NBC News has officially named Deborah Turness as its new president. Turness will start her new role in August, reporting to NBCUniversal News Group chairman Pat Fili-Krushel.

“It is quite simply the greatest imaginable honor to be named as the next President of NBC News,” said Turness in a statement. “I am hugely excited by the opportunities that lie ahead and look forward to working with the talented journalists and technicians who make it one of the great global news operations.”

Turness is the editor of ITV News in the UK, a role she has held since 2004. She will remain that role until July, helping to select her successor at the British broadcaster. ITV and NBC News have long been partners, sharing bureaus and correspondents across the globe.

“Deborah has built an outstanding reputation as both a journalist and business executive with a proven track record for innovation and collaboration,” said Fili-Krushel in a statement. “She is a leader with a global perspective, who is also very familiar with NBC News, having worked closely with us through our partnership with ITN. Her passion for the news business, combined with her creativity and vision, will be a tremendous asset to NBC News, and I’m very pleased to welcome her to the team.”

The announcement was expected, as multiple outlets reported that Turness was the pick a week and a half ago. Her name was first floated back in April.

More information, below.

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Breaking: “Rock Center with Brian Williams” will finish its current run on June 21, then shut down production.

“While we’re disappointed with the news, we are very proud of the hard work that the ‘Rock Center’ team put into the program each week,” NBC News Group chief Pat Fili-Krushel wrote in a note to staff this afternoon. “Rock Center” was given a 3-year commitment when it launched in the Fall of 2011. When it comes to a close, it will have run for 20 months.

The show never caught on with viewers and was moved five times on the NBC schedule in its first year alone.

“I would like to thank Brian, Alex, David and the entire “Rock Center” team for their efforts. The show will be missed,” writes Fili-Krushel.

There’s no word on the fate of the correspondents and staff of “Rock Center” or whether layoffs will be necessary. Some staffers will likely be offered positions in other areas of the NBC News Group.

Full note, after the jump…

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NBC News is expected to name Deborah Turness as its new president, a source tells TVNewser. News of her likely appointment was reported this morning in The New York Times and The Guardian.

TVNewser hears an official announcement from NBC News could come as early as next week.

Turness, 45, is the editor of ITV News, the news arm of UK broadcaster ITV. Turness drew acclaim at ITV for keeping it competitive, even against the well-funded and iconic BBC News. Her appointment will end a three-month search for Steve Capus‘ successor.

She was the first female to hold the editor position, equivalent to a network news division president here in the U.S. She assumed that role in 2004, and before that served as deputy editor at both ITV News and Five News. She also served as a producer in ITV News’ Washington DC bureau earlier in her career.

ITV News and NBC News actually have a business relationship, sharing facilities and even correspondents with the British broadcaster.

Capus–an NBC News lifer–announced that he would leave NBC News in February. His last day was in early March.

Since that time NBCUniversal News Group chairman Pat Fili-Krushel has been overseeing the search for a replacement. Turness’ name first came up as a possibility last month in an article from the Los Angeles Times.

Following an interview with playwright Eve Ensler on NBC’s “Today,” Maria Shriver announced that she was returning to NBC as a “special anchor.” Shriver left NBC in 2004, after becoming the First Lady of California.

In her new role Shriver will report on the impact women are having on society for all NBC News platforms, including NBC News, MSNBC, CNBC and even NBC Sports. She will also serve as editor-at-large for the NBC News digital properties. NBC will also be the broadcast partner for “Shriver Reports,” the next of which will be released in 2014, about financial insecurity for women in America.

“I’m really excited to be profiling people like Eve Ensler, women and men I call architects of change who are taking us out beyond all areas of human endeavor,” Shriver said this morning. “I’m excited to be reporting along with all of you about women’s evolving experiences in the United States as parents, caregivers, care takers. There is so much going on. I’m excited to be coming forward, as I say, going forward with NBC and all of you.”

Shriver was the anchor of “Dateline” from 1986-2004. She returned to NBC for Papal coverage in March, spurring speculation that she would return to the network in some capacity.

More information below.
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• Ed Schultz‘s “The Ed Show” returns to MSNBC Saturday, May 11 at 5pmET. Airing Saturdays and Sundays, the show will debut as a one-hour program expanding to two hours this summer. “Ed” moved off weeknights last month.

• Former junior reporter turned Chicago-based correspondent Garrett Tenney had his first on air report since transitioning from the two year program. The second class will be underway soon, and FNC is accepting applicants.

• CNBC president Mark Hoffman and his boss Pat Fili-Krushel are making executive moves. CNBC International president Satpal Brainch moves to Universal Networks Intl. as EVP. He’ll be replaced by current NBCU News Group CFO KC Sullivan. Both will be based in London.

The Hollywood Reporter released its 2013 “35 Most Powerful People In Media” list, and TV news dominates the winners. The list looks at the most dominant media personalities in New York.

The list includes (in alphabetical order) Roger Ailes, Mika Brzezinski and Joe Scarborough, Anderson Cooper, Bob Costas, Katie Couric, Jeff Fager, Pat Fili-Krushel, James Goldston, Phil Griffin, Sean Hannity, Megyn Kelly, the “60 Minutes” team, the “Today” team, Rachel Maddow, Piers Morgan, Bill O’Reilly, Scott Pelley, David Rhodes, The “Good Morning America” team, the “CBS This Morning” team, Diane Sawyer, Ben Sherwood, Barbara Walters, Brian Williams and Jeff Zucker.

Some of the recipients gave interviews, others did not. You can see the full list here.

The NBC News Group, including NBC News, MSNBC and CNBC, held an upfront presentation today at the New York Public library in midtown Manhattan. The Celeste Bartos Forum in the Library was lit up in shades of purple and blue, as media buyers and advertisers mingled with NBC News executives and talent.

Newly-minted MSNBC 8 PM host Chris Hayes was there, as was Matt Lauer, the co-anchor of “Today” who has been at the center of a number of news stories of late. He seemed to take the stories in stride, joking with Savannah Guthrie onstage:

“I would like to tackle what might be a teeny white elephant in the room,” Lauer said to laughter from the crowd. “We all love covering the news,  we hate being the news, and so I would like to say on that subject–from the bottom of my heart–that I promise to spend all of my time and energy over the next several months trying to keep Savannah out of the headlines. ”

We want to go back to the most-watched morning program and the least talked about morning program,” he added.

Lauer sat next to NBCUniversal CEO Steve Burke during the lunch, and “Today” was the final NBC News property pitched during the presentation, emphasizing how important the show is to the network.

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The chairman of the NBC News Group, Pat Fili-Krushel, talks to Joe Flint at the LA Times about what’s ahead for NBC News, CNBC and MSNBC. There are a handful of clear priorities: fixing “Today,” finding a new president for NBC News leading the way.

“When you are No. 1, it’s easy to stop taking chances,” Fili-Krushel said [of "Today"]. “I think we just stopped innovating.”

…

Despite the concerns about the Lauer-Guthrie pairing, Fili-Krushel gave them a strong endorsement. “They are the ones who will take us back to No. 1,” the executive said.

Also on her list: making sure NBC News is digital-forward, and making sure that there is real, meaningful collaboration between the NBC, CNBC and MSNBC teams.
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Today was NBC News president Steve Capus‘ last day at NBC News.

Capus announced his departure just over a month ago in an email to staff, after 20 years with the company. TVNewser hears that he is being feted this evening at a party being held in 30 Rockefeller Plaza’s famed Studio 8H, the home of “Saturday Night Live” (more on that tomorrow).

With Capus’ departure, NBC News is without a chief, though Pat Fili-Krushel, the chairman of the NBC News Group–which includes NBC News, MSNBC, NBC News Digital and CNBC–is leading the search for Capus’ successor.  The News Group is holding a joint upfront presentation for media buyers and advertisers in a few weeks, so the announcement of a new leader could be on the way.

In his farewell note to staff, departing NBC News president Steve Capus writes, “I have much I hope to accomplish in the next phase of my career.” So, too, do the men and women vying to replace Capus. Capus says NBCU News group Chairman Pat Fili-Krushel “will be meeting with people throughout the division, and articulating her vision for the NBCUniversal News Group.”

There are strong internal candidates, some of whom, it has been announced by Fili-Krushel, will take on additional duties. Alex Wallace (above, right), who oversees “Today,” and “Rock Center” will now oversee “Nightly News,” where she was once EP. Wallace, who’s been with NBC since 2005, would be the first female news president after nine men have held the job since 1968.

Phil Griffin will likely be considered for the job. As president of MSNBC for the last 4 and a half years he has given the network an identity and boosted ratings, consistently topping CNN — a network his close friend Jeff Zucker now runs. A front office and internal concern would be the progressive programming on the network, often not in line with NBC News standards. Mark Hoffman, president of CNBC, cannot be ruled out. Nor can Capus’ deputy, Antoine Sanfuentes, (above, left) who will run day-to-day in the interim.

External candidates are also plentiful…

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