In an article that ran in The Daily Beast on Monday, NBC “Today” show co-anchor Matt Lauer said he thought the network handled the ousting of Ann Curry poorly.
“It clearly did not help us,” Lauer told the Beast’s Howard Kurtz. “We were seen as a family, and we didn’t handle a family matter well.”
Since Curry was pushed out of the co-anchor seat last summer, Lauer has shouldered much of the blame, often being cited as the force behind the sudden change.
According to Lauer, he encouraged network execs to slow down in their decision to do away with Curry and that he advised his then co-anchor to get an agent before the situation got messier.
In defense of Lauer, former NBC News president Steve Capus said, “He was quietly and publicly a supporter of Ann’s throughout the entire process. It is unfair that Matt has shouldered an undue amount of blame for a decision he disagreed with.”
Eventually, current co-anchor Savannah Guthrie replaced Curry on the long-running morning show.
As for Curry, she technically was not fired from NBC after her “Today” show removal, she was reassigned instead.
With her new “anchor-at-large” title, Curry has – as of last month – appeared on NBC programming 18 times, six of which were on “Today.” The remaining 12 appearances were spread out among several news programs, including “NBC Nightly News with Brian Williams,” “Rock Center” and “Dateline.”
In her first “Today” show appearance after getting axed from the show, Curry had a visibly chilly on-air interaction with Lauer during the Summer Games in London.
It was also reported in September that NBC execs squashed a Curry appearance in an Emmy broadcast spoof.
Earlier this year, Curry was reportedly in talks to join CNN, a move that eventually fizzled out because NBC execs would not let her out of her contract.
As recently as last month, a Curry-to-Al Jazeera report was circulating, but nothing concrete has surfaced.
Personal Take
It is a shame how NBC has treated Curry since pushing her out of the co-anchor spot on “Today.”
On the surface, Curry is the victim in this whole mess, though it’s difficult to imagine what could really be the reason for NBC execs squashing her chances of flourishing on another network.
Perhaps Curry isn’t all that victimized. It’s impossible to know the whole story without, well, knowing the whole story.
One thing is for certain, though. The way this Curry situation is playing out is doing nothing to earn NBC any PR points.
Whether Curry is a vindictive individual or an innocent victim is known only to the parties involved, but it is hard to refute that she is a talented news personality that deserves to be on TV regularly…somewhere.
The “Today” show airs at 7 a.m. on KSL 5 in Provo.
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