I've watched the
Today show most of my life and have seen anchors come and go.
Regarding the rumors that Ann Curry is on the way out, here are my two cents:
NBC made a big miscalculation in giving the anchor post to Ann Curry when Meredith Vieira left the show a year ago. Ann Curry is a hard working professional who did very well in her 14 years as newsreader for the show. She is an excellent reporter of hard news. I also understand that, personally, she has a big heart. But she is not morning anchor material. Her interviewing style is awkward at best. One minute she is stumbling over her questions, or leaning forward and touching her interviewees, or overly intense to the point of mania. Apparently she and the self-absorbed Matt Lauer don't have much in the way of chemistry. That is painfully obvious, even to the casual observer. Now, Ann Curry is being made the scapegoat for a series of bad casting decisions by NBC both for the morning and late night shows. One wonders, who really is in charge over at NBC?
The cynical have speculated that perhaps NBC will now hire Kim Kardashian to replace Ann Curry:
The less than cynical are proclaiming that it will either be Hota Kotb or Savannah Guthrie. While Savannah is intelligent and beautiful, I think Hota has the greater ability to switch between hard-nosed, hard news reporting and the fluff which now characterizes the bulk of the Today Show's segments.
Recently, Good Morning America has overtaken the Today show in the ratings. Simultaneously, I have begun watching the CBS Morning News with Charlie Rose and gang. These folks give us substantive stories, and the anchors seem to get along.
It will be interesting to see what happens over at NBC.
Dr. Steven Olson
