Ann Curry Will Be Bumped From NBC’s ‘Today’ Show After One Year [Report]

Ann Curry could soon be saying goodbye to NBC’s “Today” show, even though she has only been a part of the crew for a year.

The New York Times reports that the planning to remove Curry is taking place in secret, and has not yet been finalized. It is essentially an admission by the network that the show, which invented morning television 60 years ago, is not doing well. The “Today” show used to be No. 1, until this spring when ABC’s “Good Morning America” beat it.

Curry succeeded Meredith Vieira last year, after spending 14 years on the show in a smaller role. Since her promotion, some at NBC have been openly criticizing her co-hosting style, with some staffers even blaming the low ratings on her, while others defend her.

According to The New York Daily News, Ann Curry began discussions with NBC officials weeks ago, even hiring lawyer Robert Barnett to represent her in negotiations.

The New York Times reports that someone close to the negotiations stated, “They feel real pressure to get it done by the Olympics.” This way, “Today” would be able to go to the summer games with a complete and comfortable team of co-hosts. They typically receive a big ratings boost from the event.

Another person close to the negotiations stated, “[Curry] got her dream job, and she doesn’t want to let it go.” However, Ann Curry is not 100 percent excited about her new job, having expressed some dissatisfaction with “Today,” because her journalistic curiosities occasionally clash with morning television realities. Because of this, there is speculation that she could be moved into a foreign correspondent role, which reflects her strengths in reporting disasters (both man-made and otherwise).

Until negotiations are complete, however, an NBC spokesperson refused to comment on the situation with Ann Curry.