Less drama, no comedy likely as Burke takes over NBCU

The shirttails-flying crowd at NBC Universal will finally be taken over by the buttoned-down types of Comcast (Nasdaq: CMCSA) when NBC News anchor Brian Williams introduces the network's new boss, Comcast COO Steve Burke, to 27,000 employees today.

For both employees and the media, the change could be significant. The New York Times calls Burke "the antithesis of what NBC represents; he is not a programmer, has no experience in news and avoids playing corporate feuds in the press."

Burke, unlike his predecessor Jeff Zucker, has never seen a microphone or notepad that he likes. He declined to speak to the Times, an attitude that one NBC Universal executive speaking on background, called a "good thing because NBC has been overexposed for years." On the other hand, the exec said, Burke can't stay in a shell. "Steve may have to recognize that there is a huge public interest in NBC. It's a national institution. He's going to have to talk about it sometimes."

For more:
- the New York Times has this story

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