & Friends
- Lester Holt – Anchor of Dateline NBC & NBC Nightly News
- Hallie Jackson – NBC Nightly News Sunday Anchor
- Hoda Kotb – Contributing Anchor and Correspondent
- Tom Llamas – NBC Nightly News Anchor & Top Story with Tom Llamas Anchor
- Rachel Maddow – The Rachel Maddow Show Anchor
- Craig Melvin – Today Co-Anchor & 3rd Hour Today Co-Anchor
- Al Roker – Chief NBC News Meteorologist & Today Weather Anchor
- Stephanie Ruhle – Anchor of The 11th Hour
- Joe Scarborough – Morning Joe Co-Anchor
- Katy Tur – Katy Tur Reports Anchor
- Kristen Welker – Meet the Press Moderator
Correspondents and Reporters
- Andrea Mitchell – Chief Foreign Affairs & Chief Washington Correspondent
- Richard Engel – Chief Foreign Correspondent
- Courtney Kube – Pentagon Correspondent
- Kelly O'Donnell – Chief Justice and National Affairs Correspondent
- Jacob Soboroff – Correspondent
- Anne Thompson – Chief Environmental Affairs Correspondent
- Pete Williams – (Retired 2022)
Contributors and Analysts
- Jon Meacham – NBC News/MSNBC Presidential Historian
- Al Sharpton – MSNBC’s Morning Joe Contributor and Host of PoliticsNation
- Meredith Vieira – Special Correspondent
International Broadcasts
MSNBC is not widely shown outside North and South America. However, some NBC News and MSNBC programs are shown for a few hours a day on OSN News in the Middle East and North Africa.
Meet the Press is still shown on CNBC Europe. Also, NBC News NOW rebroadcasts Meet the Press, Today, and NBC Nightly News.
In the Philippines, NBC Nightly News and Today are shown on TAP TV. TAP TV also sometimes airs special coverage from NBC News, like U.S. Elections.
The Seven Network in Australia works closely with NBC. They often share news resources. Today, Weekend Today, and Meet the Press are all broadcast on the Seven Network in Australia.
In Hong Kong, NBC Nightly News is shown live or slightly delayed on TVB Pearl every day.
In the United Kingdom, the ITV network used to air parts of NBC Nightly News. NBC News shares facilities and crew in the UK with ITN. NBC News Now was also available as a channel on Sky and Virgin Media platforms until December 2023, but it's still free to watch on YouTube.
Theme Music
Meet the Press, NBC Nightly News, and special news reports use music from "The Mission" by John Williams. This music was first used by NBC in 1985 and was updated in 2004.
See also
In Spanish: NBC News para niños
