NBC News to Close Two News Bureaus

February 14th, 2008 11:58 AM

In another example of the belt-tightening of the old media, NBC has announced that they will be closing two of their long standing news bureaus. Gone will be the Chicago and Dallas bureaus to be replaced by "regional hubs."

TVNewser gives us the scoop:

Insiders tell TVNewser the current NBC News global news gathering system is in for an overhaul. Sources tell us a 9am ET conference call among News division execs and the bureau managers will announce that the current system will be replaced with regional hubs covering large areas of the U.S. and, in some cases, the world.

TVNewser reports that the Chicago office will now answer to the New York office and Dallas will report to Atlanta. No word on how many jobs are to be lost, but it is certain that some will go away.

This is one more example of the old MSM finding that their past experiences of spending with impunity is coming to an end. Television networks have been reassessing their commitments to the news of late and it is a sure bet that they aren't done yet.

It wouldn't surprise if any of the big nets decided to do without a news bureau altogether sometime soon.