Through tears, elongated pauses, apologies, and well wishes, Ann Curry finally said her goodbyes on the “Today” show this morning, long after the rest of the world had already gotten the memo that she was being cut. No matter how you felt about the veteran journalist and whether replacing her was a good move or not, you felt for her as she sat their essentially telling the world news they already knew and, for her, accepting responsibility for something I don’t think is necessarily her fault, and that is why I believe Ann might be a little sad today, but she’ll be more than fine tomorrow.
She told her fans and viewers:
“For all of you who saw me as a ground breaker, I am sorry I could not carry the ball across the finish line. But man, I did try.”
I’m sure she’s referring to having a long and successful stint as a host on the show, rather than being cut just one year into her three-year contract, but the fact that Ann couldn’t restore more old-school journalism back into the morning news isn’t a cross she should bear on her own. I can’t tell you exactly the last time I watched the morning news but I believe it was around the time I started writing for Madamenoire nine months go. I still had another full-time job and was getting up early to write for MN and figured maybe instead of listening to music in the morning I should turn on the news and maybe get some ideas for topics. After going between NBC, ABC, CBS, and CNN I can’t even explain the confusion I was experiencing. The segments felt like Entertainment Tonight, only in the morning, as I flipped between each station and found the only news I got was what the temperature was outside.
I get why the whole newstainment trend has sprung legs in our world of ever-decreasing attention spans; however, these are four stations I turn to and actually expect to hear news, and so I think that if Ann is beating herself up for not fitting into that scene, she shouldn’t. She’s a hardcore journalist, with a knack for serious stories and bringing hard facts, not fluff, and trying to appear as though she actually cares about Kanye writing a song called ‘Theraflu’ and if Kim Kardashian and him are really dating. If it would have taken 365 more segments of that for it to have been considered that she carried the ball over the finish line, I’m glad she was kicked out of the race.
As humiliating as it had to be to accept the fact that someone else felt she dropped the ball and was replacing her and having to admit that to millions of viewers this morning, Ann’s career is far from over. She’s still apart of the NBC team, she still will report news, and she is getting her own team so that she can bring the stories that are meaningful to the public and not have to worry so much about making news fancy and sensational just to beat out “Good Morning America.” Though change is hard and leaving a program she was a part of for 15 years is not easy, everything about this boot looks like a blessing in disguise from my view. And let’s not forget the $10 million contract she’s reportedly still guaranteed. If the fact that she’s the last of a dying breed when it comes to true journalists doesn’t try those tears, that money definitely should.
What do you think about Ann Curry’s ‘Today’ departure? Was it a good move or was she not given enough of a chance?
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Brande Victorian is the news and operations editor for madamenoire.com. Follow her on twitter @Be_Vic.
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