Browsing articles tagged with " Al Roker"
Matt Lauer’s TODAY Show Team Comes to His Defense
Matt Lauer may be single-handedly killing the Today show, but it isn’t stopping his past and present team from rallying around him.
Former co-anchor of Today, Katie Couric, fondly recalls a prank Matt pulled on her in a Florida hotel room, when he had the staff hide his picture all over Katie’s room. She tells Page Six Magazine (out this Thursday); “He had someone put one under my pillow with things like, ‘Hi, look who you’re sleeping with tonight’ written on it,” she tells the mag. “He had someone put one on the minibar that said, ‘Get out of here.’ The piece de resistance was when I lifted up the toilet seat and there he was. They had taped a photo of him under the toilet, and it said, ‘Yep, here I am, too.’
Al Roker is also weighing in regards to Matt’s “Diva” behaviour saying it’s “just a crock.” Al also shares a story; “One day we were traveling, and I was sitting across from [Matt], and I look over and he’s looking at his laptop, and he’s crying. I’m like, ‘What the heck?’ He’s watching ‘The Notebook,’ and the tears are just flowing.”
So who are we to believe? Katie and Al or the bitter, disgruntled folks on staff now? Time will certainly reveal the truth.
TELL US – IS MATT AS ‘EVIL’ AS THEY WOULD HAVE US BELIEVE?
Al Roker Calls Out Matt Lauer? Plus TODAY’s Staff Feel Ann Curry’s Firing Was a “Mistake”
Did Al Roker take a swipe at his fellow TODAY show co-host Matt Lauer?
That appears to be the case! During the Thursday (August 16) broadcast, Al seemed to take a dig at Matt, who is widely reported to have gotten Ann Curry fired this year because he wanted a different co-host.
On the broadcast, Al, Matt, Savannah Guthrie and Tamron Hall were interviewing members of the U.S. women’s rowing team when the tradition of winning teams throwing their coxswain into the water was brought up.
Matt then stated that the tradition in New York is to throw her into the Hudson River. Seemed harmless enough, except Al responded with: “Which is different than our tradition, which is you throw one of us under the bus, but that’s another story.”
Ouch! Al’s joke was followed by awkward laughter. As for NBC, they are of course denying that Al’s joke was a dig at Matt.
Meanwhile, despite Ann’s exit from the morning show, the ratings continue to take a dive and a new report is now stating staff members feel NBC made a “mistake” in firing Ann.
“The staffers of the TODAY show miss Ann tremendously and feel it was a mistake to replace her with Savannah,” a source close to the situation tells Radar Online.
“Ann had been part of the TODAY show for over 15 years, and her send off was just horribly executed. It’s not lost on anyone that GMA beat the TODAY show on Wednesday in the ratings yet again,” adds the source. “Viewers have had enough and the show just isn’t staying relevant. Morale is extremely low and something is going to need to change very quickly before they can get the TODAY show back in first place for good.”
“The crew would LOVE Ann back on set, some have even suggested privately that Matt Lauer take a long vacation and see how the ratings would shake out in that scenario,” the source adds.
Seems like NBC is going to have to make more changes with the hosts show!
[Photo Credit: PR Photos]
TELL US – WAS AL’S JOKE A DIG AT MATT? DID NBC MAKE A MISTAKE IN FIRING ANN?
Ann Curry Feels ‘Vindicated’ by TODAY Show Ratings Decrease, Hoda Kotb to Replace Savannah Guthrie?
Poor Ann Curry who got fired the pink slip by the NBC network last month after she was blamed for the ratings decline on The Today Show, both by the network and her co-anchor Matt Lauer.
Well, fast forward to today and the ratings continue to decline despite the fact that Savannah Guthrie has replaced her. Yes, TODAY’s biggest competitor Good Morning America continues to win the ratings war, beating them for the last four straight weeks. During a week in mid-July, GMA averaged 4.57 million viewers, beating out TODAY by 357,000 viewers.
“Ann feels completely vindicated by the TODAY show’s poor ratings since she left,” a source tells Radar Online. “She feels she was fired completely unfairly and wasn’t given a fair shot at the gig.”
Ann, 55, who continues to work at NBC, is reportedly secretly delighting in the fact that the show is still struggling following her departure.
“Ann feels she was made a scapegoat by the network and that it’s the whole show that needed an overhaul, not her replacing,” the insider reveals. “She feels they should have booked better guests and had a more exciting line-up and better stories to cover and better writing. Ann believes that point has been proved by the show’s ratings declining even further since she left.”
Ann however has no hard feelings towards her replacement Savannah, 40, though Matt is a whole other story. ”There’s definitely no love lost for Matt Lauer though, who she feels threw her under the bus completely,” adds the source.
And speaking of Savannah, she is now feeling the heat. In fact, the NY Daily News is reporting today that NBC is starting to panic a tad, hence their decision to call up Hoda Kotb to come to London and help cover “Today” show’s Olympic coverage because audiences are not connecting with Savannah.
While NBC is insisting it always planned to send Hoda to London, an insider insists Hoda’s departure was always up in the air.
Quite frankly, I’m not surprised the ratings have continued to slip. Following Ann’s departure, the show needed someone fun and exciting to breathe some life back into. And that someone would have been Hoda, who is not only very likeable and similar to former host Meredith Vieira, but already has a built-in fan base due to her hosting duties on the fourth hour of the Today Show.
Hoda should have gotten the job over Savannah. I mean let’s face it, is there really a difference between Ann and Savannah? They’re practically the same person! Savannah and Ann lacked the “IT Factor” which both Meredith and Hoda possess. Plus I thought handing the job over to Savannah without even testing Hoda or others was a huge mistake.
[Photo Credit: PR Photos]
TELL US – THOUGHTS ON THE LATEST WITH THE TODAY SHOW? SHOULD NBC HAVE HIRED SOMEONE ELSE OVER SAVANNAH?
Inside Ann Curry and Matt Lauer’s Feud! Matt “100 Percent” Wanted Her Fired
You could cut the tension with a knife during Ann Curry’s last day with NBC’s The Today Show.
After Ann, 55, announced her departure from the morning show, she hugged her co-hosts Al Roker and Natalie Morales, but when it came time to hug Matt Lauer, she would not look at him. And when Matt went in for a kiss, she refused to turn toward him.
She had good reason. For months now, several media outlets had reported Matt, 54, did not like Ann as his co-host and was urging NBC to fire her. Us Weekly is also confirming the rumors are indeed true in their latest issue.
“Matt Lauer is 100 percent behind Ann leaving,” a source reveals to Us Weekly. In fact, in the days leading up to her emotional departure, Ann and Matt “were really icy to each other, and she refused to speak to him all week.”
As for why Matt wanted Ann fired, it was because the ratings for ‘Today’ took a dip this year and he believed she was to blame.
“The body language was extremely tense,” the insider continues. A second source adds that Ann’s last day “was like a funeral in a way.”
Savannah Guthrie has since been named Ann’s replacement, though the THR reports the ratings have yet to see an improvement since Savannah took over. Maybe Ann wasn’t the sole problem after all? Plus I found myself rooting for Hoda Kotb, who was reportedly in the running, to get the job.
TELL US – SURPRISED THAT MATT WANTED ANN FIRED? IS SAVANNAH A GOOD REPLACEMENT?
Ann Curry To Be Fired From Today Show; Savannah Guthrie To Likely Replace Her
Just a year after taking over Meredith Vieira‘s vacated position as the co-host of The Today Show, a new report is confirming NBC is planning to fire Ann Curry.
This news is not exactly a surprise as there had been rumblings in the past couple of months that Matt Lauer did not like Ann and wanted her fired. Add in the fact that the Today Show ratings had taken a bit of a dip this year, and this seems like an easy decision for NBC.
The NY Daily News is reporting that NBC has been having secret meetings in hopes of finding a different role at the morning show for Ann, who took over the co-hosting gig following Meredith’s departure last June.
Unfortunately for Ann, the ratings took a bit of a dive this year and the network believes Ann, 55, who has been with “Today” since 1997, formerly serving as a news anchor, is partially to blame.
Even worse for Ann, sources close to her reveal she doesn’t want to leave the show. “She got her dream job, and she doesn’t want to let it go,” a source close to her told the Times.
Ann has however accepted her fate, and began discussions with network officials weeks ago. She also hired lawyer Robert Barnett to represent her in negotiations.
As for her replacement, Savannah Guthrie, who co-hosts the third hour at “Today,” is said to be the front-runner as well as Meredith! NBC is refusing to comment on this report.
[Photo Credit: Credit: Janet Mayer / PR Photos]
TELL US – DO YOU THINK NBC SHOULD REPLACE ANN CURRY?
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