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Reader’s Digest has released its list of the 100 Most Trusted People, and the highest ranking TV news journalist is Robin Roberts. The magazine includes this quote with Roberts’ photo: “All [my parents] wanted was for us to be trustworthy citizens. And there’s a responsibility that goes with that, and it’s not something I take lightly.”

Other high-ranking African Americans on the list include Denzel Washington, who came in at number three, and Maya Angelou at number five. Tom Hanks topped the list.

GMA had a pretty strong showing on the list with Roberts’ co-host George Stephanopoulos coming in at number 57. Matt Lauer barely made the list at 97 and Savannah Guthrie, his relatively new co-anchor, came in at number 85. (Our fake boyfriend Anderson Cooper is at number 50.)

Lauer’s image has taken a very public beating in the wake of Ann Curry’s dismissal. Brian Stelter’s new book Top of the Morning continues the conversation as Lauer seems to be hard at work rebuilding his reputation with a visit to Jay Leno.

Which news anchors do you trust the most?

Sometimes the drama going on behind the scenes of your favorite movies is more compelling than what’s in front of the camera. Some celebrities have managed to keep their public personas squeaky clean. But reports from the set say that they’re a nightmare to work with.

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Stacey Dash

Screenshot of the hosts showing their rapport. Peter Kramer / NBC

If you watched the Today show earlier this week (and the ratings indicate that fewer of you are) then you certainly noticed that Hoda Kotb was sitting in for Savannah Guthrie for a few days, putting her on camera much earlier than her usual fourth hour with Kathy Lee. We caught her a couple of times and thought she did a great job — engaging, funny, relatable, all the things that a morning show host should be. It’s been so long, you almost forget that she started out doing the news completely sober, without a sip of wine in sight. Apparently, we’re not the only ones who were impressed with her work beside Matt Lauer.

The New York Times’ media reporter Brian Stelter saw lots of tweets from people singing Hoda’s praises, many asking that Kotb stick with the job for the long-term. The Huffington Post notes that Kotb’s name had been in the running to replace Ann Curry when she was ousted from the program. However, the article says, Guthrie is in the chair and the network wouldn’t want to go through another major change so quickly.

But, Today has been thirsting for good news. A recent New York magazine feature went into great detail about the meltdown at the show in the wake of Curry’s removal, and the show lost the top spot in the ratings to GMA a few months ago, the first time that happened in 16 years.

HuffPo says the positive feedback will increase Hotb’s standing at the show, which we agree with. We’re, no doubt, going to see her sitting in for Guthrie more often. And who knows. Hoda’s great foil for KLG, but a more serious position could be in her future. The Today show blog has a montage of all the fun she had.

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Deadline Hollywood added even more intrigue to the situation over at the Today show when it reported that they heard that CNN’s Anderson Cooper was asked about replacing Matt Lauer. Our silver foxy fake boyfriend (he’s already got one) every morning on NBC? I’ll take that.

“After their initial approach to Cooper, I hear NBC reached out to Lauer to get his blessing about the changeover. But I heard they got pushback from theToday veteran, who contacted Cooper to express his disapproval,” writes the blog. Other names that have been floated around are Ryan Seacrest and Willie Geist, who’s already got a spot on the show during the third hour.

However, NBC execs — who seem to be doing a lot of this lately — deny that Matt Lauer is being pushed out of the anchor spot, Ann Curry style.

“Matt Lauer is the best in the business. We want him in the ‘Today’ show anchor chair for many years to come,” Alex Wallace, the executive in charge of the Today show told the AP. The AP also confirmed a meeting between Cooper and the network through an anonymous source.

Lauer has seen his popularity drop precipitously since the Ann Curry debacle. Though he says he tried to convince the network to handle that differently, another story in New York says otherwise. Today has five million viewers, the majority of them are women. And many of those viewers were just as upset about the way Curry’s ouster was handled, and have turned against Lauer and the show as a result. The ratings have dropped behind GMA, and Lauer’s popularity have fallen behind that show’s host, George Stephanopoulos.

“The cyclical nature of television is also likely hurting Lauer. It’s a rare personality that stays beloved forever,” the AP continues.

Lauer’s contract with NBC is up in 2014. Would you like to see the Coop in that anchor chair instead?

(Photo by Jordan Strauss/Invision/AP)

Matt Lauer finally decided to go on the record about the troubles at the Today show. Speaking with Howard Kurtz over at The Daily Beast, he admits that some of the negative talk about the show and the network over the unceremonious dismissal of Ann Curry was “self-inflicted.”

“I don’t think the show and the network handled the transition well. You don’t have to be Einstein to know that,” he said. “It clearly did not help us. We were seen as a family, and we didn’t handle a family matter well.” Talking about the tone of Today as it steadily fell in the ratings behind GMA, he adds, “The show got a little dour and depressing and dark.”

So it’s not the harshest criticism in the world. But it places the blame at the feet of the higher ups. He’s coming out and saying, “They messed up.”

Matt Lauer is a celebrity name, making, some say, $25 million per year. So he’s got privileges that a lot of workers don’t. The show has been in trouble in the ratings, and both he and the show have been bad-mouthed all over the press for a while now. So he, the show, and the network have to do something to turn things around. According to The New York Times, the show made about half a billion (with a “b”) dollars in revenue in 2011, an amount that decreased by $50 million in 2012. So they want Lauer to say whatever it takes to make that cash. Granting interviews and speaking plainly is just one of a few things that could help reverse their fortunes.

Generally, however, companies don’t want employees publicly criticizing them. Lots of people who don’t have the chance for a sit-down with a reporter would love to go on Facebook or Twitter to talk about how bad things are at work. But then you might run afoul of a manager who sees your comments. The courts have even stepped in on the issue, ruling that some social media postings can be used against a person legally.

The key to speaking out about issues that you see at your company is doing it in the appropriate way and in the appropriate venue. If you think that a new policy is unfair, using angry and foul language on social media isn’t going to help. And, to paraphrase what Tom Hanks’ character said in Saving Private Ryan, complain up. It makes no sense to voice your displeasure to someone who can’t do anything about it. In fact, talk to the wrong person, and it could be used against you.

But if you start by speaking with the person who’s in charge of enforcing that rule, finding out the motivation for it, and offering up a suggestion for an alternative, you could actually make a little headway. Perhaps that person will change their approach, or pass it up even higher along the food chain to someone who can implement something new. Particularly if what you’ve got a problem with is something that others feel strongly about as well. There’s power in numbers.

Not every company is reasonable. And some people simply don’t want to hear it. But take the temperature where you work and determine if there’s a way to voice your opinion without ruffling so many feathers that you find yourself out of a job.

Source: WENN

About seventy percent of men suffer from male pattern baldness, so I know it’s a sensitive issue. But there comes a time when many of these men should really quit playing around with the dye, toupees, and spray on hair – because none of it is working – and just go bald, for their own sakes. I present these fifteen men, not to ridicule them but to suggest a better option – which fortunately or unfortunately is bald.  Neyo knew when it was time to let it go. These guys should too.

Christina Aguilera, dressed to visit her son’s school on Halloween, will be part of the Hurricane Sandy telethon airing tomorrow. Image: Cousart/JFXimages/WENN.com

NBCUniversal announced today that it will air “Coming Together” a benefit to help needy victims of Hurricane Sandy in New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, Massachusetts and West Virginia. The benefit will air live on NBC stations including Bravo, E!, Style and USA tomorrow between 8pm and 9pm. Proceeds from the telethon will go to the American Red Cross.

Among the scheduled performers are Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band, Christina Aguilera and Billy Joel. Matt Lauer will host; Jimmy Fallon and Brian Williams will also join in the effort.

Matt Lauer also hosted a post-Hurricane Katrina telethon that raised $50 million for the Red Cross. An NBC spokesperson tells The New York Times  that other stations not owned by NBCU will be allowed to air the telethon if they like.

In a recent interview with “Today Show’s” Matt Lauer Mrs. Obama said that her girls are not allowed on Facebook. This is not so shocking considering there’s a whole agency devoted to protecting their privacy and safety. But then Matt asked if they’d be allowed to have one once they left the White House, Mrs. Obama said it depends on how old they are when they leave. If President Obama is elected for another term, Sasha will be 15 and Malia will be 18.

Many anti- Facebook groups are supporting the First Lady’s stance to keep her daughters off the site.

Should the girls have their own Facebook page, and if not now, when, if ever?

You can watch the rest of Mrs. Obama’s interview here.

Michelle Obama made her first on-set appearance on a morning show with her appearance today on the Today Show. She fielded questions from Matt Lauer about her husband’s policy, re-election, and the future of her family.

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