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Ann Curry to replace Meredith Vieira on 'Today,' but can she hack it?
Ann Curry can now blow out her prayer candles as she's finally getting a chance to sit front and center as the co-host of "Today."THR reports co-host Meredith Vieira will vacate her position in June -- three months earlier than her contract was to expire. Then, Curry will finally grab the hosting chair. Not surprisingly, Natalie Morales will now be the newsreader.
Sources say Vieira, 57, is leaving for largely personal reasons as her daughter is preparing to leave for college and her husband, Richard Cohen, suffers from multiple sclerosis.
She still hosts the syndicated game show, "Who Wants to Be a Millionaire," and recently produced the film, "Return," about a female soldier's return home after war. Vieira replaced Katie Couric on "Today" in 2006 after her stint as one of the original hosts of ABC's "The View."
Always the newsreader, never the bride until now, 54-year-old Curry has been the news desk anchor at "Today" since 1997. She also anchors newsmagazine show "Dateline NBC." A three-time Emmy winner, with her first award dating back to 1987 when she reported for the local Los Angeles CBS station, many wonder why she was passed on for the hosting position when Couric left.
So why now? In a time with lots of changes in the TV news world, such as Couric vacating her CBS position, NBC hopes to keep its No. 1 morning news show status by holding on to personalities viewers already know.
While she's a celebrated beat reporter, we have been less than impressed by Curry's interviewing skills on "Today," especially coming off soft on hard newsmakers. Some believe she isn't the smoothest newsreader either.
What do you think? Can Curry hack it as the co-host of "Today"?
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More downhill slide for Today. Ann is nice enough, but she doesn't have the hard-hitting interview chops that Matt has, or that Katie has. Disappointed in how Meredith would let interviews get away with non-answers.
Nellnee cracks me up...."More downhill slide for Today"? That's just an idiotic comment....how long has Today been #1? And will continue to be
Ann Curry is too dramatic for me. It is something in her voice.
you clearly don't know Ann's work. she's a great interviewer. did you see her grill Iran's Ahmadenijad? how about Sudan's President Bashir on Darfur? her work, especially in the human rights world is second to none. in fact, there are few anchors anywhere who have gone to more tough places to tell the stories that people need to hear. i say, NBC you made the only choice, much less the right choice. congrats Ann!
No. I do not like Ann's style of interviewing. Natalie would have been a great replacement for Meredith.
what perfect timing - bring Katie back! Ann does better with the news and doesn't really fit the anchor seat with Matt. She's too uptight. Natalie would be a better fit for the job than Ann but I would really love to see Matt and Katie together again! The Today Show while still #1 (look at what it is up against) hasn't been the same since Katie left.
I am really sorry to hear this. Curry is a clumsy interviewer, spouting long statements for yes/no answers and interrupting her guests. I think that Matt will only be able to do so much and their #1 status will tank.
I've always liked Ann Curry, and I think she'll do well as anchor. She has a good sense of humor, which I think is important in morning shows. I wanted to like Meredith when she joined the show, but it never really worked for me.
After a fifty year habit I stopped watching Today because of the heightened presence of Ann Curry. This then is the kiss of death. Curry is like an attention-hungry child on air, reads the news poorly, and is a horribly lightweignt and journalistically shoddy "reporter" and interviewer. I change the channel when she appears. I have long wondered what she has on whom at NBC that she hangs on despite her glaring incompetence. RIP Today.
I've always been a fan of Ann Curry. I think she'll be terrific!!