NewsHour Productions has assumed control of Washington Week, marking a significant consolidation of PBS’ national news programming under a unified production entity. This move places another cornerstone of public broadcasting’s news division under the NewsHour Productions umbrella, a subsidiary of WETA in Washington, D.C. Washington Week, a long-standing Friday political analysis program, has been a PBS fixture since 1970, originating from WETA since its inception in 1967 and currently moderated by Yamiche Alcindor.
This operational shift was disclosed by NewsHour Executive Producer (EP) Sara Just at a recent Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB) board meeting. Just articulated that WETA CEO Sharon Rockefeller spearheaded this change to “maximize resources” across productions. The transition was immediate, coinciding with the departure of Jeff Bieber, Washington Week‘s former VP and EP, who is leaving to establish Bieber Productions, an independent documentary production company for public broadcasting. WETA representatives clarified that the restructuring of Washington Week‘s management is part of a broader consolidation strategy and not directly related to Bieber’s exit.
Sara Just will temporarily oversee Washington Week as EP until a permanent replacement is appointed. The new EP will report directly to Just, as detailed in a staff memo from Rockefeller and WETA EVP and COO Jason Daisey on November 29. The memo emphasized that this is “only an operational shift” aligned with a “strategic examination of how we optimize production of our expanded news portfolio.”
Michael Rancilio is the Senior Vice President and General Manager of NewsHour Productions. Annette Miller, previously VP of the subsidiary, retired on Friday, according to a NewsHour spokesperson.
The integration of Washington Week into NewsHour Productions is part of a larger initiative to consolidate PBS’ flagship public affairs programs. NewsHour Productions is also preparing to manage NewsHour Weekend, hosted by Geoff Bennett. By April 2022, the weekend program, which began in 2013, will no longer be co-produced with the Creative News Group at the WNET Group in New York City.
During the CPB board meeting, CPB Senior Vice President Kathy Merritt highlighted the financial rationale behind consolidating NewsHour Weekend within WETA. She stated that bringing all NewsHour productions “under one roof would allow for a more efficient and effective use of public media resources,” following consultations with PBS. Merritt, who is responsible for CPB’s radio and journalism grants and CSG services, also pointed out potential audience growth opportunities for NewsHour Weekend under this new structure, particularly in digital reach. NewsHour‘s YouTube channel amassed 466 million views in 2020, a 50% increase year-over-year, and its website recorded 136 million page views, a 51% increase. Like many news outlets, NewsHour experienced audience growth during the coronavirus pandemic.
Just explained to the CPB board that combining operations for NewsHour and NewsHour Weekend would foster better collaboration and streamline staffing. She noted that the separate video production computer systems used by the weekend program’s producers at WNET had made sharing content with the WETA-based team “a laborious effort.”
The restructuring plan includes reassigning staff across the three programs, with some producers working schedules spanning Wednesday to Sunday or Friday to Tuesday. These changes are designed to create versatile roles, enabling staff to contribute to NewsHour, Washington Week, and NewsHour Weekend.
