Anyone who has paid any attention to this blog over the last year or so knows that I have been watching and documenting the trials and tribulations of the "Today" show on NBC on an occasional basis, and realises that I am neither a fan of NBC's handling of the talent nor the apparent politicking (some call it a boy's locker room or even a bullying mentality) that seems to be intertwined with company policy and daily operations.
No, I am not going to retread the fiascos that were the Leno-O'Brien affair nor the almost incomprehensibly unprofessional strategy/execution of the entrance/exit of a certain Ann Curry - we all know what I think about that, and NBC never listen to my words of wisdom anyhow. I correctly predicted the outcomes of both of these situations, which is either remarkably good luck for an outsider or a total indictment of those involved in the decision-making process and execution at NBC. Wait - did I say "execution"? A Freudian slip, honestly!
Due to recent changes in my own schedule, I have been not been able to grab the remote at 6:59am in bed and exclaim "Ah, time for my news!", thus missing out for the last few months, but I had a week off this week and so was able to check in once again. It was quite shocking to realise not only had I not missed anything, but the show has become a shadow of its former greatness and is occasionally barely watchable anymore! The strained efforts to appear all smiles and one big happy family amidst shots of hordes of beaming "fans" is a major contributor to the show's woes - it's called trying too hard, folks.
No, I am not going to retread the fiascos that were the Leno-O'Brien affair nor the almost incomprehensibly unprofessional strategy/execution of the entrance/exit of a certain Ann Curry - we all know what I think about that, and NBC never listen to my words of wisdom anyhow. I correctly predicted the outcomes of both of these situations, which is either remarkably good luck for an outsider or a total indictment of those involved in the decision-making process and execution at NBC. Wait - did I say "execution"? A Freudian slip, honestly!
Due to recent changes in my own schedule, I have been not been able to grab the remote at 6:59am in bed and exclaim "Ah, time for my news!", thus missing out for the last few months, but I had a week off this week and so was able to check in once again. It was quite shocking to realise not only had I not missed anything, but the show has become a shadow of its former greatness and is occasionally barely watchable anymore! The strained efforts to appear all smiles and one big happy family amidst shots of hordes of beaming "fans" is a major contributor to the show's woes - it's called trying too hard, folks.
If there was one outcome of recent events that no one was able to predict, it was the rather startling revelation that the show's ratings actually worsened following Ann Curry's departure. This shook the rafters at 30 Rock, and the vibrations were felt all the way up even in the bigger offices, irrespective of the insulation provided by the plush luxury carpets. This situation created a crisis that no one saw coming, subsequently rocking (!) the foundations of the nation's most profitable news franchise to its very core.
Today went into essentially an identity crisis in the past year following Curry's unceremonious exit; something that was unthinkable given that not only was (former) golden boy Matt Lauer staying on board, but he was now freed to work with a co-anchor with whom he would have greatly augmented personal/professional chemistry, even if that augmentation might be a perception rather than the actual truth. It's all in the eye of the beholder at NBC, right?!
All sorts of stories revealing insider observations involving the major players like Lauer, Curry, Steve Capus, Jim Bell, Steve Burke et al. have surfaced, not the least of which was a quote attributed to Lauer telling a colleague: "I can't believe I am sitting next to that woman". It almost sounds Bill Clinton-ish! No prizes for guessing who that woman was, and the quote surfaced in the New York Times's Brian Stelter's racy expose, "Top of the Morning: The Cutthroat World of Morning TV". Lauer later denied the quote, but somehow we can all imagine him saying it.
The year following Curry's exit from the hotseat in the show's sweltering kitchen was quite brutally focused on Lauer himself, both for the disdain over his alleged role in Curry's ignominious departure as well as a hotter spotlight that shone on his bare head over ratings losses to the major competitor: ABC's "Good Morning America". If Ann Curry was the problem, and we got rid of her, and we still have our Matt, then why are we losing ratings - unless, God no, it was not Ann who was the issue after all?!
Well, of course she was, and one cannot deny that. I always said that I felt she was a stereotypical example of ambition overriding talent - she was described by one NBC insider as "f**king ambitious", way back - and that sheer ambition drove her demands to be in the hotseat. This ambition didn't suddenly surface at the time of dear old Meredith Vieira's imminent departure in 2011 either: Ann had caused a stir as far back as 1993 when she called up Andrew Lack and vented her displeasure over the appointment of one Brian Williams to the weekend "Nightly News" slot - now that takes some balls, people, because Brian Williams is a top tier newsman and brilliant broadcaster, and I can't see any of the various #1 anchors at any network today being capable of berating the veritable President of NBC News over that excellent decision - yet our Ann did. Very telling indeed.
Ann should have seen the writing on the wall when she was (rightly) overlooked following the departure of the charming Katie Couric in 2006, as that was a clear sign not only that she was not considered ready, but additionally, that after some 16 years at NBC (including a decade-long apprenticeship reading the news on the Today show itself ), if you weren't ready by then you were effectively never going to be ready. When NBC finally gave in after 15 years of Ann reading the news and allowed her to replace magnificent Meredith, well, I think they knew, like me, from day one, that the exit meter was already running.
I am not a believer in sheer ambition being allowed to rule in the absence of raw talent, and the results are almost always excruciatingly painful for all concerned, not just the inappropriately promoted individual. We've all seen it, in one office or another. There sure were some excruciatingly awkward gaffes and she and Matt never fit well together on screen, and the rest is history. But what of Matt? How come the ratings went down and how come the performant Savannah Guthrie in combination with Matt have not repaired the problem?
Well, even though people at NBC are probably under orders to not say it, I think we all know that Lauer may have come to the end of his road at Today. Something changed, he changed, his brand has been damaged by the last two years, and dare I say it, he is apparently less "likeable" than at any time in his career that I can remember. We don't see that boyish, cheeky, charming guy he used to be, and in fact, he often comes across today as glib, even condescending and regularly superior; something I find kind of shocking for someone whose day job is to read words others have written for him off a teleprompter to a camera on a show that whole hordes of producers and technicians actually make happen around him. Brain surgery it ain't, people. Hell, teaching kids in a classroom it ain't, people! But piles of money and a minor degree of fame and celebrity do change many people, so I guess he let it all go to his (talking) head.
No one at NBC will ever listen to me, but I will give them a free piece of expert insight - the thing that none of them really observed is that Matt Lauer is only as good as the female co-anchor sitting beside him. Don't get me wrong, if she is a star, then Matt shines like a beacon right out of the screen into breakfast rooms everywhere. His performance is very positively impacted by the presence of a good woman at the desk - this is undeniable when one retraces the tenures of both Katie Couric and Meredith Vieira - they were both superstars who brought out the best in Matt.
Once Ann went in, things crumbled almost instantaneously and I think people were running around in confusion, not sure what was going on, but what was going on was the crystallising reality that Matt cannot carry it on his own. Take away Meredith, and he was lost. Ergo, and to wit, the Lauer of Today is not the Lauer of even five years ago: he is weighed down by new, heavier baggage than he has ever shouldered in his career to date, and it weighs on him, daily. It wears on him, daily. His brand loses another sparkle, daily. They say behind every successful man is a good woman, and that is patently true of Bryant Gumbel (Jane Pauley), Matt Lauer I (Katie Couric), Matt Lauer II (Meredith Vieira) but simply not true of Matt Lauer III.
"The time is up, the song is over, thought I'd something more to say..." [Roger Waters, natch]
Instead of us patrolling through a succession of female co-hosts over the next few years, damaging the franchise irreparably, the smartest thing to do would be to cut Lauer in 2014 and let the fresh-faced and very sharp Willie Geist take over. Done! Trust me, NBC, less than a year in, no one will be reminiscing about Matt being in the chair, and many will barely remember it - our Willie is a shoe-in, a natural, and he is going to take authority in that seat like a seasoned old pro. Then it's simply a question of finding the moth to his flame, which I think will be a much less daunting affair than trying to accommodate the increasingly delicate and sensitive problem that Lauer and his ego now represent.
However, NBC, if you insist on honouring Lauer's multimillion multiyear contract, well, you should have learnt your lessons from the past - Matt needs an older woman, not a younger one. Duh! Both Katie Couric (albeit not by much) and Meredith Vieira are older than Matt, and that's one of the reasons it worked! For whatever reason, the chemistry seems to be better with a woman who has greater experience/knowledge in life, but one also with rock solid broadcasting credentials, perhaps because it allows Lauer to be the little brother or new boy on the block, a position in which he has thrived. It just doesn't feel the same when the gal siting beside him was an underling at the same show, even if she was older, too, but she couldn't cut it so lost authority right there.
So NBC needs to bring in a Meredith II, if Lauer is to be kept on. I cannot only criticize the network though, because the show used to be stellar, and I happily admit that the sourcing of Vieira by Jeff Zucker of NBC was true genius - it represented the open-minded out-of-the-box type of thinking that has been sadly lacking since, and I think someone ought to be out there shopping for a Meredith II, or even work some total magic to bring her back.
Feeling generous today, I will also inform NBC that their current attempts to get back on top by essentially copying the formats of the other big shows is not only not going to work, but actually demeans the great NBC brand. When did NBC start cloning other team formats, instead of being the leaders that all others follow? I do not like the new format of all four people at a big desk, at all, as it is both a distraction and is cumbersome. I don't need to see Al Roker or Natalie Morales sitting at the top desk as total equals because even based on salary alone, they are all far from equals. Neither Roker nor our Nat are the leads we want to hear the day's big headlines being discussed by - they simply don't have that kind of intellectual authority!
I need my two top anchors to be the focus, as they are the top talent (or should be!) and when our Nat reads the news the camera can swing to her podium, and when Al and his suit are called in to say - "that's what's going on around the country, here's what's happening in your neck of the woods", for the millionth time - then the camera can swing over then also. Additionally, trying to create the warm, family atmosphere that permeates the set of the ABC or CBS shows, which in their case facilitates the group sitting together from the start, doesn't work for Today. Why? Well because they are not one big happy family, anymore, not least due to the fiasco of Curry and her exit, and the pressure being felt since.
Perhaps NBC brass think they can fake it, but you only have to watch the competition to see what is real teamwork and collegiality (look at ABC's "Good Morning America" team/format on weekends for a great example) and how watery and paper-thin the Today version seems. Look how great Dan and Bianna are together on ABC, and how smooth the chemistry is between them and the other two, the indefatigable Ginger Zee and cheerful Ron Claiborne. Ditto the work done by Anthony Mason and Rebecca Jarvis on CBS's "This Morning Saturday". By comparison, NBC is struggling to find anything even close to that degree of warmth no doubt due to the freezing chills pervading the very corridors of 30 Rock each day.
There's another thing or two about the show that is cringe-inducing in it's smarmy fake sweetness and that is entirely superfluous - the ongoing all-morning "good morning"s between the hosts. So for example, at like 8 10am, with Matt, Al and Sav out on the plaza, Matt announces that we are off inside to hear the news. Then our Nat is forced to say, over an hour into the show "Thanks Matt, and good morning to you, Savannah and Al" even though they originally said good morning about four hours ago and have said it several times on air since? It's ridiculous. Almost as ridiculous as the exit for a break: "When we come back we will be hearing how Oprah wasn't able to spend a disgraceful $38,000 on a crocodile skin designer bag, but first, this is Today on NBC!" Does anyone even know what that means?!
No, I don't mean filthy rich ol' Oprah's "problem", I mean "but first, this is Today on NBC". Uhmm, I think we all know that this is Today on NBC, by now, no?! Why are you reminding us, for the fiftieth time in one show? Ah, you mean it's supposed to mean but first, here are some more never-ending advertisements for you to sleep through? Then why don't you say that? Because, but first, this is Today, is essentially meaningless. How sweet it isn't, as old friend Willard Scott (didn't) used to say.
And speaking of Oprah, quite why NBC chose Al Roker and not a heavy-hitting journalist to interview her recently for the show is beyond me - it reeks of either pandering to a member of staff or the viewers, or both, and I refused to watch it. Now we have the weatherman doing the interview with an admittedly global superstar such as the Big O - why?! I am amazed that she didn't demand it to be Matt Lauer, or Savannah Guthrie at least - because she's worth it, that's why!
I think I have helped NBC enough for one day, and shall leave it at that, dear friends. Oh, by the way, the reason for the dated picture of Today, today, is that it is a picture taken in much happier times, when the balance was seemingly perfect due to the superglue that brought the entire show together and made it all work - Meredith Vieira. It used to feel like a family back then, and I would advise NBC to stare long and hard at that picture, instead of staring at ABC or CBS, in order to find a solution to the mess that they have created Today. - Kevin Mc
The year following Curry's exit from the hotseat in the show's sweltering kitchen was quite brutally focused on Lauer himself, both for the disdain over his alleged role in Curry's ignominious departure as well as a hotter spotlight that shone on his bare head over ratings losses to the major competitor: ABC's "Good Morning America". If Ann Curry was the problem, and we got rid of her, and we still have our Matt, then why are we losing ratings - unless, God no, it was not Ann who was the issue after all?!
Well, of course she was, and one cannot deny that. I always said that I felt she was a stereotypical example of ambition overriding talent - she was described by one NBC insider as "f**king ambitious", way back - and that sheer ambition drove her demands to be in the hotseat. This ambition didn't suddenly surface at the time of dear old Meredith Vieira's imminent departure in 2011 either: Ann had caused a stir as far back as 1993 when she called up Andrew Lack and vented her displeasure over the appointment of one Brian Williams to the weekend "Nightly News" slot - now that takes some balls, people, because Brian Williams is a top tier newsman and brilliant broadcaster, and I can't see any of the various #1 anchors at any network today being capable of berating the veritable President of NBC News over that excellent decision - yet our Ann did. Very telling indeed.
Ann should have seen the writing on the wall when she was (rightly) overlooked following the departure of the charming Katie Couric in 2006, as that was a clear sign not only that she was not considered ready, but additionally, that after some 16 years at NBC (including a decade-long apprenticeship reading the news on the Today show itself ), if you weren't ready by then you were effectively never going to be ready. When NBC finally gave in after 15 years of Ann reading the news and allowed her to replace magnificent Meredith, well, I think they knew, like me, from day one, that the exit meter was already running.
I am not a believer in sheer ambition being allowed to rule in the absence of raw talent, and the results are almost always excruciatingly painful for all concerned, not just the inappropriately promoted individual. We've all seen it, in one office or another. There sure were some excruciatingly awkward gaffes and she and Matt never fit well together on screen, and the rest is history. But what of Matt? How come the ratings went down and how come the performant Savannah Guthrie in combination with Matt have not repaired the problem?
Well, even though people at NBC are probably under orders to not say it, I think we all know that Lauer may have come to the end of his road at Today. Something changed, he changed, his brand has been damaged by the last two years, and dare I say it, he is apparently less "likeable" than at any time in his career that I can remember. We don't see that boyish, cheeky, charming guy he used to be, and in fact, he often comes across today as glib, even condescending and regularly superior; something I find kind of shocking for someone whose day job is to read words others have written for him off a teleprompter to a camera on a show that whole hordes of producers and technicians actually make happen around him. Brain surgery it ain't, people. Hell, teaching kids in a classroom it ain't, people! But piles of money and a minor degree of fame and celebrity do change many people, so I guess he let it all go to his (talking) head.
No one at NBC will ever listen to me, but I will give them a free piece of expert insight - the thing that none of them really observed is that Matt Lauer is only as good as the female co-anchor sitting beside him. Don't get me wrong, if she is a star, then Matt shines like a beacon right out of the screen into breakfast rooms everywhere. His performance is very positively impacted by the presence of a good woman at the desk - this is undeniable when one retraces the tenures of both Katie Couric and Meredith Vieira - they were both superstars who brought out the best in Matt.
Once Ann went in, things crumbled almost instantaneously and I think people were running around in confusion, not sure what was going on, but what was going on was the crystallising reality that Matt cannot carry it on his own. Take away Meredith, and he was lost. Ergo, and to wit, the Lauer of Today is not the Lauer of even five years ago: he is weighed down by new, heavier baggage than he has ever shouldered in his career to date, and it weighs on him, daily. It wears on him, daily. His brand loses another sparkle, daily. They say behind every successful man is a good woman, and that is patently true of Bryant Gumbel (Jane Pauley), Matt Lauer I (Katie Couric), Matt Lauer II (Meredith Vieira) but simply not true of Matt Lauer III.
"The time is up, the song is over, thought I'd something more to say..." [Roger Waters, natch]
Instead of us patrolling through a succession of female co-hosts over the next few years, damaging the franchise irreparably, the smartest thing to do would be to cut Lauer in 2014 and let the fresh-faced and very sharp Willie Geist take over. Done! Trust me, NBC, less than a year in, no one will be reminiscing about Matt being in the chair, and many will barely remember it - our Willie is a shoe-in, a natural, and he is going to take authority in that seat like a seasoned old pro. Then it's simply a question of finding the moth to his flame, which I think will be a much less daunting affair than trying to accommodate the increasingly delicate and sensitive problem that Lauer and his ego now represent.
However, NBC, if you insist on honouring Lauer's multimillion multiyear contract, well, you should have learnt your lessons from the past - Matt needs an older woman, not a younger one. Duh! Both Katie Couric (albeit not by much) and Meredith Vieira are older than Matt, and that's one of the reasons it worked! For whatever reason, the chemistry seems to be better with a woman who has greater experience/knowledge in life, but one also with rock solid broadcasting credentials, perhaps because it allows Lauer to be the little brother or new boy on the block, a position in which he has thrived. It just doesn't feel the same when the gal siting beside him was an underling at the same show, even if she was older, too, but she couldn't cut it so lost authority right there.
So NBC needs to bring in a Meredith II, if Lauer is to be kept on. I cannot only criticize the network though, because the show used to be stellar, and I happily admit that the sourcing of Vieira by Jeff Zucker of NBC was true genius - it represented the open-minded out-of-the-box type of thinking that has been sadly lacking since, and I think someone ought to be out there shopping for a Meredith II, or even work some total magic to bring her back.
Feeling generous today, I will also inform NBC that their current attempts to get back on top by essentially copying the formats of the other big shows is not only not going to work, but actually demeans the great NBC brand. When did NBC start cloning other team formats, instead of being the leaders that all others follow? I do not like the new format of all four people at a big desk, at all, as it is both a distraction and is cumbersome. I don't need to see Al Roker or Natalie Morales sitting at the top desk as total equals because even based on salary alone, they are all far from equals. Neither Roker nor our Nat are the leads we want to hear the day's big headlines being discussed by - they simply don't have that kind of intellectual authority!
I need my two top anchors to be the focus, as they are the top talent (or should be!) and when our Nat reads the news the camera can swing to her podium, and when Al and his suit are called in to say - "that's what's going on around the country, here's what's happening in your neck of the woods", for the millionth time - then the camera can swing over then also. Additionally, trying to create the warm, family atmosphere that permeates the set of the ABC or CBS shows, which in their case facilitates the group sitting together from the start, doesn't work for Today. Why? Well because they are not one big happy family, anymore, not least due to the fiasco of Curry and her exit, and the pressure being felt since.
Perhaps NBC brass think they can fake it, but you only have to watch the competition to see what is real teamwork and collegiality (look at ABC's "Good Morning America" team/format on weekends for a great example) and how watery and paper-thin the Today version seems. Look how great Dan and Bianna are together on ABC, and how smooth the chemistry is between them and the other two, the indefatigable Ginger Zee and cheerful Ron Claiborne. Ditto the work done by Anthony Mason and Rebecca Jarvis on CBS's "This Morning Saturday". By comparison, NBC is struggling to find anything even close to that degree of warmth no doubt due to the freezing chills pervading the very corridors of 30 Rock each day.
There's another thing or two about the show that is cringe-inducing in it's smarmy fake sweetness and that is entirely superfluous - the ongoing all-morning "good morning"s between the hosts. So for example, at like 8 10am, with Matt, Al and Sav out on the plaza, Matt announces that we are off inside to hear the news. Then our Nat is forced to say, over an hour into the show "Thanks Matt, and good morning to you, Savannah and Al" even though they originally said good morning about four hours ago and have said it several times on air since? It's ridiculous. Almost as ridiculous as the exit for a break: "When we come back we will be hearing how Oprah wasn't able to spend a disgraceful $38,000 on a crocodile skin designer bag, but first, this is Today on NBC!" Does anyone even know what that means?!
No, I don't mean filthy rich ol' Oprah's "problem", I mean "but first, this is Today on NBC". Uhmm, I think we all know that this is Today on NBC, by now, no?! Why are you reminding us, for the fiftieth time in one show? Ah, you mean it's supposed to mean but first, here are some more never-ending advertisements for you to sleep through? Then why don't you say that? Because, but first, this is Today, is essentially meaningless. How sweet it isn't, as old friend Willard Scott (didn't) used to say.
And speaking of Oprah, quite why NBC chose Al Roker and not a heavy-hitting journalist to interview her recently for the show is beyond me - it reeks of either pandering to a member of staff or the viewers, or both, and I refused to watch it. Now we have the weatherman doing the interview with an admittedly global superstar such as the Big O - why?! I am amazed that she didn't demand it to be Matt Lauer, or Savannah Guthrie at least - because she's worth it, that's why!
I think I have helped NBC enough for one day, and shall leave it at that, dear friends. Oh, by the way, the reason for the dated picture of Today, today, is that it is a picture taken in much happier times, when the balance was seemingly perfect due to the superglue that brought the entire show together and made it all work - Meredith Vieira. It used to feel like a family back then, and I would advise NBC to stare long and hard at that picture, instead of staring at ABC or CBS, in order to find a solution to the mess that they have created Today. - Kevin Mc
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