Jane Pauley Reportedly Wants Out of NBC Pact

Unhappy with recent changes at the “Today” show, Jane Pauley held a meeting on Wednesday with NBC News President Michael G. Gartner and Dick Ebersol, the NBC News executive in charge of “Today,” to discuss her future on the top-rated morning program.

According to NBC sources familiar with the negotiations, Pauley asked to negotiate the termination of her contract, but the NBC executives did not want to let her go.

Gartner and Ebersol declined to comment, but NBC issued a statement saying that the network was having “conversations” that are “appropriate, timely and private” regarding Pauley’s future on the show.

“I’m engaged in discussions with Ebersol and Gartner over my status,” Pauley said in an interview Wednesday afternoon. “It looks as if we’re not done talking.” Pauley, the co-anchor of “Today,” has two more years on her NBC contract.

“Today” sources said that the recently expanded role of Deborah Norville as a newscaster on the program was a major factor in Pauley’s desire to leave. But Pauley said Wednesday: “There’s been speculation that Deborah has been the centerpiece of our discussions--that’s not the case. It’s not that I’m unhappy and want to go home and cry on my bed. There’s plenty of room for talent at NBC. The network needs to showcase its new stars and nurture its veterans.”

Pauley declined to discuss what sort of role she would like to play at NBC, whether on “Today” alone, “Today” in combination with other programming at NBC, or at another network.

“I have a lot of confidence in my future in broadcasting. How I spend my next two years is up to the network,” she said.

Pauley’s meeting with the NBC executives comes at a time of numerous executive changes on “Today.” Her meeting had been scheduled for Tuesday but was postponed so that NBC could announce the appointment of David Nuell as the senior executive producer on the show. Nuell, who was the executive producer of “Entertainment Tonight,” was appointed over Marty Ryan, the current executive producer on the show. (Ryan was criticized for a lack of tough leadership by “Today” anchor Bryant Gumbel in an internal memo that was published this spring.)

In July, Dick Ebersol, the president of NBC Sports, was given an additional title at NBC News and designated as the NBC News executive in charge of “Today.” Ebersol is a close friend of Gumbel and, according to NBC News sources, the move was made because Gumbel and news chief Gartner did not get along.

While expressing confidence in Pauley, Gumbel and weatherman Willard Scott in a previous interview with The Times, Ebersol recently signed a new contract with Norville that expanded her role.

Norville, the former anchor on “NBC News at Sunrise” who had been substituting for the “Today” anchors occasionally, replaced John Palmer as the person who reads the news of the day throughout the two-hour “Today” program.

According to sources close to her, Pauley, who has been with “Today” for 13 years, was concerned about the new direction the show may take.

NBC News executives were said not to want Pauley to leave the program. But one executive familiar with the negotiations commented: “Jane feels that Deborah’s role has been expanded at her expense. To get Jane to stay, they’re going to have to convince her otherwise.”