The security personnel at 30 Rockefeller Plaza have a special list of former NBC employees who are barred from the building, as Chris Licht learned last week.
Licht worked for years at MSNBC as executive producer of “Morning Joe” before he left amicably in 2011 to executive produce “CBS This Morning,” the increasingly watched show with Charlie Rose, Gayle King and Norah O’Donnell.
When he arrived at 30 Rock on June 10 for a meeting, the female security guard at the desk recognized Licht, but wouldn’t give him a visitor’s pass.
“What’s the matter? What did I do?” Licht said, according to one of the many witnesses in the lobby. “He was visibly embarrassed. They kept him waiting there for about 10 minutes while they huddled in a backroom.”
Prepping for @charlierose and @GayleKing on @LateNightSeth. Fun fact: I'm on a security watch list at 30 Rock! #nice pic.twitter.com/iMehbZiW5B
— Chris Licht (@ChrisLicht) June 10, 2014
When the guards finally returned, they told Licht he was on a list of people who couldn’t enter the building without the permission of his old boss, MSNBC President Phil Griffin.
“Next time, call in advance,” one guard said, as Licht was handed a pass. Licht declined to comment, but a source said, “He was chuckling about it later.”