NBC's "Today" program was an acute addiction around here for a long time. How long? We're talking Bryant Gumbel and Jane Pauley long. But after decades of getting up and turning on "Today" to catch the 7:00 a.m. headlines, we've finally decided to give it up.
Why? Well, it started to become apparent over the past few years that the addition of an hour to the show, followed by yet another hour, that it was gradually transitioning from a solid news program by NBC News to a show tailored for a female audience. Not that there's anything wrong with women-themed programming, but we were used to watching a news program, and "Today" began to be more about gossip, fashion, celebrities, diets, cooking and parenting.
But that's not what put us over the top. Here's what did: Recently, "Today" ran a series of stories about the girls who were mixed up after a terrible car crash. Nothing wrong with covering the story (which is an old one; this series was all about hawking books), but "Today" did a different angle on it every day -- for days and days. Suddenly, the TV here at Media Du Monde was tuned in to "Good Morning America" and has been ever since.
Subsequent announcements from the "Today" show folks convince us we made the right call. They recently said that Kathie Lee Gifford is being brought on board as a host in the fourth hour of the program. Now that's a way to convince your audience you're a serious news show. Not. Then just today it was announced that Laura Bush is going to guest host on the show for a week. It's only a matter of time before Martha Stewart replaces Meredith Vieira, Hannah Montana fills in for Al Roker, Carson Kressley takes over for Matt Lauer, and Ann Curry will be ... no, Ann Curry will probably stay right where she is.
Meanwhile, we're dealing with our "Today" withdrawals with a daily dose of Diane Sawyer. It's not easy, but we'll get through it.
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