{{short description|American television executive (born 1956)}} {{Infobox person | name = Phil Griffin | image = | caption = | birth_name = Philip T. Griffin | birth_date = {{birth date and age|1956|11|27}} | birth_place = | death_date = | death_place = | occupation = President of MSNBC | spouse = | alma_mater = Vassar College | website = | footnotes = }}
'''Philip T. Griffin''' (born November 27, 1956)<ref>{{Cite web |title=Person Details for Phil T Griffin, 'United States Public Records, 1970–2009' |url=https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:KJF2-F1H |publisher=FamilySearch |access-date=November 6, 2017}}</ref> is an American television executive, who from 2008 to 2021 served as president of MSNBC, a United States cable news channel.<ref name=":1" >{{cite news |first=Felix |last=Gillette |date=October 28, 2008 |title=Original Cable Guy Phil Griffin Tastes Network Revenge |url=http://observer.com/2008/10/original-cable-guy-phil-griffin-tastes-network-revenge/ |work=The New York Observer |accessdate=November 6, 2017}}</ref><ref name=":0">{{Cite magazine |last=Dana |first=Rebecca |date=March 25, 2013 |title=Slyer Than Fox |url=https://newrepublic.com/article/112733/roger-ailes-msnbc-how-phil-griffin-created-lefts-fox-news |magazine=The New Republic |access-date=2017-05-28 |language=en-US}}</ref>
== Early life ==
The youngest of four children, Griffin grew up in Chappaqua, New York<ref name=":1" /> and Toledo, Ohio.<ref name=":0"/> His father was an executive at Macy's. Griffin's family were Democrats and politically minded. As a child, his mother took him to rallies for the hungry. His brother was a conscientious objector.<ref name=":0" />
In 1979, Griffin graduated with a degree in English from Vassar College.<ref name=":1" /> He wrote his thesis on Milton's ''Paradise Lost''.<ref name=":1" />
== Early career ==
Following graduation, Griffin moved to Atlanta to take a minimum wage job at the fledgling CNN.<ref name=":1" /> Griffin was working a camera at CNN when it aired for the first time, on June 1, 1980.<ref name=":1" />
At CNN, he befriended future MSNBC host Keith Olbermann, who worked there as a sportscaster.<ref name=":1" /> After several years with CNN, working primarily as a writer-producer-editor in their sports department, Griffin began work at NBC in 1983,<ref name=":1"/> working as a relief producer for vacationing producers at ''The Today Show''.<ref name=":0" /> Six months later Griffin convinced ''The Today Show''{{'}}s executive producer to hire him on staff.<ref name=":0" />
In 1987, he became a producer at ''USA Today: The Television Show''. After it was canceled, he returned to ''The Today Show''.<ref name=":0" /> At NBC, Griffin had several jobs, including as a senior broadcast producer for ''NBC Nightly News'' with Tom Brokaw. He led the NBC News coverage of the O. J. Simpson trial.<ref>{{Cite news |first=Felix |last=Gillette |date=July 16, 2008 |title=Phil Griffin Gets New Title: President of MSNBC |url=http://observer.com/2008/07/phil-griffin-gets-new-title-president-of-msnbc/ |work=The New York Observer |access-date=November 6, 2017 |language=en-US}}</ref>
== NBCUniversal/MSNBC ==
Griffin was with MSNBC from its start in 1996.<ref name=":1" /> He has been executive producer for shows such as ''Hardball with Chris Matthews''<ref name=":2">{{Cite news |first=Abbey |last=Klaassen |date=June 12, 2006 |title='Today' Show's Phil Griffin to Oversee MSNBC |url=http://adage.com/article/media-people/today-show-s-phil-griffin-oversee-msnbc/109871/ |work=Ad Age |access-date=November 7, 2017 |language=en}}</ref> and MSNBC's ''The Big Show with Keith Olbermann''.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Olbermann |first=Keith |date=November 6, 2010 |title=The Scandal That Ate My TV Program |url=https://www.nytimes.com/ref/opinion/opclassic.html |work=The New York Times|access-date=2017-11-07|language=en-US|issn=0362-4331}}</ref> He was the head of prime-time programming for the network.<ref name=":2" /> Griffin approved the launch of many shows, including ''The Rachel Maddow Show'' and ''Morning Joe''.<ref name=":0" /> He also hired Lawrence O'Donnell, Ed Schultz,<ref name=":3">{{Cite news |last=Kurtz |first=Howard |date=January 30, 2017 |title=Keith Olbermann: How Anger Fueled His Rise and Fall at MSNBC |url=http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2011/01/23/keith-olbermann-how-anger-fueled-his-rise-and-fall-at-msnbc |website=The Daily Beast |access-date=November 7, 2017 }}</ref> and Chris Hayes.<ref>{{Cite magazine |last=Sanneh |first=Kelefa |date=September 2, 2013 |title=Twenty-Four-Hour Party People |url=https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2013/09/02/twenty-four-hour-party-people |department=Annals of the Media (story series) |magazine=The New Yorker |access-date=November 7, 2017}}</ref>
In 2005, former NBCUniversal CEO Jeff Zucker appointed Griffin senior vice president of NBC News and in 2008, president of MSNBC.<ref name=":0" />
In 2013, Griffin said he wanted MSNBC to be more of a lifestyle brand than a political hub.<ref name=":0" /> In 2014, Griffin said the network would take steps to widen its demographic to include a more ethnically diverse audience, to increase its coverage outside of the Washington, D.C. beltway and to appeal to younger viewers, including with online initiatives.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Battaglio |first=Stephen |title=MSNBC to widen its scope and make other changes, its president says |date=December 29, 2014 |url=https://www.latimes.com/entertainment/envelope/cotown/la-et-ct-msnbc-phil-griffin-changes-20141228-story.html |work=Los Angeles Times |department=Company Town (story series) |access-date=November 7, 2017 |language=en-US |issn=0458-3035}}</ref> Griffin has asserted that MSNBC is an independent voice that does not favor Democrats. He has rejected claims that partisanship is equivalent at MSNBC and Fox News.<ref name=":4">{{Cite news |last=Cogan |first=Marin |date=September 11, 2012 |title=The GQ+A: With MSNBC's Phil Griffin |url=https://www.gq.com/story/the-gqa-with-msnbcs-phil-griffin |work=GQ|access-date=November 7, 2017|language=en}}</ref>
In 2016, after MSNBC started covering more hard news during the day, Griffin likened its evening shows to an op-ed page in a newspaper.<ref>{{Cite news |first=Hadas |last=Gold |date=June 1, 2016 |title=MSNBC's year of standing up straight |url=https://www.politico.com/media/story/2016/06/msnbc-year-of-standing-up-straight-004562/ |publisher=Politico |access-date=November 7, 2017}}</ref> The network had its highest ever ratings in 2016 and in the first quarter of 2017 averaged 1.46 million views in prime time, beating CNN.<ref>{{Cite news |author=THR Staff |editor1-last=Brower |editor1-first=Alison |editor2-last=Guthrie |editor2-first=Marisa |date=April 13, 2017 |title=The 35 Most Powerful People in New York Media |url=https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/lists/35-powerful-people-new-york-media-993285/item/matt-lauer-savannah-guthrie-ny-power-2017-993409 |work=The Hollywood Reporter |access-date=November 7, 2017 |language=en}}</ref> Griffin said that he thought the surge in audience was attributable to scoops and new information, rather than partisan leanings.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Steinberg |first=Brian |date=May 30, 2017 |title=MSNBC Chief Sees Hard News Focus, Trump Scandals Driving Ratings Surge |url=https://variety.com/2017/tv/news/msnbc-phil-griffin-ratings-cable-tv-news-donald-trump-1202447359/ |work=Variety |access-date=November 7, 2017 |language=en-US}}</ref>
In May 2017, Griffin signed a multi-year renewal contract to remain as president of MSNBC in the midst of a ratings surge during and following the 2016 presidential election.<ref>{{Cite news |last=de Moraes |first=Lisa |date=May 26, 2017 |title=MSNBC President Phil Griffin Signs New Deal; Whither Goest Lawrence O'Donnell? |url=https://deadline.com/2017/05/phil-griffin-msnbc-contract-renewal-1202103456/ |website=Deadline Hollywood |access-date=November 7, 2017 |language=en-US}}</ref> In June 2017, he said that the network was making an effort to include diverse political voices.<ref>{{Cite news |last1=Steinberg |first1=Brian |last2=Littleton |first2=Cynthia |date=June 13, 2017 |title=Cable News Wars: Inside the Unprecedented Battle for Viewers in Trump Era |url=https://variety.com/2017/tv/features/cable-news-wars-cnn-msnbc-fox-news-1202462928/ |work=Variety |access-date=November 7, 2017|language=en-US}}</ref> Earlier in the year, Griffin signed former George W. Bush communications director Nicolle Wallace to host an afternoon program for the network.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Steinberg |first=Brian |date=April 28, 2017 |title=MSNBC Sets Nicolle Wallace at 4 P.M. Hour |url=https://variety.com/2017/tv/news/msnbc-nicolle-wallace-1202402655/ |work=Variety |access-date=November 7, 2017 |language=en-US}}</ref>
On December 7, 2020, MSNBC announced that at the end of January, Griffin would be replaced with journalist and television executive Rashida Jones.<ref name="Rashida Jones">{{Cite web |first1=Benjamin|last1= Mullin |first2=Joe|last2= Flint |date=2020-12-07 |title=MSNBC to Name Rashida Jones President, Succeeding Phil Griffin |url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/msnbc-to-name-rashida-jones-president-succeeding-phil-griffin-11607375948 |access-date=2020-12-07 |website=Wall Street Journal}}</ref>
== Personal life == In 1997, Griffin married Kory Kim Apton in a civil ceremony in New York.<ref>{{Cite news |first=Lois |last= Smith Brady |date=February 9, 1997 |title=Kory Apton and Phil Griffin |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1997/02/09/style/kory-apton-and-phil-griffin.html |work=The New York Times |access-date=November 7, 2017 |language=en-US}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |title=Erna Neu Apton Obituary |url=http://www.legacy.com/obituaries/nytimes/obituary.aspx?n=erna-neu-apton&pid=17325407 |date=April 9, 2006 |work=The New York Times |access-date=November 7, 2017 |language=en-US}}</ref> They have two children, daughter Riley and son Jackson.<ref>{{Cite news |first=Marisa |last=Guthrie |date=October 3, 2012 |title=MSNBC President Phil Griffin on Whom He'd Poach From Fox News and Why Obama Avoids the Network (Q&A) |url=https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/msnbc-phil-griffin-fox-news-obama-375932 |work=The Hollywood Reporter |access-date=November 7, 2017 |language=en}}</ref>
He has said his idols are former Fox News CEO Roger Ailes and former NBC News anchor Tom Brokaw. "I am one of the few people in television who never wanted to be on-air," he told ''The New Republic'' in 2013.<ref name=":0" />
== References == {{Reflist}}
== External links == * {{official website|http://www.msnbc.com/msnbc-live/phil-griffin-biography|Biography at MSNBC}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Griffin, Phil}} Category:1955 births Category:Living people Category:American television executives Category:MS NOW people Category:Vassar College alumni Category:NBC News people Category:Maumee Valley Country Day School alumni