There'll be little summer vacation for NBC's Today show. But while producers put together the Summer Concert Series and plan for Beijing Olympics coverage, EP Jim Bell is still talking about the show's past two weeks, which featured the Access Granted series and the ninth "Where in the World."

"I'm proud to see the franchise alive and as vibrant as ever," Bell told TVNewser in an interview this afternoon. "I thought you could make a pretty compelling case that this was the best year 'Where in the World' ever had. It is a testament to [Matt Lauer] and the production crew. They did a phenomenal job and we're overjoyed with the results."

Bell also noted the evolution of the series, which now includes segments into the third hour of the Today show as well as clues and games online.

Despite being the second-lowest rated "Where in the World" week, the Lauer travelogue saw its biggest increase over its season-to-date average since 2002 and the biggest lead over second place-Good Morning America in Total Viewers and the A25-54 demo since 2004.

Bell revealed what's next for the Today show, in a "dangerous" series beginning next week. Yes, it's still sweeps.

continued...

Is NBC CEO Jeff Zucker looking to bring Katie Couric back to the peacock if she, as expected, leaves CBS? A Financial Times article raises the question, and Zucker seems open to the idea:

I don't know that Katie's available so it's not really my place to say, but Katie remains one of the most talented journalists of her generation and somebody who would be an asset to whatever news division, whatever organization she worked in. So we would always welcome somebody of Katie's ability and stature, but that's not... on the cards any time in the near future.

The New York Post reported today that Zucker was seen leaving Couric's apartment, but rumors of the duo talking business were shot down.

(via Newsbusters)

TVNewser contributor Diane Clehane ran into former Today show senior producer Amy Rosenblum while writing her regular Wednesday column Lunch at Michaels.

Amy, who was let go from Today last year, strutted into lunch with Joan [Rivers] this afternoon wearing a fiery red dress and a Cheshire cat grin that told me she had some big news. "Can we talk about it yet?" she asked. "Not yet," cautioned Joan. "I'm superstitious." Seems my tireless pal Joan is cooking up "something big" with Amy. "Really big!" reiterated Amy. Joan, you may recall, gave Amy her start in television and now, it seems the gals have come full circle. All we know is that there was plenty of champagne at that table. We want the scoop first girls — you promised!

Oh, brother.

Backstreets, a magazine and Website devoted to Bruce Springsteen and his music, was at a benefit concert last night in Red Bank, NJ. And that other Jersey guy, NBC Nightly News anchor Brian Williams had the honor of introducing the Boss:

NBC anchor Brian Williams, who goes back a long way as a fan and was clearly psyched just to be talking through Springsteen's mic ("the first and last time that will ever happen"). He recalled hitting the Stone Pony and the Tradewinds back in the day, ever on Bruce-watch; he also touched on the recent loss of Danny Federici, saying that "Great families endure. And great, great bands endure." "The netting is just to keep the larger pieces of debris from falling down," he added, "and if there's an entity that could cause the big ones to fall, it's this group here...Ladies and gentlemen, Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band!"

Last night's concert at the 1,500-seat Count Basie Theatre in Red Bank, was a benefit to raise money to for the restoration of the 80-year-old venue.

TVNewser has obtained an internal memo about plans to alleviate "a number of challenging space issues" at the 30 Rock headquarters of NBC Universal:

From: [Redacted]

Sent: Wed May 07 11:10:11 2008

Subject: Facilities Update

As you know, NBC Universal has more than doubled in size over the last five years. Because of this tremendous growth, we are dealing with a number of challenging space issues, especially in New York City. Since 30 Rockefeller Plaza cannot accommodate all of our Manhattan-based employees, we are currently spread across several different locations in the city.

It has been a long-standing goal of many of our business leaders to bring more of our employees under one rooftop. In fact, in my conversations with employees, many have expressed concern about being physically separated from colleagues with whom you work closely on a daily basis. This feedback, coupled with a recent opportunity to sell some of the floors we occupy at 30 Rock, has encouraged us to begin our search for a new Manhattan-based location that will consolidate many of our rooftops across the city.

While details are still being finalized, NBC will remain 30 Rock's largest tenant. Just as it has been for 75 years, 30 Rock will still be the home of NBC News, NBC Sports, NBC Entertainment (SNL and Late Night with Conan O'Brien), and WNBC. All other business operations will move to the new facility. We expect the move to take place in 2009.

A book penned by NBC's Chief Science Correspondent Robert Bazell is being turned into a movie for Lifetime. "Living Proof" is based on Bazell's book Her-2, the true story of a UCLA doctor who developed the breast cancer drug Herceptin 2, and his battle to keep the drug trials going.

The main character Denny Slamon will be played by Harry Connick, Jr. and the film will be shot in his native New Orleans. It premieres in October as part of Lifetime's 14th annual "Stop Breast Cancer for Life" campaign.

Renee Zellweger is an executive producer on the project.

That Tim Russert, Meet the Press interview from yesterday must have left quite the impression on Sen. Barack Obama.

This morning on NBC's Today show, Obama repeatedly referred to anchor Matt Lauer as "Tim," prompting Lauer to eventually correct him midway through the interview.

Lauer, back in studio for the first time since returning from traveling the world, noted to the apologetic Obama, "we both had a long week, believe me."

Click continued to see Lauer correct Obama after the third "Tim," or check out the full interview at MSNBC.com...

continued...

After two years and $15 million, NBC News is ready to go back to school with their latest education initiative. Launching tomorrow, iCue, or Immerse, Connect, Understand, Excel, is a 21st century learning tool that taps into the vast resources of NBC News while informing the next generation of NBC viewers.

NBC News CFO Adam Jones calls iCue "the most technologically advanced product" in the division's nascent education arena. NBC worked with researchers at MIT's Education Arcade to develop the site which includes patented technology, including the cue card, what Jones calls "the currency of the site."

TVNewser took a test drive of the site's functionality on Friday. Among the highlights: the proprietary cue card which allows users to access a video player, populated with NBC News archival clips. When flipped, the card includes a transcript of the video, associated keywords, an area to take notes, comment, and the ability to trade with friends. "The power of community is leveraged so they can help each other," says Jones.

Jones says the future of learning is in video adding that the textbook industry "is a monopoly" and "a dying business model." He says iCue will be "fun and engaging" due in part to the gaming advances of the MIT researchers.

iCue is free, but Jones says the company is reaching out to sponsors and does not rule out an ad supported model to pay for it. NBC has 60 producers working on the project. "We certainly wouldn't have ads during the school day," Jones says. "We are not entering this as a commercial endeavor, immediately," he added.

BeetTV's Andy Plesser brought his camera to the NBC/MSNBC meganewsplex the other day to talk about the newly launched MySpace page devoted to NBC's political coverage. "Young people are very much engaged in this election," says digital VP Mark Lukasiewicz. "To be able to be inside MySpace contributing information to that is where we think is a sweet spot."

> Update: We're reminded Charles Gibson has more than 2,000 fans on his Facebook page. I'm waiting for those Katie Couric LinkedIn stats.

While Matt Lauer is busy jet-setting around the world this week, the Today show is set to send the rest of the today show anchors on trips of their own next week.

Starting Monday, Today begins "Access Granted," where each day an anchor will report from a rarely or never-before-seen location.

The cryptic description in the release: "Matt Lauer will dig deep into the underbelly of the city that never sleeps, Meredith Vieira will tour the home of one of the most powerful men in the world, Al Roker will explore one of the most dangerous places on Earth, and Ann Curry will travel to the closed set of a highly anticipated movie."

Also next week — Today show correspondent Tiki Barber fills in for Willie Geist on MSNBC's Morning Joe.