NBC Prez: Morning Papers

> Nice Jacques Steinberg lead: “Neal Shapiro, who led NBC News through the Sept. 11 terror attacks and the conflict in Iraq, and who oversaw the first anchor succession on a network nightly newscast in nearly a quarter-century, announced yesterday that he was resigning as president of the news division, effective Friday.”

> Phil Rosenthal: “Everyone knew this was coming eventually. It was forecast long ago. Still, when it finally happened, its full impact remained uncertain.”

> “It’s unlikely his departure will have a substantial effect on the news division, because other executives had begun assuming broader roles in the last few months,” Matea Gold writes.

> Steve Capus “scored major points last week with his coordination of NBC’s Hurricane Katrina coverage,” while Shapiro was on vacation, Gail Shister says. “No timetable for NBC to name a permanent successor, but the highly regarded Capus is expected to be on the network’s short list.”