We know none of you watch news programs during the day because everything you could possibly need to know about the world is posted somewhere on nymag.com. But in the morning hours, you may have noticed we have a lull in posting. You know, somewhere between when our night guy, Josh Duboff (Say hi to Josh everybody! He’s new), signs off and Intel Chris, Jessica, and Dan roll out of bed, leaving Chris’s Boyfriend, Jessica’s Husband, and Teddy Ruxpin to sleep peacefully until an hour when normal, non-trader humans wake up. During that time, many of you probably watch morning television.
If you do, you will likely have an opinion about this news: Meredith Vieira, who has been co-hosting NBC’s Today show for going on four years now, has renewed her contract. She only signed on for another one-year period, opting not to make another long-term commitment. We’re betting that’s because starting your day at midnight and having to pretend to be chipper in the freezing cold of British Columbia for the two weeks of the Olympics was depressing enough to make anybody rethink even one of the most prominent gigs in broadcast television. Either that, or she just can’t stand the sound of Ann Curry stumbling over the words of simple news updates every single morning like clockwork.
The 56-year-old Vieira has helped Today continue its dominance in the morning, keeping it almost a million viewers ahead of its closest competitor, Good Morning America. But we know she has her detractors, too. What do you guys think? Do you want another five years of Meredith? Or is just one enough?
Meredith Vieira Extends ‘Today’ Contract [Media Decoder/NYT]
