Washington's new chief: Mark Whitaker fills Washington Bureau vacancy at NBC

Black Enterprise, Oct, 2008 by Marcia A. Wade

WHEN MARK WHITAKER WAS SELECTED TO HEAD NBC'S Washington Bureau, a position formerly held by the late Tim Russert, the move was the latest in great achievements for the veteran journalist.

Whitaker worked his way up the ranks at Newsweek magazine, from an intern in 1977 to the company's first black editor-in-chief in 1998. He left Newsweek to become vice president and editor-in-chief of the Washington Post-Newsweek interactive division before serving as senior vice president of NBC News.

In addition to overseeing some 100 employees at NBC News, Whitaker will work with correspondents and producers on editorial content for MSNBC. Unlike Russert, he will not moderate Meet the Press.

"Mark brings a certain sensitivity to that position," says Barbara Ciara, president of the National Association of Black Journalists. "For black [viewers], I think you are going to see a more level playing field in terms of assignments and coverage coming out of that office. For black journalists who aspire to achieve a high level at network television it is a good sign, but dearly we need to multiply our numbers in order for it to have greater impact."

According to recent data from NABJ, for general managers--the highest-ranking position at a television news station--only three out of 57, or 5.2%, were nonwhite.

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A member of the NBC News Diversity Council, Whitaker remains committed to increasing minority representation in newsrooms and getting more diverse points of view on broadcasts. "We will continue to work on it, and I will do everything I can as bureau chief to further those goals and work with NBC News President Steve Capus to promote diversity on MSNBC," Whitaker says.