For the past 2 years, Antoine Sanfuentes has been on an executive fast track, getting promoted 2 times, most recently to Sr Vice President of News at NBC.
He also took over Steve Capus’ duties, when he resigned as President of NBC News in February of this year.
But now, NBC has opted not to promote Antoine to the top of its news division. Instead, the company has hired Deborah Turness – a former editor of Britain’s ITV News.
NBC made the announcement on Monday. The hire makes her the first woman to run a network news division in the United States.
In an article in the New York Times, Brian Stelter writes “The decision to look outside NBC and the United States for a president suggests that NBCUniversal executives were yearning for new thinking.”
While Turness’ qualifications may be exemplary, it’s hard to believe that NBCU couldn’t find a “new thinker” in the U.S., or that the company itself is not forward thinking enough to give the opportunity to Antoine Sanfuentes and to focus on an ever-growing Hispanic audience.
