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Oh really? Ann Curry firing leads to Today Producer Jim Bell being fired after ratings slump.

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Ann Curry
Ann Curry

 

Ann Curry
Ann Curry

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What’s good for the goose is now good for the gander…

It seems things have come to a head at NBC with the media outlet set to announce the imminent dismissal of Today show producer Jim Bell said to be responsible for the firing of Ann Curry which soon led to a large exodus of the shows videos after many complained of the mistreatment and humiliation the co anchor received.

To date the firing rather than alleviating sagging ratings has only aggravated them as the outlet has continued to segue viewership to its long term rival, ABC and its morning show, ‘Good Morning America.’

nytimes: Alexandra Wallace, a senior vice president of NBC News, will be the new executive in charge of all four hours of the highly profitable “Today,” according to people at the network who described the plan on condition of anonymity because it had not been announced. She and a producer yet to be selected will succeed Jim Bell, who has been in charge of the show since 2005. Mr. Bell led the campaign for Ms. Curry’s removal from the show earlier this year and received much of the blame for the damage done by the transition.

Hmm, doesn’t sound too good over there at NBC, time to trim the overhanging leaves which have clouded the once pristine view at Rockefeller studios.

At present it isn’t known when the changes will go into effect, as things are rather nasty tenuous:

But it is unclear when the changes at the top will take effect. Some people with knowledge of the plan, who said they could be fired if they were identified, cautioned that it was still subject to change.

Jim Bell and Alexandra Wallace
Jim Bell (left, at a NYC event in Oct. 2010) is expected to leave his role as executive producer at the Today show. Alexandra Wallace (right) is reportedly going to take the helm at the fledgling morning show

Which raises another awkward question. Who’s next on the chopping block? Can one suppose Matt Lauer with his perfect chamomile tea cup manners might be brought to be held account on account of assertions that he was one of the principal individuals that manifested Ann Curry being abruptly shown out the door? In the end after much complaining on Matt Lauer’s part that he had been earmarked as the fall guy for Ann Curry’s outster, Jim Bell publicly stepped up and asserted that it had been his decision all alone to get rid of Ann Curry.

Said Bell to the The Hollywood Reporter after ratings a the outlet continued to sour after Ann Curry was terminated:

‘Obviously the transition didn’t go quite as we had hoped,’ he conceded, admitting that viewers may have been turned off by how the episode played out. 

‘Matt, I need to say for the record, really should not bear any of the blame for that. I’m the executive producer of the show. He’s not. He’s the public face of the show, so he’s taken some of this. But it has been wrong. And that fact should be corrected.’

Continues the nytimes: A shake-up like this one has been rumored about for months — making “Today” an awkward place to work in the meantime. Mr. Bell, who took over “Today” in 2005 and kept it No. 1 until this year, has continued to run the show this fall while fending off rumors about his future there.

Offers the UK’s dailymail: After taking a hit to their ratings, Lauer addressed the show’s decline in a CNN interview in May and took responsibility for its lackluster performance. 

‘Perhaps we have let up on in the past couple of years … the competition is tougher and there are a lot of challenges out there,’ he said on Piers Morgan Tonight on May 30.

‘When people start to write articles about what might be wrong with the Today show you know where you should point the finger, point it at me because I have been there the longest. And it’s my responsibility,’ he added.

But with a new side-kick, reports circulated that Lauer saw himself as the show’s savior and began micromanaging decisions on set at 30 Rock, much to the chagrin of the show’s crew.

The show’s savior? But for how long? And can Matt Lauer really lead the charge? Or does he face the same fate as Jim Bell? It is after all no secret that he has inflamed fellow cast and crew who have found to date his attitude overbearing….

Since the Today show’s reversal of fortune it has been no secret that NBC owner’s, Comcast were in search of a new replacement for Mr Bell leading to the outlet interviewing a variety of day to day producers including Izzy Povich and Amy Chiaro.

Ann Curry and Matt Lauer.
Ann Curry and Matt Lauer.

Nevertheless the Today show may be making some ground:

nytimes: Lately, though, there have been positive signs for “Today”: after losing for 10 consecutive weeks in the category that matters most to advertisers, viewers ages 25 to 54, the show beat “G.M.A.” by a few thousand viewers in the last week of October. “Today” still lost among total viewers, with 5.27 million, compared with 5.49 million for “G.M.A.” The ratings results were incomplete because of show pre-emptions and power failures across the Northeast caused by Hurricane Sandy.

Ironic because some may say that NBC has had its own very version of Hurricane Sandy out in the parking lot to deal with for months now and there doesn’t necessarily seem to be too many signs that the storm has blown over just yet.

above image found here.

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1 COMMENT

  1. Ann has reported from some very dangerous places and is a great reporter. Savannah is just a silly announcer. I have always liked Matt but in the last few years he is different from the old Matt.

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