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There will never be another Barbara Walters

Mon, 13 May 2013 14:47:00 +0000

Barbara Walters is ready for a different view -- but not just yet. On Monday, the 83-year-old newswoman officially announced that she will retire in 2014.

"I do not want to appear on another program or climb another mountain," she explained in a weekend statement. "I want instead to sit on a sunny field and admire the very gifted women — and OK, some men too — who will be taking my place." But Barbara Walters, if nobody's managed to take your place yet, what makes you think it'll happen now?

Matt Lauer’s worst week ever

Thu, 28 Mar 2013 19:54:00 +0000

Cheer up, Matt Lauer. The week's almost over. Of course, the past few months haven't exactly been a picnic for the handsomely paid host of the "Today" show. But did Al Roker tell him that his forecast for late March would be a severe crap storm?

Now in his 20th year as NBC's main man in the morning, Lauer was long considered near-invincible. He was good-looking enough to lure bleary-eyed morning viewers, possessed a gravitas that enabled him to cover serious political stories and interview heads of state, but was also playful enough to invite the audience to go on a worldwide treasure hunt searching for… him. In the halcyon Katie Couric era, "Today" seemed precisely what America wanted for breakfast.

But it's been a rocky public relations period since. Last year, there was the awkward, much-rumored courtship between Lauer and ABC, while his home network allegedly dangled his "Today" show seat before featherweight Ryan Seacrest. Lauer ended his dalliance with ABC and stayed on "Today" when NBC made him the highest, most grudgingly paid morning anchor in television history. Meanwhile, until she was clumsily shown the "Today" door, there was Lauer's on-air partnership with Ann Curry -- a textbook example of whatever the German word for "the opposite of chemistry" is.

Is Matt Lauer’s future in “Jeopardy”?

Fri, 15 Mar 2013 17:39:00 +0000

I'll take "unexpected career moves" for $200, Alex: Matt Lauer has been named as a potential successor for Alex Trebek as the host of "Jeopardy," the New York Post reports. According to sources close to the show, the "Today" show host's name is at the top of a secret list of Hollywood personalities who might be tapped to replace Trebek when he steps down from the show in 2016.

The news could not come at a more opportune time for Lauer, who has spent the week fending off rumors that he's about to be ousted from the "Today" show. According to the Post, the "Today" show, which has suffered from a ratings decline in recent months, is not expected to renew Lauer's $25-million-a-year contract with NBC when it expires in 2015 -- which coincides with the end of Trebek's three-decade tenure as "Jeopardy!" host.

Was ESPN announcer Brent Musberger being a creep?

Wed, 09 Jan 2013 20:45:00 +0000

Gosh, she's pretty. So very pretty. I'm sorry, what we were talking about? Oh, right, Katherine Webb, Brent Musberger, football. Hang on a minute. I'm getting lost in those piercing eyes again.

Katherine Webb has that effect on people. On Monday, the 23-year-old 2012 Miss Alabama became an overnight star when the cameras strayed away from the Alabama–Notre Dame game – and her boyfriend, quarterback AJ McCarron. "Do you see that lovely lady over there?" enthused ESPN announcer Brent Musberger, a man five decades years her senior.

"Wow, I'm telling you. You quarterbacks, you get all the good-looking women. What a beautiful woman! Wow! Whoa!" said Musberger, gushing like a guy coming off a juice cleanse in an Outback. "If you're a youngster in Alabama," he added, "start getting the football out and throw it around the backyard with Pop."

Must-see morning clip

Tue, 04 Sep 2012 14:41:00 +0000

It's been almost a week since Paul Ryan made the speech that inspired a thousand fact-checks. (The speech was so riddled with factual errors that some writers even gave up on fact-checking entirely). Then, Paul Ryan lied about his marathon time and forever cemented his campaign identity as a liar, a liar with his pants on fire.

On this morning's Today show, Matt Lauer gave Ryan a chance to explain himself. Lauer asked, "Would you concede that while many of the things you said were effective, some were not completely accurate?"

For a moment, America believed that Ryan might admit the truth. But that moment lasted for one tenth of a picosecond, and Ryan responded, "No, not in the least actually."

Watch the full clip:

Ann Curry is not really sorry

Thu, 28 Jun 2012 16:15:00 +0000

The very strange saga of Ann Curry’s tenure as co-host of NBC's “Today" show came to an end this morning. Curry took over the gig from Meredith Vieira about a year ago, a period that has coincided with a decline in ratings for “Today” and an uptick for its rival, ABC’s “Good Morning America.” The between-the-lines explanation for the slump has been Curry’s carriage as a co-host — a little too emotional and empathetic — and her lack of chemistry with “Today’s” Grand Poobah Matt Lauer and the rest of the on-air talent.

As a piece in Sunday’s New York Times about Curry’s hosting skills put it, "There’s an inescapable sense that Ms. Curry is outside the group in a subtle but unmistakable way, like the stepsister Cinderella without a prince." (America, not a fan of stepsisters, always looking for a princess?) Last week, news began to leak that NBC was actively trying to oust Curry, leading to several extremely awkward shows wherein Curry reported to do a job that she and all of America knew she was getting fired from.