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Tina Urbanski and Colleen King named Executive Producers of MSNBC’s Hardball and The 11th Hour with Brian Williams

January 9, 2018 By WHC Insider

Tina Urbanski, the new Hardball showrunner

 

MSNBC veteran producers Tina Urbanski and Colleen King have been promoted to showrunners for Hardball and The 11th Hour respectively.

Urbanski takes on the role of co-executive producer at Hardball with Chris Matthews, one of the cable channel’s longest-running shows. She takes the reins from Ann Klenk, a veteran producer who spent 19 years at the network and will be retiring from television.

King, a longtime Hardball producer, moves up from senior producer of The 11th Hour. Colleen began her career at CBS and had been a longtime Hardball producer.

MSNBC President Phil Griffin said of the promotions, “Colleen now helms The 11th Hour as executive producer. A key member of the 11th Hour family since the program’s inception, she helped grow the broadcast with Pat Burkey from a 30-minute “pop-up” to the #1 cable news program at 11 o’clock,” and “Tina takes on the role of co-executive producer at Hardball, continuing her fantastic work alongside fellow co-EP Court Harson. She first joined us here at MSNBC in 2002 as an assistant to Chris Matthews, quickly rising through the ranks. While at Hardball, Tina produced memorable interviews with U.S. presidents, politicians and top newsmakers both in-studio and at remote locations around the world, helping the program to become a staple in our primetime lineup.”

You can read Phil Griffin’s full statement below:

Team,

I am thrilled to announce the promotions of two of our best, Colleen King and Tina Urbanski, to executive producer.

Colleen now helms The 11th Hour as executive producer. A key member of the 11th Hour family since the program’s inception, she helped grow the broadcast with Pat Burkey from a 30-minute “pop-up” to the #1 cable news program at 11 o’clock. As a senior producer, Colleen worked across the network on many of our shows and specials, including Hardball, Morning Joe, The 11th Hour and our 2016 election coverage.

With Colleen managing The 11th Hour, Pat will be focusing on Deadline: White House, and will continue working with Brian Williams on breaking news coverage.

Tina takes on the role of co-executive producer at Hardball, continuing her fantastic work alongside fellow co-EP Court Harson. She first joined us here at MSNBC in 2002 as an assistant to Chris Matthews, quickly rising through the ranks. While at Hardball, Tina produced memorable interviews with U.S. presidents, politicians and top newsmakers both in-studio and at remote locations around the world, helping the program to become a staple in our primetime lineup. She was also an important member our 2016 presidential election team, bringing our coverage to life as a senior producer on the campaign trail, from debates to party conventions.

Tina and Court take the reins at Hardball as current co-executive producer Ann Klenk retires after 19 years with NBC family. Ann is a core member of the MSNBC team, and her spirit and dedication are unparalleled. We wish her the best in all her future endeavors.

Please join me in congratulating both Colleen and Tina on their new roles.

Filed Under: News Media Tagged With: Ann Klenk, Brian WIlliams, CBS, Chris Matthews, Colleen King, Hardball, MSNBC, Phil Griffin, The 11th Hour, Tina Urbanski

Brian Williams goes inside The Situation Room

May 3, 2012 By WHC Insider

Brian Williams went where everyone wanted to be on the anniversary of the raid and eventual killing of Osama Bin Laden: Inside the Situation Room. In a special report on NBC’s Rock Center, Williams follows President Obama throughout the White House, recalling the events of the what Obama said is the ‘most important single day of my presidency.’
Watch a clip of the report below and learn how things were kept ‘normal’ inside the White House such as how they ate Costco and ordered pizza, so as not to alert anyone as they watched the raid unfold.

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

Filed Under: News Tagged With: Brian WIlliams, NBC, Osama Bin-Laden, President Obama, Situation Room

Seth Meyers: How do you follow Obama?

April 28, 2011 By WHC Insider

2011 WHCD featured speaker Seth Meyers, head writer and host of Weekend Update for NBC’s Saturday Night Live, told Jimmy Fallon last night he was a little nervous about his duties at Saturday’s dinner. Especially having to follow the President, known for getting even the most hardened reporters to laugh at the annual dinner.

NBC News anchor Brian Williams didn’t help Meyers’ nerves.

“I was a little nervous to begin with and then Brian Williams…sent me an email being like: toughest room in the business – no man comes out unscathed. Even the knees of brave Achilles would go to jelly were he to stand behind that podium. Let me know if I can help…”

At least his parents will be there to cheer him on – and we’re rooting for you, too, Seth!

Filed Under: WHCD 2011 Tagged With: Brian WIlliams, Jimmy Fallon, Seth Meyers, WHCD

Is Washington Suffering from Journalist Dinner Overload?

June 19, 2009 By WHC Insider

U.S. President Obama attends the Radio and Television Correspondents Dinner in Washington.

President Obama at 2009 RTCA Dinner

President Obama in his speech to the RTCA got right to the heart of Washington’s journalist dinner rivalry, saying he was on hand to “Tell jokes that weren’t funny enough for me to use when we did this five weeks ago,” at the White House Correspondents’ dinner (known as the Senior Prom to the RTCA’s Junior Prom.) Then again, he said, twisting the knife deeper: “The jokes may not be as good but neither is the guest list.”

And later: “I think your programming is more relevant than ever before — at least that’s the impression that I get when I read the blogs.”

In his appearance before the Radio and TV correspondents at the Washington D.C. Convention Center, the President was unaccompanied by First Lady Michelle Obama on the orange and yellow rose-rimmed dais and he left at 9:20, before dinner was served. His short stay prompted some last-minute frantic juggling of the entertainment lineup, according to insiders. VP Biden wasn’t there, either, despite apparently erroneous earlier reports that he would attend. A spokeswoman said that he had a scheduling conflict.

Rachel Maddow on MSNBC, right after the speech, noted the President’s “sharp elbowed humor;” a few tweets from the dinner suggested that his humor was “underappreciated” by the audience. He cracked himself up several times, however.

The biggest laughs of the night came when he joked about embattled California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger competing on “I’m a Celebrity….Get Me Out of Here,” then added: “That’s how I feel about tonight.” The dinner, he said, was causing him to miss “date night” with Michelle, and his plans to go for Thai food-pause-“in Bangkok.”

A joke about being in bed with NBC’s Brian Williams, whom he called a terrible house guest, was followed by a list of new TV programs that the success of “Inside the White House” had inspired, the funniest of which was TLC’s “Jon & Kate plus Peter Orszag.”

5th Annual Moves Power Women Awards

Joe Scarborough and Mika Brzezinski

There was also a mild jab at NBC White House Correspondent Chuck Todd for having the style of a TV correspondent and “the facial hair of a radio correspondent.” To MSNBC’s Mika Brzezinski, he said: “We both have partners named Joe who used to be in Congress and don’t know when to stop talking.” CNN’s Wolf Blitzer, he noted, was “the only other man in America with his own situation room,” and it was cooler than the President’s, which he said, was unable “to generate the bandwidth to turn Larry Summers into a hologram.”

Random jokes poked fun at his own Administration, including Richard Holbrooke, whom he alleged sprayed WD-40 that caused Secretary of State Hillary Clinton’s elbow-breaking fall. He announced a “new” plan to rescue the auto business, telling dinner guests to look under their seat, a la Oprah, because everyone was getting a car company. Fox, he said, would get AIG.

Looking relieved that his speech was over, the President ended his remarks with a serious tribute to the work of the press, noting “I am here tonight because I appreciate the role you do.” He got the traditional standing ovation at the beginning and end.

Filed Under: rtca dinner, Washington Events Tagged With: Arnold Schwarzenegger, Brian WIlliams, Hillary Clinton, Joe Biden, Larry Summers, Michelle Obama, Mika Brzezinski, Oprah, President Obama, Rachel Maddow, Richard Holbrooke, Wolf Blitzer

List of Previous Talent: From Sykes to Nixon’s "Disneyland Golden Horseshoe Review"

March 30, 2009 By WHC Insider

Timeline of WHCD Performances From Wikipedia

1945:Performers included Frank Sinatra, Danny Thomas, Jimmy Durante, Fanny Brice and Danny Kaye.

1969: President Richard Nixon personally requested the Disneyland Golden Horseshoe Revue.

wallyboagpecosbill

Wally Boagpecosbill from Golden Horseshoe Revue

1985: Rich Little and President Ronald Reagan in a dual press conference skit.

1988: Yakov Smirnoff

[Read more…]

Filed Under: WHCD History Tagged With: Al Franken, Alretha Franklin, Bob Hope, Brian WIlliams, Cedrick The Entertainer, Chevy Chase, Danny Kaye, Danny THomas, Darrel Hammond, Disneyland, Drew Carey, Elayne Boosler, Fanny Brice, Frank Sinatra, Gerald Ford, Golden Horseshoe Reveiw, Jay Leno, Jimmy Durante, Norm Macdonald, Ozzy Osbourne, Ray Charles, Ray Romano, Rich Little, Richard Nixon, Ronald Reagan, Steven Cobert, White House Correspondents Dinner, Yakov Smirnoff

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About White House Correspondents Insider

Exploring “behind the scenes” of the most powerful city in the world — Washington, D.C. — and those who cover it.

We track the White House Correspondents’ weekend and all the activities around it, from journalists and media companies to the White House and politicos.

Tammy Haddad is Co-Founder and Editor-In-Chief of WHC Insider and CEO of Haddad Media.

White House Correspondents Insider is not affiliated with or approved by the White House Correspondents’ Association, which is a registered trademark of the WHCA.

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