NBC News’s Troubles Didn’t Start with Brian Williams

New York: While the Brian Williams fiasco might seem to be the cause of NBC News’s struggles, viewed through a wider lens it looks more like the symptom of a much bigger problem. Over the past year, all of the NBC News marquee ­franchises have been badly damaged by bungled talent decisions and control-room shake-ups. Taken together, the upheavals portray a news division that has allowed talent to take over. That was the theme that echoed through interviews with dozens of current and former NBC News journalists, execs, agents and rival-network officials: “There’s no adult supervision.”