NBC News Adds Media Coverage Under Claire Atkinson

NBC News and sister network MSNBC are getting into the media reporting game with its first unit.

Claire Atkinson, a former media reporter from The New York Post, will lead the initiative, which will include a host of internal and external contributors. According to a spokeswoman, Atkinson has tapped Recode’s Kara Swisher and Peter Kafka, Buzzfeed’s Ben Smith, ex-Time editor in chief John Huey, journalist Steven Brill and Vanity Fair’s Gabe Sherman for media insight across technology, politics, business and culture. NBC News’ Jim Rainey and Jo Ling Kent, a NBC News and MSNBC correspondent, will also contribute to the report.

In her new role, Atkinson, whose official title is senior editor and reporter, will report to Catherine Kim, executive editor of NBC Digital. The media unit, which has yet to be named, will launch in the coming weeks on NBCNews.com and on its various platforms.

“Media is one of the biggest stories of 2017, cutting across the busy intersection of politics, technology, business and culture,” Kim said in a memo to staff Friday morning. “From Silicon Valley to the White House to your smartphone, the landscape is changing dramatically. We see it every day. Competition for attention on screens is fierce. Credibility is under attack. Innovation is constant. And we want to cover this moment — in our own unique way.”

The move is a way for NBC to compete with the likes of CNN, who has an large media team helmed by Brian Stelter. As previously reported, NBC is in the process of overhauling its digital report with a new site and coverage areas.

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