Covington Advises MacNeil/Lehrer in Transfer of PBS NewsHour to WETA

Covington Advises MacNeil/Lehrer in Transfer of PBS NewsHour to WETA

June 19, 2014

WASHINGTON, DC, June 19, 2014 — Covington & Burling advised MacNeil/Lehrer Productions in connection with the transfer of ownership and control of the PBS NewsHour to WETA, the flagship public media station for Washington, D.C.

Under the terms of the transfer, announced Wednesday, the MacNeil/Lehrer Productions partners will contribute their ownership of PBS NewsHour and other assets to NewsHour Productions LLC, a new wholly-owned nonprofit subsidiary of WETA. The transfer is expected to close on July 1, 2014.

Co-anchored by Gwen Ifill and Judy Woodruff, PBS NewsHour airs nationwide on more than 300 PBS stations. MacNeil/Lehrer Productions, the independent television production company, was founded by journalists Robert MacNeil and Jim Lehrer in 1981.

“The commitment to serious, long-form journalism has always been at the core of the PBS NewsHour and MacNeil/Lehrer Productions, and we are happy that our production partners at WETA will carry this mission forward,” Robert MacNeil said in a statement.

The Covington team was led by Michael Cutler and included Kevin Shortill.