Andrew Lack

Andrew Lack (born May 16, 1947) is a journalist, television and media executive. He was the chairman of NBC News and MSNBC from 2015 to 2020

Prior to NBCUniversal, Lack held a series of media executive positions, including as the chairman and CEO of Bloomberg Media Group; chairman and CEO of Sony Music Entertainment; and president and chief operating officer of NBC. He is the founder of the non-profit news organization Mississippi Today and its parent company, Deep South Today.

Early life

Lack was born in New York City to a Jewish family. He attended the Browning School, a private school in New York, before graduating from Connecticut boarding school The Gunnery. He studied at Paris-Sorbonne University and graduated from Boston University's College of Fine Arts in 1968. West 57th was known for mixing new storytelling techniques and topics with the same journalistic standards as 60 Minutes. After the affair ended, she says Lack threatened her career and the network paid her for a non-disclosure agreement; a source close to Lack denied the allegations.

In 2006 he became the chairman of Sony BMG. The New York Times reported that he cut losses in half and doubled revenue. and stayed with Bloomberg until 2014. Lack also unified the digital operations of NBC News and MSNBC under a new division head.

In January 2017, Lack announced the hiring of Megyn Kelly away from Fox News saying in a memo, "She's demonstrated tremendous skill and poise, and we're lucky to have her." Kelly was reportedly being paid between $15 million and $20 million a year at NBCUniversal for both a Sunday evening show and the mid-morning Megyn Kelly Today, along with election coverage. In late October 2018, Business Insider reported that Kelly would depart the network following controversial remarks on the nature of blackface.

In 2019, investigative journalist Ronan Farrow claimed that Lack downplayed a human resources complaint of rape against Today anchor Matt Lauer. Farrow, in his book Catch and Kill, also accused Lack of slowing and eventually blocking Farrow's seven-month investigation into Harvey Weinstein. Farrow also alleged that Lack had ordered Richard Greenberg to block reporting on the Harvey Weinstein sexual abuse cases. NBC News denied Farrow's allegations, saying Farrow's reporting at NBC News was not ready for publication in large part because he did not have anyone on the record. On October 10, 2017, The New Yorker ran a story by Farrow about Weinstein with seven named women accusing him of sexual misconduct. Farrow also reported that NBC News hired a "Wikipedia whitewasher" who removed references to NBC News's role in the Harvey Weinstein case from several Wikipedia articles, including Lack's.

In May 2020, NBCUniversal announced Lack would be leaving his position as NBCUniversal Worldwide News Group President by the end of the month, he resigned soon after. Nonprofit journalism

In 2016, Lack founded Mississippi Today, a nonprofit news organization that won a Pulitzer Prize in 2022 for its investigation into the Mississippi welfare funds scandal. Mississippi Today was founded under the umbrella of a parent organization also founded by Lack, Deep South Today, which operates nonprofit news organizations in U.S. southern states.

In 2024, Lack became the executive producer of the new PBS series Deadlock, a series of panel discussions modeled after the Fred Friendly Seminars.

Personal life Lack married twice. In 1970, he married Pamela Ann Blafer in a Jewish ceremony at the Temple Emanu-El in Manhattan. Lack was married to Betsy Kenny Lack from 1992 until their divorce in 2020.

He was honored by the UJA-Federation of New York’s Broadcast, Cable & Film Division on April 9, 2013, for his generous support.