Exclusives
The editorial employees at NBC News Digital voted overwhelmingly to unionize with the NewsGuild of New York, which will now represent about 150 employees at nbcnews.com, today.com and msnbc.com. The vote tally, announced Friday, was 90-40 in favor of unionizing.
Chris Berend, EVP of NBC News Digital, said in a memo today that his division is adding 70 jobs. The 20% boost in staffing is part of the company’s efforts to expand the NBC News NOW streaming service into a 24-hour platform of live programming as early as this winter. NBC Left Field, the company’s digital video studio founded two years ago, and its MACH science and tech vertical are being shuttered.
NBC News has been producing more videos for its own platforms and social channels as it gets ready to launch a 24-hour, over-the-top streaming network. Over the past 12 months, NBC News has increased its video output for its own sites and apps by 15% to roughly 130 videos per month.
The new in-house production team dedicated to creating video for various brands across the NBC News Digital Group and geared for social, mobile and Web audiences.
It’s been a year since NBC took control of one of the Web’s best known news sites, MSNBC.com. On its first anniversary, NBC News Digital is still a work in progress as the now-independent operation works to dispel lingering Microsoft ties and to deploy a reconstructed ad sales force.
