April 25, 2005
'Today' Seeks Yesterday's Glory
By ALESSANDRA STANLEY
Something has to be very wrong with NBC's "Today" if viewers are turning to ABC's Diane Sawyer as a refreshingly wholesome, down-to-earth alternative.
For more than a decade Katie Couric has reigned as the Everywoman of morning television. NBC considered her so critical to restoring the pre-eminence of "Today" after the disaster known as Deborah Norville that in 2001 the network gave her a $60 million contract over four-and-a-half years to keep her from defecting. Inevitably, Ms. Couric's on-air persona changed, along with her appearance and pay scale. But lately her image has grown downright scary: America's girl next door has morphed into the mercurial diva down the hall. At the first sound of her peremptory voice and clickety stiletto heels, people dart behind doors and douse the lights.
Or, at least, change the channel. At its height, "Today" had two million more viewers than ABC's "Good Morning America." Now NBC's most profitable program may be in danger of falling behind: for the first time in years, the gap between "Today" and "Good Morning America" recently narrowed to just 270,000 viewers. ...
Neal Shapiro, the president of NBC News, said last week that "Today" "didn't sparkle enough," adding that NBC would "find new ways" to show off its anchors.
That was the most worrisome news of all. If anything, the problem with "Today" is that it sparkles and shows off too much.
Viewers - and most of them are women - like Ms. Couric's cheeky, easygoing manner; affection grew into admiration after her husband died of colon cancer in 1998 and Ms. Couric made early detection her cause. (In 2000 she underwent a colonoscopy on the program.)
But "Today" has turned her popularity into a Marxist-style cult of personality. The camera fixates on Ms. Couric's legs during interviews, she performs in innumerable skits and stunts, and her clowning is given center stage even during news events. "Today" hit a low point in July, when Saddam Hussein appeared in a Baghdad courtroom to hear the charges he will face when he goes to trial as a war criminal. All the networks interrupted their programming to show live images of Mr. Hussein - all except NBC. "Today" stayed on Ms. Couric swatting shuttlecocks with the United States Olympic badminton team. ...
<http://www.nytimes.com/2005/04/25/arts/television/25watc.html?8hpib>
Carl