| 747NCDD |
Posted - 10/26/2012 2:47:11 AM | show profile | email poster | flag this post
The Today Show, since it’s inception is a PERSONALITY driven vehicle, going back to the first host, Dave Garroway. It is not just a newscast, it is not a TV Show,…but a balance of the two. Each contributor on the program should have their own identity on the show. As a longtime watcher, I believe these are the critical issues:
Matt Lauer is more concerned about being liked than being a broadcaster. That program has not has a host who can ask the tough question on a regular basis since Bryant Gumbel. No knock on Matt,….…if I’m making 20+ million a year, I’d loose my edge too. Why muck it up with a CEO or politician. You’re probably going to see that guy at Friday’s cocktail party.
Al Roker is no longer funny. He was never Jerry Seinfeld, but he was a man of the people, and had a humor about him. Not any more. His focus used to be the Today Show. Now he’s got Wake up with Al, production companies with J-Lo,…..he obviously has lost his way. And his funny.
The endless steam of size #1 teleprompter babies sitting next to Matt add absolutely nothing to the show. This is really more a problem with the industry than anything else. A pretty skinny girl reports in a medium market for 2 years, anchors in a medium market for 2 years, anchors in a large market for 2 years,…and now she’s the next star. Katie Couric did some of her best work on the Today Show, because she had a natural personality, TALENT, and she was cute (although not close to size #1.) The same could be said for another non-beauty queen, Barbara Walters. Funny how she outlasted Jayne Kennedy, Phyllis George, and the other completely forgotten beauty queens of her day.
The franchise has been greatly tainted by the 3rd and 4th hours. Pat Weaver came up with the idea of the Today Show and Tonight Show, the two franchises that made NBC more money than they might admit.
When the Tonight Show was THE TONIGHT SHOW, Johnny Carson was smart enough to know that the hour and a half was probably too much,…he knew the franchise would be stronger with a great hour as opposed to a sometimes average hour and a half. (Now, granted,…this is the wisdom of Johnny Carson, who might have understood this medium better than anyone.) However,,..you CANNOT put the Today Show label on an inferior product hosted by Kathie Lee Gifford (??????,…. C’Mon,…..Really?????).
I already know all the ways to make my kids ants on a log, thank you.
As professionals in the business, I would very much enjoy and appreciate your feedback. Thanks very much.
|
Log in to customize alerts, subscribe to newsletters, and apply to jobs.
June 4, 2013 | San Francisco
