NBC News finds itself in the unfortunate position of preparing to cover a splashy book that is expected to be packed with jaw-dropping allegations — about NBC News.
With Ronan Farrow’s long-awaited book “Catch and Kill: Lies, Spies, and a Conspiracy to Protect Predators” due on shelves Oct. 15 — and expected to delve into ousted anchor Matt Lauer’s relationships with younger staffers, as well as the network’s alleged decision not to complete Farrow’s investigation into Harvey Weinstein — insiders say execs have been huddling to figure out how to deal with the fallout.
While sources say that network brass believe the worst of the allegations about Farrow’s Weinstein story — which won a Pulitzer and helped to bring down the disgraced mogul — have already come out, we’re told that there’s serious anxiety at the network about what the book says about Lauer’s philandering. “They’re bracing for bombshells,” said a source.
While Lauer was fired as a “Today” anchor in 2017 for his sexual encounters with one staffer, Page Six has reported that Farrow has interviews with several new alleged victims of the ousted host in the Little, Brown book.
We also reported that his original accuser will publicly identify herself for the first time in the book.
Lauer has denied the accusations, previously stating that “I want to make it perfectly clear that any allegations or reports of coercive, aggressive or abusive actions on my part, at any time, are absolutely false.”
We’re told that other newsrooms around town expect the book to be big news.
“It’s a highly anticipated release in other newsrooms,” said an industry insider. “Ronan usually does quite a bit of press for his reporting so you have to imagine the book will dominate the news cycle for several days.”
NBC has denied that it “spiked” Farrow’s story about Weinstein and produced a 12-page report on the incident. An NBC spokesperson declined to comment.
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