NBC News president Steve Capus stepping down

The Associated Press, Friday, February 1, 2013, 9:56am (PST)

NEW YORK (AP) — NBC News President Steve Capus, who presided over years of strong ratings at the news division but was hurt by the downfall of the "Today" show, said Friday that he was resigning.

He was a longtime producer for Brian Williams before being appointed by Jeff Zucker, at the time chief of NBC Universal, to run the news division on the week that Hurricane Katrina struck New Orleans in 2005.

"It is a privilege to have spent two decades here, but it is now time to head in a new direction," said Capus, who did not announce future plans.

His influence at the news division was curtailed last year when Comcast Corp., NBC's new corporate parents, appointed Pat Fili-Krushel to oversee news operations. NBC News oversees not only the network newscasts, but also the cable networks CNBC and MSNBC.

Williams' nightly newscast has spent much of Capus' tenure at the top of the ratings, the traditional yardstick for network news success.

But the "Today" show has taken a hard fall in the ratings over the past year and now runs a consistent second to "Good Morning America." NBC was widely criticized for mismanagement of Ann Curry's dismissal as a "Today" anchor, which sent the ratings into a deep tumble.

Fili-Krushel set out a new temporary management structure, increasing the authority of executives Alex Wallace and Antoine Sanfuentes, until she names a successor.