Fearless NBC News boss Deborah Turness is turning her attention to her troubled Sunday talk show, “Meet the Press” — asking staff to write a mission statement and explain what works and what doesn’t, The Post has learned.
Turness has been reviewing individual shows one by one with the aim of having staff focus more clearly on winning the ratings wars, sources said.
The review has sparked talk of what the future holds for the 66-year-old show and its host, David Gregory.
With “Meet the Press” slipping in the ratings, WME’s Ari Emanuel has been making a serious pitch for his clients, Joe Scarborough and Mika Brzezinski, co-hosts of MSNBC’s “Morning Joe,” to take over, several sources said.
A rep for the two hosts wasn’t immediately reachable for comment.
Turness could find a cure for the show’s blues by raiding ABC News’ “Good Morning America” host, George Stephanopoulos, whose contract expires in January, some TV insiders said.
The former Bill Clinton adviser also hosts Sunday’s “This Week.”
While whispers bounce around inside the Beltway about changes coming to “Meet the Press,” NBC News, through a spokesman, insists “there are absolutely no plans” to make a change.
Meanwhile, NBC’s Washington bureau is cutting staff.
Turness is looking to buy out four members of staff, and “Meet the Press” producer Adam Verdugo exited to CBS News, TV Newser reported this month.
In addition, on Monday, Antoine Sanfuentes, a former Washington bureau chief, announced he was hanging up his hat and exiting at the end of January.
The network has seen “Meet the Press” rack up some of the worst ratings in decades in recent months, though network insiders claim that both CBS and ABC engage in unfair ratings measures to boost their numbers.