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Phil Griffin

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American television executive (born 1956)
Phil Griffin
BornPhilip T. Griffin
(1956-11-27) November 27, 1956 (age 68)
Alma materVassar College
OccupationPresident of MSNBC

Philip T. Griffin (born November 27, 1956) is an American television executive, who from 2008 to 2021 served as president of MSNBC, a United States cable news channel.

Early life

The youngest of four children, Griffin grew up in Chappaqua, New York and Toledo, Ohio. His father was an executive at Macy's. Griffin's family were Democrats and politically minded. As a child, his mother took him to rallies for the hungry. His brother was a conscientious objector.

In 1979, Griffin graduated with a degree in English from Vassar College. He wrote his thesis on Milton's Paradise Lost.

Early career

Following graduation, Griffin moved to Atlanta to take a minimum wage job at the fledgling CNN. Griffin was working a camera at CNN when it aired for the first time, on June 1, 1980.

At CNN, he befriended future MSNBC host Keith Olbermann, who worked there as a sportscaster. After several years with CNN, working primarily as a writer-producer-editor in their sports department, Griffin began work at NBC in 1983, working as a relief producer for vacationing producers at The Today Show. Six months later Griffin convinced The Today Show's executive producer to hire him on staff.

In 1987, he became a producer at USA Today: The Television Show. After it was canceled, he returned to The Today Show. At NBC, Griffin had several jobs, including as a senior broadcast producer for NBC Nightly News with Tom Brokaw. He led the NBC News coverage of the O. J. Simpson trial.

NBCUniversal/MSNBC

Griffin was with MSNBC from its start in 1996. He has been executive producer for shows such as Hardball with Chris Matthews and MSNBC's The Big Show with Keith Olbermann. He was the head of prime-time programming for the network. Griffin approved the launch of many shows, including The Rachel Maddow Show and Morning Joe. He also hired Lawrence O'Donnell, Ed Schultz, and Chris Hayes.

In 2005, former NBCUniversal CEO Jeff Zucker appointed Griffin senior vice president of NBC News and in 2008, president of MSNBC.

In 2013, Griffin said he wanted MSNBC to be more of a lifestyle brand than a political hub. In 2014, Griffin said the network would take steps to widen its demographic to include a more ethnically diverse audience, to increase its coverage outside of the Washington, D.C. beltway and to appeal to younger viewers, including with online initiatives. Griffin has asserted that MSNBC is an independent voice that does not favor Democrats. He has rejected claims that partisanship is equivalent at MSNBC and Fox News.

In 2016, after MSNBC started covering more hard news during the day, Griffin likened its evening shows to an op-ed page in a newspaper. The network had its highest ever ratings in 2016 and in the first quarter of 2017 averaged 1.46 million views in prime time, beating CNN. Griffin said that he thought the surge in audience was attributable to scoops and new information, rather than partisan leanings.

In May 2017, Griffin signed a multi-year renewal contract to remain as president of MSNBC in the midst of a ratings surge during and following the 2016 presidential election. In June 2017, he said that the network was making an effort to include diverse political voices. Earlier in the year, Griffin signed former George W. Bush communications director Nicolle Wallace to host an afternoon program for the network.

In October 2019, Ronan Farrow reported that in a staff meeting, Griffin showed a picture of television reporter Maria Menounos having a "wardrobe malfunction" with her bathing suit. "Would you look at that?" Griffin reportedly said while exhaling hard. "Not bad, not bad."

On December 7, 2020, MSNBC announced that at the end of January, Griffin would be replaced with journalist and television executive Rashida Jones.

Personal life

In 1997, Griffin married Kory Kim Apton in a civil ceremony in New York. They have two children, daughter Riley and son Jackson.

He has said his idols are former Fox News CEO Roger Ailes, former NBC News anchor Tom Brokaw, and television news executive Andrew Lack. "I am one of the few people in television who never wanted to be on-air," he told The New Republic in 2013.

References

  1. "Person Details for Phil T Griffin, 'United States Public Records, 1970–2009'". FamilySearch. Retrieved November 6, 2017.
  2. ^ Gillette, Felix (October 28, 2008). "Original Cable Guy Phil Griffin Tastes Network Revenge". The New York Observer. Retrieved November 6, 2017.
  3. ^ Dana, Rebecca (March 25, 2013). "Slyer Than Fox". The New Republic. Retrieved 2017-05-28.
  4. Gillette, Felix (July 16, 2008). "Phil Griffin Gets New Title: President of MSNBC". The New York Observer. Retrieved November 6, 2017.
  5. ^ Klaassen, Abbey (June 12, 2006). "'Today' Show's Phil Griffin to Oversee MSNBC". Ad Age. Retrieved November 7, 2017.
  6. Olbermann, Keith (November 6, 2010). "The Scandal That Ate My TV Program". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2017-11-07.
  7. Kurtz, Howard (January 30, 2017). "Keith Olbermann: How Anger Fueled His Rise and Fall at MSNBC". The Daily Beast. Retrieved November 7, 2017.
  8. Sanneh, Kelefa (September 2, 2013). "Twenty-Four-Hour Party People". Annals of the Media (story series). The New Yorker. Retrieved November 7, 2017.
  9. Battaglio, Stephen (December 29, 2014). "MSNBC to widen its scope and make other changes, its president says". Company Town (story series). Los Angeles Times. ISSN 0458-3035. Retrieved November 7, 2017.
  10. Cogan, Marin (September 11, 2012). "The GQ+A: With MSNBC's Phil Griffin". GQ. Retrieved November 7, 2017.
  11. Gold, Hadas (June 1, 2016). "MSNBC's year of standing up straight". Politico. Retrieved November 7, 2017.
  12. THR Staff (April 13, 2017). Brower, Alison; Guthrie, Marisa (eds.). "The 35 Most Powerful People in New York Media". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved November 7, 2017.
  13. Steinberg, Brian (May 30, 2017). "MSNBC Chief Sees Hard News Focus, Trump Scandals Driving Ratings Surge". Variety. Retrieved November 7, 2017.
  14. de Moraes, Lisa (May 26, 2017). "MSNBC President Phil Griffin Signs New Deal; Whither Goest Lawrence O'Donnell?". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved November 7, 2017.
  15. Steinberg, Brian; Littleton, Cynthia (June 13, 2017). "Cable News Wars: Inside the Unprecedented Battle for Viewers in Trump Era". Variety. Retrieved November 7, 2017.
  16. Steinberg, Brian (April 28, 2017). "MSNBC Sets Nicolle Wallace at 4 P.M. Hour". Variety. Retrieved November 7, 2017.
  17. Wulfsohn, Joseph A. "MSNBC boss Phil Griffin reportedly showed graphic Maria Menounos image at meeting, sparking backlash". Fox News Channel. Fox News. Retrieved 21 October 2019.
  18. Mullin, Benjamin; Flint, Joe (2020-12-07). "MSNBC to Name Rashida Jones President, Succeeding Phil Griffin". Wall Street Journal. Retrieved 2020-12-07.
  19. Smith Brady, Lois (February 9, 1997). "Kory Apton and Phil Griffin". The New York Times. Retrieved November 7, 2017.
  20. "Erna Neu Apton Obituary". The New York Times. April 9, 2006. Retrieved November 7, 2017.
  21. Guthrie, Marisa (October 3, 2012). "MSNBC President Phil Griffin on Whom He'd Poach From Fox News and Why Obama Avoids the Network (Q&A)". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved November 7, 2017.

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