In addition to dumping David Gregory to make Chuck Todd the anchor of Meet the Press, on Thursday NBC News confirmed that after hosting the show for six years, Gregory won’t even get a chance to say good-bye on-air. Andrea Mitchell will fill in until Todd makes his debut on September 7. A source at the network told the Daily News, “They know how bad they’ve f—ed him over and they’re scared to death that he will cause an Ann Curry situation, so they’re not letting him go on the air. It’s ridiculous.” While Gregory won’t get to embarrass NBC with a teary farewell show, Curry helped him out with an encouraging tweet that could be viewed as a jab at their employer.
A statement from NBC News president Deborah Turness made no mention of the messy circumstances surrounding the switch, saying only that Gregory is leaving the network “after an exceptional 20 years with NBC News.” After praising Gregory, she tells her colleagues, “I know you all join me in expressing our deepest gratitude and in wishing him the very best.”
At 1 a.m. on Friday, Curry followed her instructions with a tweet about how “turmoil” can make you a better person.
The full Dalai Lama quote reads:
Gaining mastery over our destructive propensities, through the exercise of awareness and self-discipline with regard to our body, speech, and mind, frees us from the inner turmoil that naturally arises when our behaviour is at odds with our ideals. In place of this turmoil come confidence, integrity, and dignity - heroic qualities all human beings naturally aspire to.
Are the uncomfortable dismissals at the network the result of its “behavior being at odds with its ideals”? It’s unclear, but this, combined with the classy farewell tweets Gregory sent out Thursday afternoon, is as close as we’re going to get to the host crying on Meet the Press while John McCain tries in vain to comfort him.
