Jump to content

NBC poised to fire Ann Curry from the Today show


dragonflies

Recommended Posts

  • Members

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.)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Replies 253
  • Created
  • Last Reply
  • Members

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).

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Members

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!"

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Members

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....

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Members

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.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Members

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.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Members

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.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 2 weeks later...
  • 2 months later...
  • Members

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

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Members

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

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Members

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

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Archived

This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.

  • Recently Browsing   0 members

    • No registered users viewing this page.



  • Recent Posts

    • To me, that made no difference. The point stands whether Eva wants to be a Dupree or not. Anita was 110% on top of things. Also it's a logical inference that Eva might be interested in having a place in her supposedly real family. Frankly though I wonder if Eva knows how to feel ... yet. She could really be confused.
    • Does Jack ever dress in drag during that early '00s period where he was trying to get Jennifer back...or does he just fake being gay around then?
    • Here you go, by special request! https://www.instagram.com/p/DJlXDnWJImW/ DAYS 9-26-90 Matt Ashford as Jack Deveraux in drag
    • Concluding 1976... Raymond Schafer arrives in Springfield and begins an extensive probe into Malcolm’s death, puzzling Ed, who wonders why most of Schafer’s question sessions keep turning back to Rita’s involvement with Malcolm. Ed assures the man that Rita’s only connection with Malcolm was as his nurse; he is unaware that Schafer knows a great deal more about Rita than he does. Just to protect Rita, Ed has Mike check on Schafer’s credentials, and learns that he’s a  well-respected criminal attorney. The waitress at the restaurant where Malcolm suffered his stroke tells Schafer that the woman who was with him reacted very professionally to the sudden emergency, as if she were a nurse. Realizing that her little sister has fallen hard for Tim, Rita warns him that she’s very vulnerable and innocent, but Tim tells Rita her advice isn’t necessary. But Tim then receives a plum job offer to be chief neurological resident at a prestigious Philadelphia hospital and can’t pass up the opportunity. Evie is crushed by the news and spends the next several days at home crying. Joe Werner, fully recovered, has accepted a post as a medical aide in a destitute village in India and leaves alone, with Sarah to follow him later. Justin asks Sarah to consider a partnership with him in private practice, but she explains that she thrives on the hospital atmosphere. When a call comes from India that Joe has had another massive attack, Sarah leaves on the next available flight and arrives only moments before he dies. The painful news is relayed back to Cedars at once. Sara returns from India a heartbroken woman, but the day-to-day involvement of raising T.J. and of her career seem to be her salvation. Justin shows a surprisingly compassionate and understanding side to Sara, but, ironically, Justin’s ex-wife, Jackie, arrives in Springfield with her diabetic father, who is suffering from a heart attack. In the process of consulting with Justin on her father’s condition, Jackie comes face to face with Sara for the first time since their college days. Evie’s heartbreak at Tim’s departure turns to fury and hatred when she inadvertently discovers a letter which Tim wrote to Rita just after he left. In it he concedes that Rita was right about Evie’s vulnerability where he was concerned but reminds Rita that he badly hurt her in the same way she feared Evie would suffer. Evie is now sure that Rita somehow forced Tim to leave town and is livid at the idea that Tim was Rita’s lover. She insists she’s cutting off her relationship with Rita and will pay her back for any help she’s received in the past. Ben and Hope’s wedding plans are off, as Ben, while still insisting he’s innocent, won’t explain why the robbery evidence points to him. Hope feels his unwillingness to tell her the truth makes marriage to him impossible, but confides to Ann that she is miserable without him. Ben has echoed these sentiments to Mike but won’t confide in him, either as Hope’s father or as an attorney.   Holly is trying very hard to build a life without Ed, but since she sees him virtually every day at work,she’s unable to put him out of her mind. She accepts a date with a member of the hospital administration staff but is unable to avoid making comparisons between Ed and this young man and winds up alone, sadly holding Ed’s picture and recalling how much she loves him. Believing that the hospital board’s conclusions on Grainger’s death have settled the question once and for all, Rita has regained her self-confidence, and her romance with Ed is growing daily. They admit their love for each other, and Ed confides that he intentionally  held back with Rita for fear of making another mistake. Rita then tells Ed she has never married because for her marriage must be forever. Rita’s mother realizes that Rita is truly in love when she confides in her that she doesn’t understand why she’s been so lucky in having him love her and how she wants to be the very best person she can be for him. Ed proposes marriage to Rita and gives her time to think about it before answering. Rita painfully realizes that her past could, if it rose again against her, make a life with Ed a lost dream. But Raymond Shaefer has been quietly but efficiently carrying on his investigation and has learned that Grainger argued with Rita at her apartment. He presents the evidence he’s compiled to District Attorney Eric Van Gelder, who decides the case warrants further investigation. Rita goes to Ed’s office to tell him she loves him but can’t marry him, that she doesn’t deserve him and “can’t do it to him.” As she turns from a confused Ed to leave, she finds the district attorney and a police officer outside Ed’s door, waiting to arrest her. Ed, insisting that a serious mistake has been made, calls Mike to help her as Rita, shocked and humiliated, is taken under arrest through the hallways of the hospital in which she works. Mike manages Rita’s release on bail only after she has had to submit to the degrading booking procedure. Mike sees her alone at her apartment, explaining he can help her only if she tells him the whole truth. Rita equivocates until Mike mentions Texas, indicating to Rita that he knows at least some of the story. Van Gelder has, in fact, let Mike see the bulk of evidence in the case against Rita, to convince him her arrest wasn’t a capricious whim. Rita explains to Mike that Malcolm believed she intentionally vilified him to his father, to do him out of his rightful inheritance, and then wanted his father dead to collect her money. Mike expresses his appreciation of Rita’s honesty, promising to help her. But Rita’s tormented dreams confirm that she hasn’t yet told all the truth, and after Peggy visits, expressing firm support, Rita tells Roger she has to reveal his part in the story. Roger painfully tells Rita about his being Christina’s father to show her that if Ed knew, it would end Rita’s chances with him forever. Rita, who was ready to tell Ed the whole story, now realizes how risky that would be. Adding to Rita’s pain is her forced leave of absence from the hospital until she’s cleared and the embarrassment of seeing her name in the headlines.
    • Please register in order to view this content

         
    • Yes, but the stories are all pretty awful Seeing Victor rehashing his hatred of the Abbotts  when he married one of them and has a daughter that is half Abbott as well as walking around with Traci's daughter's heart keeping him alive makes him look worse than he already is. And I remember he and Jack chatting amicably in the past few years. Victor interfering in Kyle/Claire is just repeat of Billy/Victoria. Sharon, Nick,Phyllis etc are around but again the stories are lacking.
    • I think Kevin's 1996 Emmy was fair enough. He barely appeared for his second. I don't think anyone else on the list is that deserving but I might have gone with Moore as he did try with the whole Keesha AIDS story. @alwaysAMC Thanks to slick jones' cast list I was able to see that Nikki Rene played Tina. Not much on her, as you mentioned. Tap and a few Broadway listings (it doesn't help that a younger actress with a similar name is in a lot of roles). Nikki Rene: Credits, Bio, News & More | Broadway World https://onceonthisisland.fandom.com/wiki/Nikki_Rene Nikki Rene - IMDb
    • Thank you. That does ring a bell. I remember Theresa and Julian's drunk, giggly fake wedding (with Julian asking "Whassup?" to the minister). Was Bruce tricking the pair as a prank, or did somebody put him up to it? I especially liked Katherine recalling how dashing young Alistair was when he'd pick up Rachel for dates, and how she wished she could be her sister, then feeling guilty once Rachel had her boating accident ...
    • And Kevin Mambo beat Shemar Moore for those two Emmys. I chalk up the wins to the voters not wanting Jonathan Jackson to eventually end up with a five peat (he won 1995, 1998, 1999). These were the 1996 and 1997 Younger Actor races. 1996: Nathan Fillion, Jonathan Jackson, Kevin Mambo (winner), Shemar Moore, Joshua Morrow 1997: Steve Burton, Jonathan Jackson, Kevin Mambo (winner), Shemar Moore, Joshua Morrow
×
×
  • Create New...

Important Information

By using this site, you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy