NBC News Taps Turness; First Woman to Helm Network News Division in U.S.

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Forty-six-year-old Deborah Turness, who has headed the London-based ITV News since 2004, has been appointed president of NBC News, the New York Times reported yesterday.

NBC News, America's first producer of network news, dating back to 1940, becomes the first broadcast journalism operation in the U.S. to hire a woman to run a network news division. She replaces Steve Capus, who just completed an eight-year run as NBC News' top honcho.

Turness' challenges include trying to restore the luster of the Today Show, which has yielded its top morning program status to ABC's Good Morning America. NBC News last week was socked with the network's decision to cancel Brian Williams' Rock Center news magazine program because of cost and paltry ratings.