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NBC Universal CEO Jeff Zucker enjoys being in the hot seat. From his overheated office (he maintains it in the balmy 80s), Zucker is tasked with guiding the company through the economic crisis and into its long-term digital future. "We are in the middle of one of the worst recessions of our lifetime and maybe in modern American history," says Zucker. Among his challenges: NBC Universal could see 2009 profits decline by as much as 9 percent, and it's beginning its fifth straight year with NBC's primetime ratings lagging behind those of FOX, ABC and CBS.

Still, Zucker, who at age 43 celebrates his second anniversary as CEO this week, refuses to sweat. In fact, he's more than willing to put a positive spin on things. "We were up 1 percent," he says, referring to NBC Universal's 2008 profits. "I don't think there's a media company out there that's had a better year." In previous years, such a statement might ring hollow. But it's been a rough year for major media companies, including rival Time Warner which posted an eye-popping $16 billion loss. To further his point, Zucker's also quick to boast that NBC losses in primetime (which still amounts to 10 percent of the company's revenue) have been offset with the success of Universal studios and the sister networks like USA, CNBC and Bravo. And last weekend, the company set the record in Super Bowl ads—$206 million.

From his 52nd floor office at 30 Rockefeller Center in midtown Manhattan, Zucker talked to NEWSWEEK's Johnnie L. Roberts about a wide range of issues, including charges of liberal bias against MSNBC, the prospect of giving Sarah Palin her own TV show, and who he finds more interesting—Tina Fey or Rachel Maddow. Excerpts:

[Newsweek is a content partner with MSNBC, a division of NBC Universal.]

NEWSWEEK: Viewers couldn't get enough of political, financial and economic news last year. All of cable news soared, including MSNBC. Are you satisfied with the network's progress thus far?
ZUCKER: I don't think you realize how strong MSNBC is. MSNBC used to be an also-ran; it changed the entire game last year. It's attracted an entirely new audience. For 10 years, we couldn't get arrested with MSNBC. It used to be that if you asked about MSNBC, the question would be, "When are you going to close it down?"

For the eight years of the Bush administration, Fox News was accused of right-wing bias. Now MSNBC has a reputation for leaning left, largely because of Keith Olbermann and Rachel Maddow. Are you concerned about the bias rap? Might the perception spill over onto and damage the NBC News brand?
First, there is absolutely no evidence, and probably evidence to the contrary, that it's had any adverse impact on NBC News. "NBC Nightly News," "Today" show and "Meet the Press" all now enjoy wider margins of victory over their competition than they did 18 months ago before that perception was widely held. Secondly, what do I think about that perception of MSNBC? It's driven by a couple of programs in primetime that have a very strong point of view, a real voice and a real audience. The rest of MSNBC programming is what it has always been—traditional reporting. I believe that the audience that comes to MSNBC and NBC is fully capable of distinguishing between the two.

The animosity—name-calling and insults—between Olbermann and rival Bill O'Reilly of Fox News sometimes borders on the buffoonish. Are you inclined to halt it on your side?
[Long pause.] It's become part of the fabric of both of those shows, and it probably would be better if it weren't personal. And I wish it weren't so personal.

But my question is, are you inclined to dial it down, at least on your side?
I trust Keith's instincts to know what's right. He knows that I wish it weren't so personal.