<p>I am not one to watch the morning new shows, but happened to see GMA a few weeks back and in my opinion George Stephanopoulos is the reason GMA has jumped ahead of the Today Show in the ratings. He seems smarter and a better interviewer than Matt Lauer. JMO — but the NBC executives axed the wrong host.</p>
<p>Ann Curry was very good in her auxiliary role, but not so much under the limelight. Her style seemed composed but also fabricated. Never found her interviews memorable in a positive sense. Could not stand how she lowered her voice to show sympathy to some. She might have had a difficult time to follow Meredith who exudes warmth and genuineness, and was a perfect match to Lauer, who IS the star of the show. When Lauer is out, the show is hardly the same.</p>
<p>Fwiw, they have not found a very good replacement yet. The two other ladies, and especially Morales, are opiniated lightweights. NBC will have to keep looking, or bring back some of the past back.</p>
<p>I agree the bench strength is not particularly strong with NBC right now. I found Ann fine, but not really a star. </p>
<p>Agre completely that George S is great. He is both friendly and knoweledgeable and I think he does a good job on the harder stories. I love Matt Lauer for those easier/happy stories though. </p>
<p>Truthfully, I would put Hoda in at NBC if only to get Kathie Lee off the show.</p>
<p>I was a longtime watcher of the Today Show – I’m talking back to the Jane Pauley days. I couldn’t stand Meredith V. I liked her on The View, but once you know that much about a person it’s hard to put the genie in the bottle. I switched to GMA, despite my dislike of Diane Sawyer, and really liked the addition of George S. But when CBS revamped its morning show, I made the switch there. How many interviews with DWTS contestants can you watch? </p>
<p>I don’t have cable so I want a morning news show with actual news. Gayle King is pretty awkward on the show, but Charlie and Erika are good. I’m sticking there for a while.</p>
<p>I am not a morning show watcher, but I think Ann Curry has a beautiful voice.</p>
<p>MD, she seems like a lovely person, too. But I questioned putting her in that role from the beginning. Must admit that I haven’t watched enough of the show to assess how I think she did.</p>
<p>I, too, think she seems to be a lovely person. I very much enjoyed the human interest stories and segments she narrated but found watching her deliver banter and direct live interviews uncomfortable and it felt like she felt uncomfortable asking hard hitting questions or ‘bantering’ on the fly with guests.</p>
<p>YDA, I< too, now watch CBS in the mornings, and I completely agree with what you say about Gayle King. The 3 seem to get along nicely.</p>
<p>glo, my ds1 watched with me a couple of weeks ago while recuperating from surgery, and he noticed Gayle’s awkwardness as well. She’s kind of, um, goofy – wants to be the center of attention, asks questions awkwardly, seems to like to hear herself talk. I like the way they use late-night jokes and such as bumpers coming back from commercials. It adds a little levity to what is mostly pretty serious stuff. I’d love to see them get rid of her in favor of someone who is a little more … polished, I guess. She just seems to step on everyone else’s lines. I liked her when she would do segments on Oprah’s show. This just isn’t her venue.</p>
<p>I thought Anne Curry was fine. I never quite understand most of the anchor firings that happen. I go all the way back to the Barbara Walters days. And it seems like whenever there is a new Today Show woman she is always unfavorably compared to her beloved predecessor. </p>
<p>I can recall Barbara Walters → Jane Pauley → Deborah Norville → Katie Couric → Meredithe Viera → Anne Curry. And all of them were severely criticized when they first took over, including the eventually-beloved Jane Pauley and Katie Couric. Deborah Norville and and Anne Curry did not weather the storm and were fired. But I’m not so sure they wouldn’t have done just fine and become beloved in their own right if given a little more time.</p>
<p>And the beloved Barbara Walters herself and later the beloved Katie Couric were both similarly fired after they jumped to evening news anchor (as was Connie Chung on CBS). Diane Sawyer is hanging in there on ABC, for now. For each firing something was said about female anchors not having the requisite “gravitas” to properly read the evening news to us. Say what? Beyond not tripping over words and having a pleasing-sounding voice, what special talent does it take to read brief news stories to us? </p>
<p>I guess I’m just not critical enough.</p>
<p>Never liked Deborah Norville but was a big Katie fan for years. She grated on me toward the end, seeming to want to be a part of the story all the time and talking about herself a lot. But I did like her and Matt together. It’s funny how I liked MV on both The View and 60 Minutes but not on Today. I think I must be quite particular/opinionated on this issue. I am a devoted morning news show watcher. I love getting up early, taking my time making breakfast and getting dressed. I want those two hours to be enjoyable.</p>
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<p>To partially answer my own question, I think part of the problem lies in the term “anchor.” The term itself implies a certain weightiness that it may be harder for women with their higher voices to achieve. Maybe Diane Sawyer is managing to hang on because she has a very low voice for woman.</p>
<p>In Britain anchors are called “news readers,” which much more aptly describes their true role. Perhaps if we called them that too it might be easier for women to live up to the expectation created by the title. But even if we continue to call them anchors, I still don’t see what all the fuss is about. Like I said, Anne Curry was fine.</p>
<p>As was much rumored, Savannah Guthrie has been named as Anne Curry’s replacement.</p>
<p>I like her. Saw her recently on Meet the Press or Rock Center or somewhere, and she was really good. I liked how she was wearing glasses during yesterday’s SC coverage. Gravitas and all that. ;)</p>
<p>Yes, I’ve noticed the glasses and the reliance on her law degree in the past few weeks. </p>
<p>Here’s what i hate about the Today show. Ever notice how right after Natalie Morales does the hard news, she always ends on something funny. Then they cut back to Al, Ann and Matt and if Al doesn’t get a good joke off, they all end up talking over one another and laughing. You can’t even hear what the heck is being said. Drives me nuts!!</p>
<p>I had my doubts about Ann when she was announced as Meredith’s replacement but to my surprise she was much better than I expected. I like her, I wish she wasn’t out but the anchors earn a lot of money so if they are deemed to be not good enough then so be it. I have my doubts about Savannah. I like her as an interviewer and reporter but I don’t think she has a strong enough presence for the role of co-anchor.</p>
<p>I had major doubts about Ann. She is a very nice, straightforward person. Perfect for news. But she appears to have no real sense of humor. There was no kidding between her and Matt or any one on Today. It just wasn’t there.</p>
<p>But NBC treated her terribly. She excelled at her job for 15 years. And she had to leave crying??</p>
<p>I too now watch CBS. It is news. Agree King is awkward. She will get better, become beloved for her “awkwardness” or be gone.</p>
<p>Yesterday I heard the rumor that Matt is Natalie’s baby daddy and that Mrs. Lauer keeps making sure that Natalie doesn’t get the job next to Matt…Natalie thought she should have gotten it when Ann got it, then she thought she should have gotten it, now Savanah has it. Three year old, purportedly a result of a fling during the Bejing Olympics.</p>
<p>I guess it’s an old rumor that keeps resurfacing.</p>
<p>I wish they’d left Ann at the news. I liked her. (Probably because she was very sweet to my D back in '07 when we were in the crowd outside 30 Rock one day on vacation.)</p>
<p>Back when I watched Today, Matt and Natalie’s chemistry was OBVIOUS. Not sure I believe the baby daddy thing, but I guess it wouldn’t surprise me.</p>
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<p>Sure, just like about a million other Americans when they get laid off despite many years of doing a good job.</p>