Usually when there's a big transition on a network news show, it happens with tributes and send-offs and a lot of advance planning. But the latest rumors about Ann Curry leaving the Today show have been basically the opposite. Yesterday's report that NBC was planning to replace Curry as co-host of the morning show led to a widespread expectation that she wouldn't appear on this morning's broadcast. NBC had even lined up Hoda Kotb, who co-hosts the fourth hour of Today with Kathie Lee Gifford, to step in as Curry's replacement. Then, as if nothing was happening, Curry appeared right next to Matt Lauer this morning-- and even let out her first tweet in more than a month, as if to flip the bird to anyone who thought she would just vanish.
So, what's going on? Even The Times, which broke the news and revealed NBC's contingency plan for today, is just speculating in a story posted today; it includes questions about why Hoda Kotb was chosen as a potential fill-in instead of Savannah Guthrie, the Today show newsreader and likely replacement as co-anchor. All you have to do is look at Guthrie to see she's practically a dead ringer for Katie Couric, still the most successful co-anchor of Today-- check out this video for evidence of a similarly bubbly personality, something that Curry-- for all her strengths-- has never quite matched.
It's got to be embarrassing for Curry and everyone else to have this kind of shakeup playing out in the media, but it's also fascinating to watch, especially in the wake of the recent headlines about Good Morning America beating Today in the ratings for the first time in nearly two decades. It probably is time for a change at Today--but depending on how they handle things from here, it might not be the kind of change they're looking for.
