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Matt? Savannah? GMA? NBC Execs? You won’t believe who did what in this summer network mystery special!
When high crimes are committed against network news careers you can be sure of one thing: finger prints are never left behind. Given the challenge, this kind of unsolved mystery needs a top television sleuth, someone willing to follow the trail while the blood is still fresh and revisionist publicists have yet to spin the story into infinity.
Preferably, the best choice to solve the high-profile case of the sudden disappearance of Ann Curry should have experience in the crime beat of morning news. So, for the greater good (of the blogosphere at least) I must volunteer myself, a long-time morning show executive and, just like NBC’s Detective Olivia Benson, a crime fighter whose skills have been sharpened by once having suffered a personal assault as well.
THE TALE OF THE TAPE
Curry Cringe w/Matt v. Teddy Bear Hug w/Al
And so we begin, first examining the suspects who were last seen with the victim, sitting on that couch as she tearfully said goodbye to her beloved audience. Natalie? No, she’s not All About Eve. Al? No, he doesn’t even qualify as a red herring although he likes to eat them. Matt? Now we might want to put Matt in a line up at least and not because he’s just re-signed a ridiculous new contract, one we can fairly assume was designed to make all his dreams come true. No, we just need to look at the victim’s body language and Matt’s not off the hook quite yet. Read the rest of this entry »
AS THE RUMORS SWIRL THAT MATT WILL FOLLOW MEREDITH OUT THE DOOR, A BILLION-DOLLAR FRANCHISE HEARS A GASP
Mano y mano: The only muscle Matt Lauer flexes with Tom Cruise is from the nose up.
A Today Show without Matt Lauer? Could this really be true? Could it still thrive?
Those are some of the questions recently posed to me by David Bauder of Associated Press. Where do I even begin?
As someone who’s studied Matt Lauer for many years, not just as a viewer but as a competitor, first as executive producer of ABC’s Good Morning America then senior executive producer of CBS’ Early Show, I can genuinely say with authority: there is simply no one like Matt Lauer in all of network news. There never has been, and now given the experience he adds to his broad range of skill sets, there probably never will be again.
So, NBC, what ever Matt wants, Matt should get. He’s certainly earned it.
HOW MATT LAUER BECAME “THE FONZ” OF MORNING TV AND WHY HIS BOSSES GET CREDIT FOR SPOTTING HIM
Most network news executives I have known would never have hired Matt Lauer in the first place. It’s clearly been their loss. You see, once upon a time, he was a young feature reporter for Robin Leach’s “Fame, Fortune and Romance,” a short-lived daytime series that rode the coat tails of the bigger show that brought you champagne wishes and caviar dreams. He then moved to New York and co-hosted a local talk show called 9 Broadway Plaza.
This, plus a few credits short of a degree from Ohio University, was not exactly the winning resume for a network news division, but somewhere within the NBC corporate hierarchy someone saw that Lauer was smart, fun to be around, comfortable in his own skin and likable. Not classically handsome, he was still sexy, appealing, someone who definitely sat at the cool kid’s table of life. Read the rest of this entry »
Snooki: "Most Fascinating What?"
EVERYBODY’S GOT A LIST NOW
Yes, after all these years, Time Magazine has finally squandered the “Man/Person of the Year” franchise. Barbara Walters has her annual special of “most fascinating” which, I saw in the sneak preview, features Snooki. Matt Lauer ‘s list included Lebron James, Kim Kardashian and Sharif el-Gamal, the developer of the controversial Islamic prayer center near Ground Zero. And now my old pal Judith Regan has invited a gang of us for her “person of the year” award on her Sirius radio program. Sorry, Time, but we no longer sit around the dinner table and ponder your annual selection. It’s more fun to come up with lists in our alternate universe.
I have already hand picked my personal candidates. I’m certain next week’s radio think tank will also come up with some buzzier candidates, at least some more inspired than Time, which is now asking people to click on for their pick online (see below). Read the rest of this entry »
a pop culture and news blog with no anony-mousity
shelley ross daily Xpress 
CBS: Putting the (S)Neeews Back in the Morning
January 10, 2012 in broadcast news | Tags: "Where's the Flu?, CBS News, CBS This Morning, Charlie Rose, Erica Hill, Facebook fan page, Gayle King, Health Watch, Julianna Margulies Dr. Holly Phillips, Matt Lauer, Melissa Etheridge, Michelle Obama interview, Mitt Romney, morning television, Newt Gingrich, The View, Today Show, viewers comments | by Shelley Ross dailyXpress | 5 comments
As a former Senior Executive Producer of a past CBS News morning show incarnation, I write this headline with a more generous heart than may appear; I always root for news shows to thrive and hope headlines like this just might help trigger a surge of competitive juice that pumps ferociously to prove the observer wrong.
The new morning team at CBS News.
While television critics have been kind about the launch of CBS This Morning — at least respectful of anchors Charlie Rose, Gayle King and Erica Hill — the morning show’s new Facebook Fan Page is overwhelmed by vitriol from viewers, real viewers who put their name and photos to their comments, some with whom I actually agree. Read the rest of this entry »