MSNBC Names 2 New Executive Producers

By A.J. Katz 

MSNBC president Phil Griffin has announced the promotion of two women to executive producer positions: Colleen King and Tina Urbanski.

King will now lead The 11th Hour With Brian Williams. King has been a producer on the program since its inception in 2016, when it was originally supposed to be a half-hour “pop-up” program meant to be an extension of Williams’s role at MSNBC’s breaking news anchor. Now, it airs for an hour, and is the top show in its time slot.

King had previously worked as a senior producer, focusing on MSNBC shows and specials, including Hardball, Morning Joe, The 11th Hour and the network’s 2016 election coverage.

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Patrick Burkey, who had been working closely with King on 11th Hour and is a longtime producer for Williams, will now helm Deadline: White House, hosted by Nicolle Wallace, and continue to work with Williams when it comes to coverage of breaking news.

Urbanski becomes the co-ep at Hardball With Chris Matthews, working with Court Harson. Urbanski joined MSNBC in 2002, as an assistant to Matthews, and has worked as a producer on Hardball for years. She also served as a senior producer for the network’s election coverage.

Urbanski takes over for current co-ep Ann Klenk, who is retiring after 19 years at NBC News.

Below is the Griffin’s internal memo to staff:

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.

 

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