From the Observer
NBC is currently exploring the possibility of leasing out part of its longtime headquarters in Washington D.C. to an outside organization, according to sources familiar with the situation.
Soon to be nearly empty headquarters...
One possible partner? American University.
The longtime home of NBC News, MSNBC, and WRC-TV Channel 4—NBC’s owned and operated station in D.C.—is located on Nebraska Avenue, a short walk from the university’s bucolic campus in Northwest Washington.
What American University would do with space in the building remains unclear. But the university’s School of Communication, which offers graduate and undergraduate degrees to hundreds of students, is currently undergoing a $20 million renovation that will eventually modernize and expand its journalism facilities. In the meantime, the school remains under construction.
If the two institutions strike an agreement, NBC is expected to maintain much of the ample space at its sprawling compound. And, presumably, bringing in a roomate would help NBC pay for some of the much-needed upgrades on a facility that predates HD technology by many, many decades.
Earlier this year, a number of employees at the bureau accepted buyout offers from NBC. As a result, the overall size of the staff working out of the D.C. offices has dwindled, freeing up even more room in a building that was never particularly cramped to begin with.
"Mr. President, this has been the greatest 100 days of my life...you not only are giving me tingles but you're making my heart flutter!"
NBC News is not alone is reconsidering its physical footprint in Washington. In recent years, ABC News has significantly reduced the size of its Washington Bureau on DeSales Street NW transfering the bulk of its Nightline staff up to New York City and moving This Week with George Stephanopoulos into a studio at the Newseum. (Read more.)
B.S. Report–They have so much unoccupied space that it makes more sense for the MSNBC division of the building to simply invite their minuscule audience over to their office so they can watch their self-important hosts “perform” the news.
There’s a rumor going around that NBC has been raising revenue by renting their additional space as a banquet hall hosting local weddings and bar mitzvahs.
I guess NBC considers their so-called “News” division a loss-leader. That must be true because they continue to throw away millions of dollars to secure the talents of such hacks as Chris Mathews and Keith Olbermann whom people clearly don’t want to see.
It won’t be long before the combined viewing public of MSNBC News and CNN will fit in a phone booth and you’ll be able to hear their broadcasts via interactive conference calls. And it couldn’t happen to a nicer crowd of incompetents.
I’ve located the future home of MSNBC “News”…
"Hey, where's Mathews?..Uh, Chief, he felt another one of those tingles down his leg and he had to rush outside to use the "facilities."
