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Scoop: Politico's top editor leaving for NBC

15 June 2021
Dan Ackermann

Politico’s top editor Carrie Budoff Brown is joining NBC in a high-level executive position at the network that includes overseeing the "Meet the Press" franchise, sources familiar with the discussions tell Axios.

Why it matters: Budoff Brown has been with Politico since its earliest days in 2007 and is admired among newsroom staff. Her departure will be a major loss to the organization.

  • Politico’s highly-regarded CEO Patrick Steel announced earlier this year he would leave the company this summer.
  • Politico has grown significantly in the past few years, and has used that momentum to expand its business with a key acquisition and hires.
  • Last year, a few of Politico’s top writers said they would be leaving the company to launch their own outlet, Punchbowl News.

The big picture: "Meet the Press" has been aggressively expanding its franchise with new newsletters, streaming shows and podcasts. 

  • Sources say "Meet the Press" Executive Producer John Reiss will remain in his role.
  • In a memo to staff, NBC News president Noah Oppenheim said Budoff Brown will join in the newly-created role of Senior VP of "Meet the Press."
  • "At NBC News, Carrie will be responsible for MTP’s editorial programming on television, digital and streaming and will work to expand the iconic brand’s reach and impact even further," he said.

Editor’s note:NBC is an investor in Axios. MSNBC & Axios engage in a weekday sponsored television appearance at 5:55am ET.

Transcripts show George Floyd told police "I can't breathe" over 20 times

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Newly released transcripts of bodycam footage from the Minneapolis Police Department show that George Floyd told officers he could not breathe more than 20 times in the moments leading up to his death.

Why it matters: Floyd's killing sparked a national wave of Black Lives Matter protests and an ongoing reckoning over systemic racism in the United States. The transcripts "offer one the most thorough and dramatic accounts" before Floyd's death, The New York Times writes.

The state of play: The transcripts were released as former officer Thomas Lane seeks to have the charges that he aided in Floyd's death thrown out in court, per the Times. He is one of four officers who have been charged.

  • The filings also include a 60-page transcript of an interview with Lane. He said he "felt maybe that something was going on" when asked if he believed that Floyd was having a medical emergency at the time.

What the transcripts say:

  • Floyd told the officers he was claustrophobic as they tried to get him into the squad car.
  • The transcripts also show Floyd saying, "Momma, I love you. Tell my kids I love them. I'm dead."
  • Former officer Derek Chauvin, who had his knee on Floyd's neck for over eight minutes, told Floyd, "Then stop talking, stop yelling, it takes a heck of a lot of oxygen to talk."

Read the transcripts via DocumentCloud.