The only other thing that I wanted to add is that I don't hold Savannah Guthrie responsible for Curry's demotion. In an unrelated matter, I do believe that she is just as out of place in that job as Curry was.

I sort of touched on this before, but most of the outrage over Pauley's demotion was directed at Norville (while relatively little was directed at Gumbel). In a strange contrast, the outrage directed towards Guthrie pales in comparison to what is being directed towards Lauer. (And Lauer should indeed be the subject of the outrage; I just feel that it should have been Gumbel--rather than Norville--who should have gotten the wrath for Pauley's demotion.)

I think ML comes off the worst, NBC comes off badly and AC has been painted as such a helpless victim for so long ppl are going to start turning on her too.

I think that Today's problems go deeper than hatred of Lauer, NBC's prime-time woes, people not warming up to Curry (until it was too late) or Guthrie as co-anchors, and the popularity of Robin Roberts. I believe that the seeds of the show's current troubles started all the way back during the "golden era" of Couric and Lauer; it was during that time when Today badly neglected hard news and became a gossip-focused show. The fact that GMA does trash/gossip better than Today likely is a key reason why GMA has taken off in popularity.

Today currently has an identity crisis. It is not the most gossipy show (GMA) or the hard news show (CBS This Morning). To make a comeback, Today can try to out-do GMA in the trash department. However, I think its best bet is to return to the format it had prior to the Couric/Lauer era: devote the first hour to hard news and the second hour to softer stories (that aren't trashy). Get rid of the third hour (as it is just unnecessary). (I realize that NBC will be very reluctant to do this, because of the profit it makes. However, by sacrificing said profit, I believe that ratings for the first two hours will rise.) Finally, rename the fourth hour of Today "The Hoda and Kathie Lee Show" (as they no longer need any Today branding to help them, and the renaming will signal that Today has become a serious show), and confine the trash and gossip to just that hour (similar to what CBS does with The Talk).

Edited April 22, 201312 yr by Max

One thing I'd love to do with "Today" is eliminate the stupid pandering to the folks gathered outside 30 Rock. It just isn't cute anymore to see grown ass people waving to the cameras and holding up banners saying "Matt Lauer Is My Baby Daddy!"

.

If Ann Curry hates NBC so much (and she has good reason to), then she should leave them. If most people publicly criticized their employer, they'd be fired.

Ann asked --begged, really-- to be let out of her contract with NBC earlier this year to go to CNN after the whole debacle and they refused to let her out of her contract. She owes them nothing.

so they still poised to fire her?

I think it's referring to the whole Today debacle from last year...not that Ann Curry is about to be fired.

My personal take? I like Curry. But the Gods honest truth is that she never was a fit for the Today Show and that's that. The Today Show is just silly nonsense in my opinion and she's ALWAYS struck me as more of a serious minded journalist/reporter. When I look at Ann Curry I see someone who deserves my respect and attention when she's delivering the news or talking bout whatever event is going on. I can totally see her being frustrated with the content that she had to deal with on the Today Show and her wanting to tackle more "serious" topics....

As for the NYT article I was completely engrossed by it. NBC comes off the worst but Matt Lauer doesn't look any better in my opinion. He's always looked like a sleazy guy to me. I don't even know him and yet I get a sick feeling in the put often stomach whenever I'm forced to watch him on television. Give me George Stephanopholous (I probably murdered the spelling) any day of the week over him. Anyways I'll never forgive him for not giving her a fair shake or at least trying to help her fit in and improve. So I'm glad he got all the backlash and I hope he leaves. And bringing in AC360 would be the Kiss of Death for NBC and the Today Show in my opinion. Anderson Cooper is another slimeball I just do not trust or find genuine.

Love me some Willie Geist however. He and Savannah could be dynamite I think....

Ann asked --begged, really-- to be let out of her contract with NBC earlier this year to go to CNN after the whole debacle and they refused to let her out of her contract. She owes them nothing.

I don't understand NBC's position. They didn't think Ann Curry was right on "Today," but they refuse to let her go, even though they have made no substantial efforts to place her anywhere else within the news division.

I agree that Ann Curry never had that likeable, bubbly personality, and she is much better suited for hard-hitting journalism. Similarly, Lisa Ling looked awkward on The View and I thought she was useless there, but BAM she hits it out of the ballpark now with her in-depth & heartfelt stories.

The whole thing was just done horribly and too quickly. Much like they gave Jane Pauley the primetime Dateline for a good number of years, they could've had Ann headline a primetime series on a weekly basis too.

BTW, Savannah still comes off as someone who doesn't really care about the news she's reporting, and always has that half-smirk when covering serious material. I just don't buy her as a serious journalist whatsoever, no matter who she replaced or how.

so they still poised to fire her?

The thread title needs to be changed

Ann asked --begged, really-- to be let out of her contract with NBC earlier this year to go to CNN after the whole debacle and they refused to let her out of her contract. She owes them nothing.

Actually, Ann's free to quit at any time; there's just a clause in her contract that says (if he does quit) she cannot work for a competitor for two years. (This is a "hardball clause," which I believe that networks often do because they don't want people to follow their top talent to another network. Also, one needs to keep in mind that Curry will most likely be financially well-off even if she doesn't work for two years; furthermore, she had a "hardball clause" in her last contract which allowed her to jump to a competitor if she wasn't chosen as Viera's successor.)

http://www.latinospost.com/articles/10840/20130130/cnn-turns-down-ann-curry-anderson-coopers-job-stuck-with-nbc.htm

That above article is one of several places that mentioned that despite their interest in her, CNN is lukewarm about Curry because they are not willing to match the $10 million salary she is getting at NBC. Regardless, I'm not disputing the fact that NBC treated her terribly. However, I have always just wanted to point out two things: (1) that she's in better shape than most others who have had terrible workplace experiences and (2) my amazement over why public outrage over this story refuses to go away, when the public rarely cared about similar show business incidents in the past.

Edited April 23, 201312 yr by Max

Here are some excellent comments made by Brian Stelter

http://www.popsugar.com/Author-Brian-Stelter-Interview-Video-30197098

Edited May 4, 201312 yr by Max

MORNING SHOW RATINGS
Week ending July 21, 2013
Five-day averages

Program

Network

Households

People 2+

Rtg%

Shr

Total viewers (millions)

Good Morning America

ABC

3.8

14

4.938

Today

NBC

3.3

13

4.296

This Morning

CBS

2.1

8

2.718

Source: Nielsen

http://www.medialifemagazine.com/another-nbc-news-streak-ends/

I wonder if this is more David Muir than anything else. He is so damn easy on the eyes not that Diane Sawyer isn't a slouch...

I forgot what comment he made about drinking beer the other day...i found it rather funny...lol

MORNING SHOW RATINGS
Week ending July 28, 2013
Five-day averages

Program

Network

Households

People 2+

Rtg%

Shr

Total viewers (millions)

Good Morning America

ABC

3.9

15

5.100

Today

NBC

3.4

13

4.533

This Morning

CBS

2.1

7

2.815

Source: Nielsen