Americans can be quite loyal to their morning news programs, and as such can take great offense when an anchor or other on-air personality is replaced.
I mock the Today Show, but have watched it for years. I have yet to make a clean break from it — not because I am so attached to the personalities who supply me with the news, but because I have grown accustomed to the show’s pattern. I don’t need to watch the clock; I know that I can usually wait until Natalie Morales finishes up at the news desk before I must jump in the shower. If I linger to catch Al Roker, I know I’m pushing it.
I am also a big fan of several NBC political correspondents, particularly Chuck Todd for White House and election coverage.
All that said, I am now officially auditioning morning news programs. This week, it’s been the recently retooled CBS This Morning with Charlie Rose, Erica Hill and Gayle King. I’m not sure what to make of the triumvirate approach at the anchor desk. No offense to Ms. King, but Charlie Rose is a heavy-hitting interviewer and journalist who, at times, can make her seem a little out of her depth.
The show is seriously low-key, and mercifully unlike Today in that no one seems to be going for the big belly laughs from the crew. No jovial weatherman, no brotherly/sisterly teasing between anchors. And so far, nothing remotely tabloid-ish. Everyone sits around a big table, where the average IQ is at least 150, talking about real news. Even – hang on to your hats, here – international news that does NOT involve what Kate Middleton wore to buy groceries last week. It’s all very… PBS.
Perhaps best of all, there are no screaming crowds outside the studio. No tourists captivated enough by the prospect of being on TV that they lug signs from Minnesota to New York City. “Duluth Loves Al Roker!”
Next week I will give Good Morning America a shot, although after the cerebral CBS This Morning I think it may throw me into a fit from overstimulation. The backdrop is Time Square, everything is a bright color, and there are two anchors, one news guy and one weatherperson crammed behind a teeny anchor desk — for easier banter, presumably.
No matter which network I settle on, it will be an improvement over Today.
The Ann Curry fiasco represents everything that’s wrong with NBC News; Today Show ratings drop over the past year, and since veteran reporter Ann Curry is the newest add to the anchor desk… she must be to blame. Fire her. Never mind that Today is hands-down the fluffiest, most vacuous of all the morning news shows. Forget that Matt Lauer seems bored and disinterested, and editorializes his way through just about every segment, especially those that involve a debate over good vs. bad parenting. (What about objective journalism?)
Some recent Today lowlights?
- iPhone video of a girl and her screaming dad on a death-drop roller coaster, rerun several days in a row.
- Multiple-morning check-ins with an alleged “soccer mom madam”, who has finally been released from jail. NO JUSTICE, NO PEACE!
- A long, drawn out series about Madonna Badger, who lost her entire family in a tragic Christmas day house fire. The promo clips of Matt Lauer asking whether she could see her children through the window of her home as they perished were both shameless and tasteless.
- An unhealthy obsession with a bullied school bus monitor from New York state. Yes, it started out as an important story. One of those “teachable moments”. But by day five, the kindly old lady herself seemed confused about why Today kept inviting her to appear.
- “Really Hot” ambush summer makeovers.
- Segments featuring Kathy Lee Gifford.
I will miss Today for political coverage, though. Following this morning’s Supreme Court ruling on President Obama’s healthcare legislation, NBC worked like a well-oiled machine.
As a CBS reporter tried to digest the ruling on camera as we all watched — and CNN and Fox News went one step further by misunderstanding it, and declaring it a White House defeat – Today had one veteran reporter on camera, and several seated off camera, to quickly parse and digest the complex ruling and draw the appropriate conclusions.
Best of luck Savannah Guthrie – Magna Cum Laude Georgetown Law graduate, former criminal defense attorney, and newest co-anchor of Today. Wonder how many cute videos of puppies you’ll report on, before you want to knock yourself in the head with a judge’s mallet?
In Write Field 
Kim, It’s a joy to read your writing. Keep ’em coming. I have to ask: Did you see “Newsroom” on Sunday (or on repeat since)? It made me think about good journalism, Jonathan Rugman, Nicaragua, and, well, deciding to do the right thing because it can be done better, which is pretty much what motivates me to the classroom every day (though not the next 60 of them or so). I hope you’re thriving. You seem to be. Even with Ann Curry out the door.
Wow thanks Brad! That’s really meaningful coming from a teacher! I have not seen Newsroom, that’s HBO right? I will need to grab the DVDs because I am hearing awesome things about it. Ann Curry and I will be fine. She took the fall for a crummy show format, but I think she’s ultimately better off once she’s left that viper’s nest.
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Well it’s now been 4 years, and Guthrie has not only gulped down the NBC puppy story juice-box, she’s making babies on que and ‘almost’ fitting right in to the empty vacuous culture that is the NBC Today Show. Even when they attempt any serious reporting, one has to just laugh…”oh Ms Clinton, I just love your pant suit!, did you know Trumps are made in China? Bill gave such a wonderful speech there last month and they so generously supported your Campaign er, Foundation, how thoughtful!!!”
Funnily, I switched to CBS This Morning right after I wrote this and have never looked back. Gayle King has her share of detractors — I think there is even a “fire Gayle” Facebook group — but I’m OK with her. I like the rapport between the three people at the desk. Congenial but not crazy clubby. From what I see in the media, though, looks like the drama at “Today” continues.