Curry out Guthrie in

The further awkwardness of the last few weeks surrounding the problems at NBC's Today Show got even more awkward as Ann Curry's replacement was announced a mere 24 hours after the head honcho's forced Curry out of duties on that morning show.

Savannah Guthrie will take over the morning duties starting July 9, but the NBC's poor handling of this -on the heels of way they handled the whole Conan O'Brien affair 2 years ago- shows just how far from reality NBC has come when they were the most dominate broadcast network. Their prime time schedule is a pathetic mess, canceling shows that back in the 80's would have survived to become flag ship shows, renewing crap on a stick that is Whitney, while abandoning better written shows like Community and Parks & Recreation. And while that was 30 years ago and times have changed, NBC's leadership -or lack there of it- in these two recent incidents, along with their ever weakening grasp of well done dramas and comedies, shows they are spinning out of control. That they are more in favor of shareholders rights than the TV viewing audience. And while the 2011-12 TV season saw them rise to third place after spending the last few years in fourth (and at times being beaten by Telemundo and five year-old reruns of other shows), they've still not been able to capitalize on any trends, beyond their number one priority, save as much money as possible. 

NBC News president Steve Capus today noted Guthrie's "undeniable range." But also included in the press release was Capus saying that the new host was also the "ultimate team player." To me, that is a huge swipe at Curry, who appears to have been the scapegoat for the Today Show's losses to rival Good Morning America over at ABC (how she can be solely held responsible is beyond me). What it also means, in business speak, that Guthrie will do whatever her NBC Overlords will ask her, and she'll never raise her hand and ask the question: "What does God need with a Starship?"

Then, of course, there is the creepy Matt Lauer, who appears to understand that as a white male in his fifties, he has some how achieved great power over at NBC. It's already been rumored he had an affair with his 2006 Olympics co-host Natalie Morales. While they were just rumors, and it did come from The National Inquirer, it did prompt Lauer's wife, Annette, to file for divorce -though she later withdrew the petition and reconciled. So while NBC News president Steve Capus ignores these things, and ignores that Curry might not be the one to blame for NBC's downturn, he seems to fully support Lauer. 

Also, the Today Show is bound to get an uptick in ratings once the summer Olympics begins in July, but after that, it will be the real test to see if it was Curry's presence that ended the Today Show's 16 year dominance in the morning TV wars. 

In short, the network went with flash instead of experience; youth instead of wisdom. Guthrie is intelligent and articulate. But you can bet that’s not why she got the job. It remains to be seen whether the Today Show's demographically older audience warms up to her.