by The old adage holds true: what is here “today” can be gone tomorrow.
For decades, NBC‘s Today (also known as The Today Show) ruled the morning airwaves. The first of the a.m. news programs, it dominated the hours when professionals were getting ready for work and housewives were fixing breakfast and getting the kids off to school.
The combination of hard news, entertainment interviews, trends and sports and weather updates became a fixture in most households in the 1960s and 1970s.
Now, Today is seeing its empire crumble for the second time amidst allegations of adultery, cronyism, backstabbing, babydaddy drama, and a revolving anchor chair that rivals the sudsy soap operas the program once shared its mornings with.
Premiering in 1952, Today quickly became a media mainstay and a ratings giant, catapulting the careers of such now-famous anchors as Dave Garroway, Hugh Downs, Baba Wawa, Tom Brokaw, Jane Pauley, and Katie Couric. Once a slew of similar programs surfaced, Today had to fight for its dominance, even briefly losing the top spot to ABC‘s Good Morning America in the 1980s before reclaiming its crown. For generations, viewers welcomed their favorite news anchors into their homes as family.
But in 2012, the tide quickly turned. Since 1997, Ann Curry served as news anchor and quickly gained an almost fanatical following for her lack of sparkle, her gutsy and compassionate journalism, and her professional demeanor. In 2011, she was promoted to co-anchor spot beside veteran Matt Lauer.
But all was not well. Here are the facts: Last June, Ann was unceremoniously dumped from the co-anchor spot, replaced with Savannah Guthrie. Dropping ratings were the official reason for the change, but viewers then began fleeing the show in droves and for a second time, Good Morning America claimed victory in the morning ratings wars. A media and viewer backlash against Matt Lauer, who temporarily separated from his wife, has all but decimated the reputation of the show. Executive producer Jim Bell was replaced with new executive producer Alexandra Wallace. News anchor Willie Geist continues to gain popularity with viewers and is seen more and more in segments normally reserved for Lauer.
And here are the rumors: As far back as 2006, the married Matt Lauer was scheming to get his mistress, Natalie Morales (who currently serves as news anchor on Today) beside him in the anchor chair. Using his close friendship with executive producer Bell, Lauer helped push Couric out, but instead of Morales, the chair went to Meredith Viera. An unhappy Lauer was forced to wait it out until Viera announced her exit in 2011, at which point he lobbied hard to get his girlfriend, who by now is rumored to be the mother of his child, in the spot. When Curry was chosen, Lauer began an unrelenting quest to Get. Curry. Out. Eventually, Lauer’s little buddy Bell announced the removal of Curry from the anchor chair.
And then it gets really sticky. Lauer’s close friend, weatherman Al Roker, exploded at the unfair treatment Curry received, and his relationship with Lauer fell apart, a tension now easily visible on screen. Meanwhile, Lauer’s wife packed up and left, and told producers if Morales got the #2 spot, she would divorce her husband.
The public outcry for Curry’s return was swift and loud. Suddenly, there was no way to close Pandora’s Box, and the affair and obnoxious behavior by Lauer on set was exposed for everyone to read about. That is, read about instead of watching.
In the end, Guthrie got the job, and Morales currently serves as lead news anchor. Meanwhile, Curry, who was supposed to remain as international journalist, has rarely been seen.
Then, to Lauer’s horror, the producer-in-his-back-pocket Bell was suddenly out, and Alexandra Wallace, who also just happens to be a big-time Curry supporter, was in.
Now, bets are being placed at just how long it will take before Wallace gets Curry’s face back on screen and Lauer off the show altogether. Sources say she is ready to give Geist Lauer’s job.
(pant pant)
Okay, here is my take. It sounds to me like Lauer fell victim to his own hype, starting to believe that he was The Today Show, as some former employees claim he has flat-out said on set. The “untouchable celebrity god” syndrome set in, convincing him that everything was his for the taking, including control of the show and even someone else’s wife (Morales).
Couple that with a series of missteps by NBC (the most glaring being the job offered to Kathie Lee Gifford as host to the later-morning segment. I swear, she has got to be just about the flakiest, most obnoxious and unprofessional face EVER to grace The Today Show, and just sitting next to Gifford causes journalist Hoda Kotb to lose about 30 IQ points per day.)
Don’t believe me? Watch Kathie Lee ask how Martin Short‘s dead wife is doing here!
Now, NBC is trying to whitewash the growing scandal. The latest example of just how out of touch the network is with its viewer base, the “Look Back at 2012” segment, aired earlier this month, highlights memorable moments on the show. Other than a couple of “don’t-blink-or-you’ll-miss-her” shots, Curry was mostly ignored, angering viewers all over again. Also, the segment was introduced by the newspeople cutting up, doing the Gangnam Style dance, a serious ball drop for NBC, as the song and its performer are suffering a backlash for anti-American remarks PSY made in earlier recordings.
The embarrassing segment simply underscored what more and more people are already figuring out:
The Today Show just doesn’t get it.
Several things here: the notion that we judge personal moral/ethical behavior as an indicator of job performance is quite an interesting human behavior (one that evolves with insight and deeper thought), considering we all know people who are professionally competent to a magnificent degree, but whose personal lives are wrecking balls; additionally, we know there is a difference between being bright and being educated — one is inherently smart with a varying degree of self-discipline, while the other is self-disciplined with varying degrees of intelligence. The next is that ego begets politics, pure and simple, and politics, as a monolithic collective, is resented when it is uncovered and examined. This is all shocking revelation, but an increasingly iconoclastic world view in favor of personal agendas is bringing down all sorts of giants. We all lose our innocence, I suppose. Consider, also, the decreasing market share for these morning programs, as working hours have shifted all over the map for everyone but professionals along with the increase in sheer entertainment choices. You really set it all out. No wonder you needed to catch your breath.
Coulter should be shot. That woman is the detinifion of evil. She should be burned at the stake. I don’t understand how anyone could think this woman is a positive reflection of the American spirit.She is foul. She honestly thinks that the “liberal” media want to destroy. Single-motherhood isn’t the best thing in the world but it’s because men don’t stand up and become real men. It isn’t because women WANT to be single mothers.