Meredith Vieira leaving TODAY Show - Ann Curry New Co-anchor – Video

Meredith Vieira announced this morning that she will be leaving the NBC Today Show next month.

Current news correspondent Ann Curry will assume her role as co-anchor along with Matt Lauer.

It had been rumored that Lauer was also leaving but NBC says they have a multi-year contract and he is happy with his role and will be staying put.

NBC News President Steve Capus said,

“Meredith is a remarkable woman and broadcaster who in five short years has left an indelible imprint on morning television. While we will miss waking up with her each morning, we are working together on developing her next chapter at NBC News.”

Meredith, 57, joined Matt Lauer at the anchor desk in 2006 when Katie Couric left to anchor the CBS Evening News.



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Are Meredith Vieira AND Matt Lauer Both Leaving NBC’s Today Show? Say it Aint So!

In what can only be described as major bad news for the NBC network, reports are surfacing that BOTH Meredith Vieira and Matt Lauer say they will be leaving the Today show later this year.

Some are wondering if the network can survive yet another high profile departure after the blow from Alec Baldwin yesterday that “30 Rock” is over.

Related: Alec Baldwin Says ’30 Rock’ Ending – Tina Fey Leaving the Show

When asked about the speculation, NBC press handlers said,

“There seems to be an awful lot of speculation around news anchors these days, and it’s not our practice to comment on any of it. Matt Lauer has a long term contract with NBC News and ‘Today. ”

True. But both host contracts are due to expire at the end of this year, and “ET” reported that Lauer had been telling everybody he planned to move on once his contract expired in December. And TV Guide was reporting earlier this week about Meredith’s desire to exit the show.

TV Guide says Vieira has been in discussions with NBC executives for several months about extending her contract, but she is said to be exhausted with the demanding early hours and is ready to move on.

Vieira also said that the health of her husband, who has battled multiple sclerosis and cancer, will be a factor in considering her future on the program.

It doesn’t appear that there is any personal friction between the two hosts, in fact they seem like they get along pretty well, even in live embarrassing moments like when Matt Lauer’s divorce turned into laughs on the show.

On critic stated,

“Of course NBC is going to deny it. They just lost ’30 Rock’ and now their morning news lineup is falling apart.”

There has been some speculation that Vieira, Lauer, Tina Fey and Alec Baldwin are gracefully trying to exit the network before the Comcast NBC Universal deal begins to impact daily operations.

One insider commented,

“Comcast is going to chop up every bit of content they can mine from NBC and either charge for it or try to keep others from embedding it on the internet. The days of being able to freely use NBC content are over.”

THAT seems to make more sense than anything else – the big stars want to get behind NBC before the Comcast takeover is complete because they see what the future will look like and they don’t want any part of it.

But it could also be the oldest ploy in the Hollywood playbook – act like you’re going to leave just before your contract expires so they will offer you more money for the next season.

Somehow, in a sad way, that seems to make the most sense of all.

Jay Leno and Jimmy Fallon – your move?

Ann Coulter Interview on Today Show

Ann Coulter is a loser. There, I said it. I've tried to like Ann Coulter despite the fact that I disagree with almost everything she says, but she is so radical about her views and makes such generalizations, that it's almost impossible not to hate her.

Ann Coulter was on Today with Matt Lauer and thanked him for having her on, even though she told the world that she had been banned from NBC because they canceled her interview the first time. Then she went on to say that NBC hates republicans and a bunch of other stupid things that Ann Coulter usually says.

Anyway, she was on to promote her stupid book and states that single moms are inherently ruining the world, and that B. Hussein Obama, which is how she refers to Barack Obama, is a Muslim. I guess the fact that his middle name is Hussein sort of drives the point home for her, the same way that Saddam Hussein spoke Arabic gave George W. Bush to go to war with him rather than Osama bin Laden.

So check out Ann Coulter on Today and watch as Matt Lauer takes her on and puts her in her place.

Matt Lauer Divorce Turns Into Laughs On The Today Show - Video

Meredith Vieira put her foot in her mouth Monday morning on the Today show by asking about Matt Lauer's marriage. It seems Lauer has a hard time staying married, and the subject is supposed to be "off limits" while on air.

Introducing a segment on the "right age to get married," Vieira said, "I got married in my 30s, when did you get married?"

Lauer, who married TV producer Nancy Alspaugh when he was in his early twenties, was divorced seven years later. Lauer stumbled, fumbled for words, and then laughed, as an embarrassed Vieira erupted into laughter and producers made comments from the sidelines.

Lauer's current marriage to Dutch model Annette Roque is also in trouble, and has been the source of tabloid gossip for some time. The couple has been married for 7 years and has three children.

Rogue originally filed for divorce in September 2006, but changed her mind and withdrew the papers a month later. If the two divorce, Matt would be forced to share his estimated $50 million fortune.

Watch Meredith Vieira And Matt Lauer Laugh About His Marriage Troubles


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Tom Cruise Roasts Matt Lauer

Yes, perhaps I missed the boat on the Matt Lauer roast, but I think it's great that Tom Cruise is doing his best to seem normal.

And he's actually pretty comical; Tom Cruise manages to make fun of Matt Lauer in a great way because, as you may remember, Tom Cruise went off on Matt Lauer during an interview a few years ago.

Tom Cruise may be on the way up again, but then again, he's bound to do something stupid to mess up this positive press.

The best part of the roast? When Tom Cruise goes to walk off stage, Matt Lauer says, "Come on Tom, stick around, we can get you a booster seat."