By Fraser P. Seitel
Who among us, after viewing Ann Curry’s tearful departure from the "Today Show," wouldn’t say softly to ourselves, “Gag me with a spoon!”
I mean, “Holy Dave Garroway, Batman!” What has happened to journalism, standards, objectivity, the news?
Yes, yes, the now former-Today Show co-host is sweet and honorable and I’m heartless and old and bitter and crotchety.
But c’mon, man.
Ann Curry?
Who is she?
If you haven’t seen it, it’s worth Youtubing this poor woman’s blubbering farewell speech, after 15 years of harmless, undistinguished reporting and an unceremonious heave ho, that was brutal even for the zero ethics world of television.
Curry, who is by all accounts a lovely and guileless woman, was “Today’s” news anchor for 13 years and then slipped into the suicidal role of co-host to the lugubrious and by all accounts not particularly nice Matt Lauer. Two months ago, the NBC suits re-upped Lauer for a tidy $25 million a year, and the show’s ratings promptly fell behind ABC’s Good Morning America for the first time in 16 years.
With his dreaded rival now overtaking his network’s franchise leader, NBC’s current president – with the emphasis on “current” -- a chap named Steve Capus had to do something to salvage his own skin. So, of course, he fired the most expendable member of the, ahem, “team,” who happened to be the kindly Curry.
First, though, television being television, Capus presumably authorized the NBC public relations machine to leak news of Curry’s imminent departure to The New York Times and others, all of whom cooperated by making the erstwhile co-anchor look as pitiable as possible.
Mission accomplished. Curry resigned with her tearful on-air , Au revoir on Thursday, as sustaining co-host Lauer thoughtfully patted her back with his hand, rather than the shiv he had wielded earlier in the week to expedite her departure.
For her part, Curry, though her sobs, recounted how because of all of us – well, you perhaps, not me – “You are why I have ventured into dangerous places, interviewed dictators and jumped off of planes and off of bridges and climbed mountains and convinced the Dalai Lama to come live in our studio. I have loved you and wanted to give you the world.”
It wasn’t simply embarrassing; it was painful.
Here was yet another delusional, run-of-the-mill, self-inflating reporter, confusing her own good fortune of landing a plush TV job at a deep-pocketed network with the mistaken impression that she was the latest, rightful heir to Edward R. Murrow.
Ms. Curry, it seems, has not yet come to the hard reality that she, like most of us, is expendable. Rather than tormenting herself on national television – while no doubt boosting the Today Show’s sagging ratings for one morning – she should have realized how lucky she was to have landed where she landed and worked for an admittedly unfeeling yet free spending organization.
As proof of the latter, in addition to awarding her the “Walter Cronkite Memorial Special Projects” position at the network, the retrospectively remorseful NBC suits reportedly gave her a going-away present of $10 million to help heal the hurt.
Somewhere, Walter Lippman is doing cartwheels in his crypt.
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Joe Honick, GMA International Ltd (6/28):
What one should think is that this professional character assassination job was totally unnecessary and is now embedded across the internet. It is irrelevant whether Ms Curry thought she was or was thought to be Murrow's heiress.
Fact is she landed that job she is now leaving in competition with others. If you want to demolish careers this way, there are numerous more deserving candidates on other networks who are likewise working hard to tell audiences why their targets are beyond worthless...or worse yet: delusional.
Wes Pedersen (6/28):
Ms Curry had every right to blubber. She did a journeyman job for NBC before Katie Couric left The network wanted another bubbly personality to replace the bubble-factory's Couric. It was a relationship doomed to fail. Fifteen years of presumed permanancy and then the shiv and $10 million. With all respect to the now dear departed, I would, if I were a board member, want to know why she merited an extra $10 million.
And speaking of the real dear departed, Walter Lippman does not belong in this essay. He was my stable mate in newspapers around the world when I was Paul L. Ford. Cartwheels by Walter...for what? Jubliation? Not funny, Fraser. Or apt.
Chicago PR guy (7/05):
Bravo, Fraser, for saying what NO ONE anywhere else has the stones to say.
Joe Honick, GMA International Ltd (7/05):
If Chicago PR Guy is so complimentary of Fraser's doing what other might "not have the stones to say", he might st least have had the "stones" to sign his own name.
Anonymous (7/05):
Fraser is reminding us, in his own inimitable fashion, that most of what we do every day is indeed journeyman work. It's just that some of us are lucky enough to do it on a more prominent stage. Demolish a career? Really?
That is usually reserved for the maker of the career. Ann Curry exited the Today show the same way she played every interview and every assignment ... over the top emotionally. Honestly, I saw it live ... it was painful. And, for a journalist to say, "I did it for you!" ... well, um, I say, Ann, you shouldn't have. So, she failed as co-host of a program that gathers about 25% of the audience Rush Limbaugh generates. So, Ann's reputation has not been demolished, worse, it's been revealed.
Further, it looks like she has and will continue to get the best assignments with the best producers and put a $10-million check in the bank to boot... or since she did it all for us. maybe she should give us the money!
Tim P. McMahon (7/05):
Not sure why the above post was listed as anonymous. It was me: Tim P. McMahon [email protected]. Musta hit the wrong keus ...dint thimk that was pssible. |