Looking toward the end of next year, when Matt Lauer’s contract with “Today” expires, NBC has sent up a trial balloon: it has let it be known far and wide that Ryan Seacrest is under consideration to inherit the chair beside Ann Curry.
It’s as if they’re seeking public comment.
The move would clearly distinguish the different flavors in the morning: CBS picks Charlie Rose, NBC weighs…Ryan Seacrest?
This was largely a gossip item until The Wall Street Journal detailed a meeting top NBC News executives had with Seacrest. Now it moves into serious consideration. Can the “American Idol” host, the radio personality, the producer/endorser, in short, the luckiest man in Hollywood (not much talent but apparently great likeability and ease with an audience)? can he assume the mantle of “Today”? Moreover, should he?
Seacrest may have what amounts to an inside track because, as an employee of E!, part of Comcast, he is now via merger part of NBC.
Of course it’s a sign of the times that his lack of journalistic training is not a factor. He can read! And Curry’s there for the heavy lifting. (NBC seems to be building her journalistic cred just in case, supporting her trips to Sudan, Congo, Japan and Haiti.)
Worrying about the direction of the morning show host away from a journalist and toward an entertainment personality is, regrettably, an activity that’s less “Today” than yesterday. The very idea is passe. More likely, if anyone’s worried about anything, it’s what happens to “Idol” on Fox if Seacrest joins NBC’s “Today.”
Let’s assume that, if really big news broke during a Seacrest “Today” show, Brian Williams would step in to co-anchor with Curry. Meanwhile, Seacrest, like original “Today” host Dave Garroway, is a cheerful if bland entity capable of throwing from one segment to the next.
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