Dan Abrams, the chief legal correspondent for NBC News who recently lost his prime-time cable news show, is forming a consulting firm that he hopes will connect a global Rolodex of media experts with businesses that need strategic advice.
The firm, Abrams Research, may resemble a narrowly focused version of ‘‘expert network’’ firms that connect investors with industry experts. Journalists and bloggers paid by the company could consult for corporations, hold media training sessions or do investigative reporting for corporate clients.
‘‘I think there are an enormous number of very talented, experienced media professionals around the world who would be ready, willing and able to advise businesses on media strategies,’’ Abrams said. ‘‘In fact, I know there are.’’ The corporate turn is a major change for Abrams, who has spent the past 15 years in television. Abrams, a lawyer, was hired by NBC in 1997 after five years at Court TV. He was host to a number of programs for the U.S. cable channel MSNBC, then spent almost a year and a half as its general manager; he became the 9 p.m. anchor in mid- 2007. In September, his show, ‘‘Verdict With Dan Abrams,’’ was replaced by ‘‘The Rachel Maddow Show.’’ Abrams said the company had been in development since last summer. As an outside consultant to NBC, he will remain the network’s chief legal analyst.
Abrams has hired four people to build a database of media professionals who would help clients. Rachel Sklar, a former media editor at The Huffington Post who has helped recruit experts, said she had tried a test run of the database for a hypothetical event in Japan and was able to pull together a panel within two days.
‘‘The benefit for clients, as I see it, is in finding people who speak the language — that’s how you bridge the gap between what you think you know and what you need to know,’’ she said.
Working on media strategies with businesses could raise ethical red flags for journalists who are required to be detached and objective about the subjects they covered. Abrams said the company would ‘‘bend over backwards to make sure that there are no conflicts or ethical issues that arise.’’ Abrams said he planned to broaden the network of experts beyond traditional journalists, employing media analysts, bloggers and others who might not operate under such stringent rules. He said he was especially interested in connecting bloggers with businesses that had trouble dealing with online media.