Meredith Vieira: ‘Today’ but maybe not tomorrow
The co-anchor of NBC’s top-rated morning show may be flying the coop.
Meredith Vieira has told her network bosses that she intends to leave "Today" when her current contract expires in September. NBC is reportedly bargaining intently to keep her on board.
According to TV Guide, Vieira is tired of the early morning grind and concerned for the health of her husband, who suffers from multiple sclerosis.
NBC has a number of obvious candidates to replace her, including weekend anchors Jenna Wolfe and Amy Robach as well as daily newsreaders Ann Curry and Natalie Morales.
But morning chemistry is unpredictable, and the primary qualification for any replacement would have to be the endorsement of Matt Lauer. It was his lobbying that won Vieira the job in 2006.
We could be looking at a game of musical anchor chairs. Vieira replaced Katie Couric on "Today" when Couric took the job on the "CBS Evening News." Now both women could leave their influential positions in the same year.
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