It didn’t occur to me until over the weekend that I had covered Meredith Vieira’s departure from The Today Show last year and that they threw her a party to end all parties, complete with a flash mob singing and dancing in the streets. I wrote that they had an “insane amount of clips and tributes to Meredith,” and they did. Meredith was with the show for about five years and she left on her own accord to spend more time with her family. She was loved by viewers and producers alike, ratings were high, and she went out on a high note.
When Ann Curry announced her “new role” on NBC last week they just sat her on a couch and let her break down crying while she broke the news herself. Ann’s co-workers provided some anecdotes about her best moments on the show, but they didn’t even bother to make a clip montage for her that I saw. That’s the least they could have done for her.
Well Ann was replaced by Savannah Guthrie the next day. Ann is now off to work for NBC in California, where she’ll focus on the hard news stories she seems to prefer. NBC President Steve Capus gave some quotes to The Hollywood Reporter about the switch over. He praised Savannah and seemed to mildly diss Ann. Kaiser thinks that Capus was trying to phrase things very carefully, and I agree. You can tell that he was saying Ann didn’t perform at the level they were expecting of her, and thems the breaks. Is that harsh or just the reality in the business? Here’s more:
On Savannah Guthrie taking over as co-anchor for The Today Show
“She really distinguished herself during the time she was at the White House. I think we have thrown our weight behind someone who is a serious journalist, who is very smart, but not just book smart. She has the ability to communicate clearly and in an approachable manner.“Someone around here likened her to Mary Tyler Moore, which I thought was kind of funny. She’s completely endearing. She’s an ultimate team player.”
On who leaked the story that Ann was out
“You can go crazy trying to figure out where the leaks come from. It’s like punching at ghosts. At the end of the day, we know the real story of this news division. Often the leak that we’re asked to respond to is completely off base. Yet, if we comment on it, suddenly it becomes a story.”On Ann’s departure
“Ann wears her emotions on her sleeve, and that’s what she was doing [Thursday], but I think people heard the message loud and clear that she’s continuing her relationship with NBC News.”On how Ann wasn’t into her job
“I think it was not where her real passion was. In her heart of hearts, I think she would admit that. I think her real passion is built around reporting on international stories. It’s tough to convey a sincere interest in something if you don’t possess it. We live in a HD world. Dan Rather used to say the camera never blinks. Well, this is an HD world now, and the camera picks up everything. And you could tell with her, you can tell with any anchor, whether they’re into it or not. And I think we’ve now come up with a role that will play to her strengths.”On Ann’s performance
“We gave her a year to prove herself, and ultimately we came to the conclusion that she had played at the highest level she could. When you’re in the major leagues of our profession, you’ve got to continue to be at peak performance in order to stay there.”“But my belief is a year from now when Ann has a shelf full of new awards for her journalistic work, she’s going to recognize that this is a real opportunity for the next phase of her career to go in a direction that suits her strengths. That’s what we want for her, and that’s what she wants.”
[From The Hollywood Reporter via Jezebel]
In regard to what Ann wants, she just told Ladies Home Journal that she wanted to stay on The Today Show for at least another five years. She’d been there in some capacity for 15 years up to this point. She wanted that job, it was NBC and Matt Lauer who wanted her out. I’m not saying she should have kept it, I thought that she was a lousy interviewer for the most part and I generally find her humorless. I do think NBC did her wrong by not giving her at least a half-hearted send off. And now her boss is basically saying that she couldn’t do her job. It just seems harsh to me, and like they could have better acknowledged her contribution to the show. Ann deserved better than she got.
Candids of Ann are from 6-26-12 credit: Teach/FameFlynet Pictures. She’s also shown on 4-24-12 at the Time Gala and on Halloween 2011. Credit: WENN.com
I never watched the today show, and also never knew who this Ann Curry woman is, but from the press coverage she has gotten, it seems she is a pretty big deal.
NBC is still an ol’ boys club. Lauer clearly uses the cast of TTS as his own personal harem. What a POS show. GMA for the win.
Shades of Bob Barker!!
Well I want a job where I travel around the globe, reviewing fancy restaurants and staying in 5 star hotels. We all have our dreams.
It’s sweet that she wanted to co-anchor the Today show, but she just wasn’t right for the job. I hope she’ll be happy in the new position, which seems much more suitable for her.
15 years and they couldn’t even give her a clip montage. Bastards.
They showed an amazing amount of unprofessionalism and distaste towards her. Especially considering, as you said, everything they did for Meredith.
I will never watch again, get all my morning news from CBS now.
Meredith said it herself “Matt Lauer” when asked why she left, I think Ann just believed she could work around him and focus on the show but Matt needs to feel like a big man or be screwing his co-star.
CBS This Morning is SO GOOD.
But she wasn’t fired – just moved to a different position with the network. I’ve always found her overly emotional and empathetic, and yes, annoying. I think she’ll be much better in serious news, where those qualities are more appropriate. It would’ve been phony to give her montages, because she was demoted after only a year.
I understand your phony point with the montages, but if you watch the clip they are treating it like it’s her career’s funeral. Everyone is going around saying, nice things about the deceased. They could have done it better
Meredith may have thought this about Matt Lauer but I would bet she never said it.
Meredith is a class act and is very careful to remain professional. I don’t recall her ever publicly commenting on the drama and firings on The View.
I’m sure she simply did not want to come back to TTS, but I’d like to think she would not have d/t their handling of Ann Curry.
And very creepy comments by the NBC prez. Really condescending.
i think they are all to blame, including ann. blubbering on national tv when you are fired is never a good way to handle the situation. she could have released a carefully worded statement, never gone back, and then accepted a position at another network.
any kind of send off would have been painful to watch since she was, after all, fired.
she did not do the job well, and was let go. sucks, but it happens to the best of us.
This. It’s the way she handled it that proved, ironically, she wasn’t up for it.
ita. And when you’re making that kind of money, there IS a standard you should live up to, and Ann Curry didn’t do it. She was awful to watch. I have watched the Today Show for 20 years. I quit watching it about 3 weeks after Meredith left. I might start watching it again, but idk. Life isn’t so bad without it (the show). LOL
Is she crying in the header photo? She looks teary and her eyes are red….
I don’t understand why she would ever want to stay and work for NBC in any capacity after they treated her so poorly. The whole situation makes me sick and while I don’t watch any of the morning shows if I ever were to it would not be the Today show because of how this entire situation was handled.
Yeah, definitely looks like she’s crying. It is a recent photo taken several days before her last day on the show. It was in the midst of all the embarrassing rumors.
When you’re in the major leagues of our profession, you’ve got to continue to be at peak performance in order to stay there.”
Am I missing something here? Who watches these shows? Most people are busy working? They are crap! Really? Major leagues? is this a joke?
I don’t understand it either, but GMA and TTS are their networks big money makers.
I watch the news every morning as I get ready for work. I get home too late to see the evening news. Ann was no worse or better than the rest of the cast. So what!?! that she got emoitional. She is human and NBC did leak her situation BEFORE it happened which is extreamly embarrassing. Then NBC continue to bash her when they need to keep quiet.
Why did they keep her 15 years if she was so bad at the job? Surely, even if her performance wasn’t as good as it used to be, there could have been a bit of leniency, to help her get back to high standards.
And there is a way of doing things more, let’s say, gracefully. I’ll leave it at that. It wasn’t proper and it seems too convenient for the new girl.
Most of those 15 years, she read the news. She was not a “personality”. Her problem was that she didn’t have much.
She is a very smart woman, with an amazing career thus far. She has a lot of respect in her field, but, ultimately, the position on Today Show wasn’t a good fit for her. Quite frankly, she’s smarter than that show.
Two things…
“Meredith said it herself “Matt Lauer” when asked why she left, I think Ann just believed she could work around him and focus on the show but Matt needs to feel like a big man or be screwing his co-star….”
and
“Quite frankly, she’s smarter than that show….”
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Both of those statements sum it up best.
Meredith didn’t hide the fact she wanted to leave. And it was because of Lauer.
I have been thinking this last week that there was all kinds of noise, about Meredith and Lauer hating each other in the end.
She didn’t find him remotely funny or professional. And he just hated her in general.
And both of those ladies (Ann and Meredith) are too smart to sit on a couch. Next to that clown.
+1
Show me where Meredith said that. I read a long interview by her and for years she had stated she hated getting up at 3:30, 4, but did it to secure her family’s financial future due to her husband’s illness. She wanted her life back and she wanted to do things with her husband while his health was reasonably okay. He has survived two battles with cancer and has a severe case of MS. I have only ever seen her rave about Matt. In fact, she still agrees to come on every once in a while to do things for the show.
The same with Katie. She and Matt are still good friends and lunch together occasionally.
Katie Couric said last week that Mutt Lauer was constantly piching her butt.
That is sexual harrassment and yet NBC allowed him to behave in this manner.
I had to quit watching the Today Show because they stopped reporting news and only reported garbage: Tot Mom, Tan Mom, Octomom, Kate Gosselin, Michelle Duggar. Serioulsy, the show is obsessed with stories about mothers (playing to their main audience I am sure) and not much else unless a white girl goes missing. (Thankfully, CBS news reports the news). While Ann did not work well next to Matt, I do not think that by removing her, the ratings will start to rise. I think people now see Matt as a smarmy diva, and Savannah Guthrie is no Mary Tyler Moore. Not even close. Also, NBC should have done better by Anne. One, they should not have promoted her to begin with and two, they should have given her a better send off. Jane Pauley, Katie Couric, and Meredith Vierra all controlled when and how they left Today, and even though they were more or less giving Anne the boot, they could have handled things much more gracefully than they did.
I haven’t watched the Today show in years; pretty much stopped since Katie Couric left. Today has been on a decline for years long before Ann Curry was given the role as co-anchor. I mentioned in a previous post that shows like Today contribute to the dumbing down of America. It isn’t about news. If it were, Kathie Lee Gifford, Matt Lauer, and many others would have been ousted a long time ago. There are issues more important than ratings if NBC actually cared about delivering a quality news program, which they aren’t. I have never been a huge Ann Curry fan but thought she did fairly well at the news desk for many years and worked hard for her successful career despite her flaws. What NBC and Lauer did to her was despicable and uncalled for even if she was the main reason for the fall in ratings. Lauer could have at least broken the news that Curry was leaving and shown a tribute before giving Curry a minute to say farewell. That would have been the classy thing to do. They showed complete lack of respect for Curry’s 15 years on the program. It is pretty obvious that Lauer hated Curry and did everything in his power to get rid of her. He might have tried to do it even if the ratings had held steady. He seems like that kind of douche. And now we know that NBC and its douche president continue to kick Curry while she’s down. Trust that if they could they would have given Curry her walking papers, but she probably fought tooth and nail to renegotiate her contract to remain with NBC to avoid letting her journalism career go down in flames. It’s truly sickening. I will never watch NBC or MSNBC ever again.
I think she wanted to be bought out of her contract but NBC refused and her lawyers and their lawyers were said to be in fistacuffs last week trying to sort everything out. I think the fact that she is still on NBC is a major fail for Ann.
so did she lose some plushness in her dressing room options and have to hike it to her gigs like second stringers?
I’m pretty sure industry grinders like Chris Hansen with much smaller paychecks don’t feel sorry for her – she got away with enjoying a first class ride because her bosses hired the wrong person who couldn’t cut it and she proved it to an ever smaller audience.
Poor Ann Curry. I feel bad for her… presumably crying into her millions in her Manhattan apartment surrounded by ridiculously expensive things. People get fired. People MUCH worse off than Ann Curry lose their jobs and homes every day. Let’s have some perspective, Anne will be fine. Feel pity for the workers who get laid off without notice because of our economy and can’t put food on the table.
oh yeah!
Well I agree with you about the big picture but then none of us could ever be upset about anything. This is her career and the woman was humiliated and treated badly. I think all of us would care and should be allowed a moment to be annoyed when we having such shitty at work instead of someone saying “well atleast you’re not one of the millions of starving children in the world”.
well, from the comments that I used to read about Ann Curry, nobody thought that she was doing a great job! I don’t think its the point that they fired her, its the low class way they handled it…and I cannot stand Matt, I hope the ratings go even lower and they fire his bald-headed ass!
I don’t watch any of the morning shows, so I’m not super familiar with how these people are on-air, but I can’t for the life of me understand how moving someone from a morning television show filled with fluff story segments into a position covering “hard news” is a demotion. Wasn’t it the other way around at some point? Wasn’t there a time when journalists actually strove to cover the big news?
I was thinking the same thing. How sad that people actually want to cover the entertainment fluff field rather than hard news stories.
Ann was not the problem, Matt is boring, he is not a journalist. Before he became this “big deal” he was an entertainment reporter, his forte is reporting gossip. Ann was blamed for the lack of ratings. When the Today show’s rating keep plummeting who are they going to blame? Al?
It’s a little harsh, could have worded it better. I agree they have not treated her well in this.
NBC comes off looking bad because of this. You don’t air dirty laundry in public. Give her a send-off, show a little respect for someone who put a decade and a half into the show.
Never watched a morning show, certainly won’t start now.
I stopped watching Today ages ago because Ann was so awful at interviews, like a star-struck teen in awe of the guest & kissing up madly.
I read she requested a $20 million buy-out for her contract which was lots more than NBC would pay, hence the transfer. Now she can do Hollywood interviews like a red carpet E Television grin girl.
I stopped watching also when she took over. Though, I never watched it that much anyway, just getting ready for work on workdays. But when Meredith left, it wasn’t the same. She and Matt had great chemistry and I loved Meredith’s zany humor, yet, great interviewing skills.
I’m sorry, but morning show anchor isn’t the highest level… unless the pres meant that it was the highest level that a woman can achieve.
HAW! I had exactly the same thought. Morning Show anchor is the highest level? Really? Unless that was a subtle dis against Anne in some way. Man, I don’t know. I can’t understand why someone of her qualifications would even have been interested in that show, unless it was just to have a stability in her life instead of running aroudn the globe to cover stories.
Maybe she was upset at the way she was treated (fair enough), but deep down really hated the job but tried to stick it out because it would be like admitting defeat to people she hated, even admitting they were right, and it would be embarrssing and in the end, she was humiliated anyway.
I think after she’s had time to process, she’ll realize she’ll be much happier out of that environment. Because I mean really, if Matt Lauer is the epitome of greatness, then I dunno, I think I’d rather shovel pig poop for a living.
Again, the way that show handled her send off was soo so bad. Like I said the other day, I would have preferred to have the day run like any other day, and then use the last 60 or 30 seconds to sign off and that’s it. She didn’t deserve that sofa debacle. Let’s all sit here and talk indirectly in front of everyone about what a failure you are. God. She has my eternal sympathy for that.
Exactly! What is it with Americans , they can only hear the news being READ by a man?! Ridiculous.
PLUS come on! Boohoohoo! seriously she’s got a ridiculous contract where she is getting paid millions even though she got fired so come on!
Lets switch jobs!
Ahh, NBC, continuing another fine NBC tradition: coddling the “stars” and bad-mouthing/blaming others.
I think Ann will excel (with her hand-chosen new TEAM) at reporting actual, real-live news; she’s not suited to that cotton-candy-fluff-of-a-morning-show.
She looks more like her mother as she ages.
Matt Lauer!!!!
I think the cheating, bald-headed, ass-pinching Matt Lauer needs to go. Full of himself, yes, professional, no, if even half of what’s being said about him is true. And though Lauer is 54 and Curry 55, the show saw fit to match him with a much younger 40 year old co-host. It’s like Regis Philbin. He can be 200 years old, but his co-host must be a chipper, early to mid thirties gal. I do like Regis, nothing personal, but since when are the men irreplaceable and the women as replaceable as Kleenex?
Honestly, I didn’t really hate her but I didn’t care for any of her interviews. Whether she was telling a story of a war-torn area or whether she was doing a celebrity interview it all sounded the same. Same tone, same body language. During the celebrity interviews she would totally lose her cool and barely be able to make it through without seeming like she was 13. I do sincerely hope she realizes that they were doing her a favor by letting her go as head-anchor. Besides, honestly, it’s The Today Show. It’s not real reporting by any stretch of the imagination. They give you tidbits of real life and that’s it.
It is really messed up how they are treating her and the difference between meredith leaving and ann leaving is very clear. Didnt the same thing happen to katie couric when she was on channel 2. How mach hate she got out of nowhere. I think the news channels just treat women sooo wrong !
I don’t think the situation/reasons are very complicated: Ann Curry got too old, and NBC is switching her out for a younger model. Everything about that show is superficial anyway, so I’m not surprised.
That reasoning doesn’t work, since they never wanted Meredith to leave and she was in her mid fifties. And they tried to get her to come back and retake her position with lots of money after letting Ann go, and she didn’t want to come back full-time. Also, Hoda Lee was in the running, and she’s not young. It’s business. Ann wasn’t right for the job. Pretty simple. Though, I think Savannah is no better either for the job.
Meredith was sick of Matt’s shit (who wouldn’t be) and her husband is ill. That’s why she left, and likely won’t return.
I’ve not watched Savannah Guthrie on TTS but I often watched her on MSNBC. This replacement isn’t like the Deborah Norville replacement. Savannah is a 40 year old attorney and former White House correspondent.
I have found her to have a relaxed but commanding presence. She can “think on her feet” and is an intelligent interviewer. She is able to hold her own and maintain control of the show when guests are arguing. NBC could have done much, much worse.
frankly, i don’t see what crapus said about her insulting… she’s a hard news reporter who doesn’t give a sh!t about the fluff.
what a classless dick he is though.
Please sign my petition to let the Today show know how we feel about Matt Lauer!
We are over half a million strong and growing!
http://www.repetitionr.com/repetitions/boycott-the-today-show–unless-they-get-rid-of-that-pompous-man-whore/890afa06-be3d-11e1-935e-0030483394fa
I never have watched these shows bc I don’t have cable. So all I have to add is that if I was fired I don’t think I would want a big send off. How awkward that would be. With all the pity or everyone gossiping about you being fired.
She needs to reclaim her dignity and quit the misogynistic NBC. Unrelated, but I love her teal winter coat in these photos!
I think NBC will find their ratings will not recover because the ratings dip wasn’t due to Ann it was due to Matt Lauer.
If she was so horrible, why didn’t they just pay her contract out; why do they want her to continue to work for them? Matt Lauer is their golden boy and he wanted her out, period. Perhaps she wouldn’t sleep with him like the rest of them do. I honestly can’t tell Savannah apart from Natalie, but I don’t really follow them. Hopefully, the ratings will continue to fall and Matt is the next to get the boot, but let’s face it; guys just want to see a pretty, leggy, white woman reading the news so the ratings will probably go up.
Saying she played at the highest level she could is harsh. She doesn’t have the personality of a morning show host. It’s not the only reason the Today Show is having low ratings. She’s journalist and reporter. It’s probably painful for her to deal with being fired, but she is going on to do what she does best and will be better for it.
I don’t watch the show but seriously this was unprofessional of him as her former boss to be saying this stuff to the media. You leave that behind closed doors unless you are firing someone and they cheated the company or whatever but this wasn’t the case and it’s rude as hell.
The Today Show sucks, especially since they’ve become TLC’s wet nurse. You think Ann Curry interviews bad? Ha, Meredith letting Kate Gosselin lie her arse off again and again, or Natalie interviewing for a whole hour–one whole hour. Matt, Christie Brinkley–while he lets others off the hook. One big PR show or tabloid hour.
At least Ann Curry knew what Today had become, it showed in her face. She is a good reporter if she has material to work with, like the NEWS. The producers of Today should have been fired long before Ann, they are the worst.
I would much rather be out in the field covering real news, then chasing down Lindsay for an interview or trying to screw all the women at NBC. I mean really, Matt use to do HBO two minute news back in the day. He needs to be hit with a sexual harrassment and hostile workplace lawsuit and simmer his di** down. He is obnoxious, acts like a catty bitc* and is a back stabber. I wouldnt want to sit next to his ass. They did Ann crappy and I dont even like her but karma going to run over Matt.
Matt Lauer is a prick. NBC stinks! Ok, so she may not have been that great, IDK, but damn did they have to drag it out? Parade her across the TV set like a battered woman? This is not good PR for them and I think there is a backlash coming.
who even watches these morning crapfests?
It was a mistake to put her ‘on the couch’ to begin with (always a super awkward interviewer), but agree her departure certainly could have been handled more graciously part given her long tenure with the show. Can you imagine al rocker treated like this? But Matt Lauer is a lowlife and I wouldn’t watch that show if you paid me now. Go GMA!
i used to watch the show, i noticed ann trying to build a good chemistry with matt, but he appears not receptive, that he already made up his mind that he doesn’t like her! it’s sad to watch..,