NBC Universal is in talks to bring back Andrew Lack to its troubled news operation, which would be the first high-level shake-up following several rough months culminating in the six-month suspension of "Nightly News" anchor Brian Williams for misleading viewers about his experiences covering the Iraq War.

An executive at NBC Universal who spoke on condition of anonymity because it was a personnel matter said that if an agreement was reached, Lack, who ran NBC's news division from 1993 to 2001, would return in a lead role at the NBC News Group.

NBC Universal spokesman Mark Kornblau declined to comment on the negotiations, first reported in Variety on Tuesday. A spokesman at the Broadcasting Board of Governors, which Lack currently runs, did not immediately return a call for comment.

It would mark Lack's second time returning to NBC News at a time of trouble. After more than 15 years at CBS News as a top producer, he replaced Michael Gartner as NBC News chief following revelations the network had rigged a pickup truck to catch fire in a crash shown on "Dateline NBC."

After serving as news chief at NBC, he became network president before leaving in 2003 to become chairman of Sony Music Entertainment. He left the music business for Bloomberg Media, spending six years there before becoming chief executive at the Broadcasting Board of Governors last year.

The biggest issue Lack would immediately face is the future of Williams, currently the target of an internal investigation into other instances where he may have told untrue or exaggerated stories about his news experiences, often in entertainment settings. There are conflicting feelings, even within NBC News, about whether Williams would ever be able to return as the network's top on-air personality. Lester Holt is filling in for Williams and has kept "Nightly News" atop the ratings, although its edge over second-place ABC's "World News Tonight" has shrunk.