The Today Show - Freeze-Frame Radio

Ruby · The Good Witch Of The South

The Today Show

Molly · The Mediator

I'm all in favor of seeing a female evening anchor, but I think it'll hurt her career. She's synonomous with The Today Show, and it won't be the same without her.

Jeremy Riggs · 2011 Super Bowl Champions!

I'm sorry to say I'm old enough to remember when she CAME to the Today show.

A lot of articles in the papers said she wouldn't fit in because she was TOO perky.

She's toned it down a lot now, so she might pull off being an anchor, but I think Molly is right, she's really become a fixture of the Today show and they'll really have to work hard to find someone that could be an acceptable replacement.

Ruby · The Good Witch Of The South

I think that Natalie Morales- I think that is her name- would be good!

WebGuy · Doesn't Do Windows

I pretty much lost any respect I had for Katie Couric when she basically blamed Christian ministries like Focus on the Family for the death of Matthew Shepard. She had no clue what she was talking about, but it sounded good so many took her statements as being true.

Mad Mema · Bad Biker Granny

I try to not be judgemental on such things, but I think I will personally have a hard time seeing her trying to be a hard charging, serious, news anchor after all the years of fluffy morning stuff. Maybe I'm just weird, but I like to get my news from someone who has never graced the cover of "Woman's Day". That is not to say I think women don't make good news anchors, it's just hard to see this particular adjustment.

jstdve · CEO - The KOTO Co.

This just in !! the Dukes of Hazzard are on !

TV = shnooze city .

Ruby · The Good Witch Of The South

Couric Says She's Leaving 'Today' for CBS
By DAVID BAUDER, AP Television Writer

document.write(getElapsed("20060405T123003Z"));
24 minutes agoUPDATED 1 MINUTE AGO

NEW YORK - On her 15th anniversary on "Today," Katie Couric told viewers Wednesday she's leaving NBC to join CBS and become the first woman to solo anchor a network evening newscast.

"I wanted to tell all of you out there who have watched the show for the past 15 years that after listening to my heart and my gut _ two things that have served me pretty well in the past _ I've decided I'll be leaving 'Today' at the end of May," she said. "I really feel as if we've become friends through the years."

The 49-year-old Couric, longest-serving anchor in "Today" show history, is expected to replace Bob Schieffer on the third-rated CBS broadcast in September. She agreed to a a salary near her current range of $13 million to $15 million for five years, according to a non-network person close to Couric, speaking on condition of anonymity.

Following a months-long guessing game that has consumed the TV industry, Couric chose the 15th anniversary of her first day as "Today" co-host in 1991 to say it's time for a change. "Today" ran a clip of her first day with then co-host Bryant Gumbel, which Couric joked was "172 hairstyles" ago.

"Sometimes I think change is a good thing," Couric said. "Although it may be terrifying to get out of your comfort zone, it's also very exciting to start a new chapter in your life."

"It's hard to imagine being here and not having you sitting next to us," co-host Matt Lauer told her.

The bold move simultaneously forces NBC to find a new team for "Today," television's most profitable news program, and gives CBS News President Sean McManus a major success in his effort to lure more stars to his beleaguered news organization.

Meredith Vieira of the daytime chat show "The View" has emerged as the leading candidate to team with Lauer. Vieira, a former CBS News reporter who won a Daytime Emmy as host of "Who Wants to Be a Millionaire," had previously turned down offers to return to news since joining "The View."

An NBC spokeswoman would not comment Wednesday on succession plans.

Couric, Lauer, newsreader Ann Curry and weathercaster Al Roker have formed TV news' most successful morning team in history since 1997, with "Today" riding an unprecedented 10-year streak at the top of the ratings.

During that time, morning news programs have simultaneously grown in influence and have become important entertainment vehicles. The job required Couric to both interview presidents and don goofy costumes on Halloween, not to mention having to wake up well before dawn.

Couric's NBC contract extends to the end of May and she's expected to remain at "Today" through that ratings sweeps month.

The lure of trying something new and making history in the evening proved enticing to Couric, who is also expected to contribute to "60 Minutes." She spurned a more lucrative offer _ about $20 million a year _ to remain at NBC and accept CBS' offer, the person close to Couric said.

With Schieffer filling in during the year since Dan Rather's exit, the "CBS Evening News" is the only network evening newscast rising in the ratings. But it's still in third place behind NBC and ABC.

"I will be delighted if she came," Schieffer said Tuesday. "I think she'll be a great addition to a very good news team. ... I've known Katie for years and I think the world of her."

If a deal with Vieira can't be reached, the top in-house candidates to replace Couric are "Today" weekend anchor Campbell Brown, NBC reporter Natalie Morales and Curry.

JD The Jazz Doctor · Grand Poobah

Dave I like Chico and the Man!

Ruby · The Good Witch Of The South

JD- if you go to AOL.com- they have a ton of reruns that you can watch on your computer! They have about ten Chico and the Man shows!

JD The Jazz Doctor · Grand Poobah

That's where I watch em Ruby!!! Welcome Back Kotter too!

Ruby · The Good Witch Of The South

Really? Cool I have been checking our Wonder Woman!

Ruby · The Good Witch Of The South

Well I like her on the View, so we will see!

Vieira

NEW YORK (AP) -- A day after Katie Couric announced she was leaving for CBS, NBC has chosen Meredith Vieira as Matt Lauer's new partner on the "Today" show.

NBC chose Vieira over several internal candidates, including weekend "Today" anchor Campbell Brown, newswoman Natalie Morales and "Today" newsreader Ann Curry. Brown and Morales had subbed for Couric on "Today" while she was on vacation at the end of last month.

"Meredith's vast experience as an award-winning journalist, as well as talk show host, make her the ideal candidate for this job," said Jeff Zucker, CEO of the NBC Universal Television Group.

Vieira herself announced the news -- before NBC's official announcement -- on one of her current shows, "The View," earning a standing ovation in the process. Vieira also hosts the syndicated game show "Who Wants to Be a Millionaire."

She received compliments from her "View" co-hosts, including a hug from Barbara Walters, who spent 13 years on "Today" in the 1960s and '70s.

Couric announced Wednesday, her 15th anniversary on "Today," that she was leaving next month to join CBS news. She'll become anchor and managing editor of the "CBS Evening News" in September.

If Couric is to make her dawn-to-dusk move a success, she'll need more people like Amy Lindgren.

"I really love her," said Lindgren, a 27-year-old mother of two from Denmark, Maine. "I watch ABC now, but I'd rather watch Katie than the person doing the evening news (at ABC) now. She's outgoing, she's energetic and she seems to relate to the people nicely."

Lindgren is among the 29 percent of people responding to an Associated Press-TV Guide poll this week who said they preferred Couric in the evening. Forty-nine percent of the people said they favored Couric in the morning.

Despite the public's initial wariness, the poll suggests Couric has a chance to catch on at night, or at least lift the CBS broadcast from third place behind NBC's "Nightly News" and ABC's "World News Tonight."

About half of the respondents said they'd be willing to give Couric a try in the evening. One is Dian Miller of Shepherdsville, Kentucky, who is a loyal CBS viewer.

"I like hearing Bob Schieffer," she said. "I liked Dan Rather, but I think a change is in order. I think it will be a lot better for other women coming up."

During a time of transition in television news, Couric at least has a chance of making an impression. Brian Williams, who with only a year in the job at NBC's "Nightly News" is the longest-tenured evening news anchor, was judged most popular in a list of nine TV news personalities that also included Schieffer and Elizabeth Vargas of "World News Tonight."

That's the good news for Williams. The bad news is he was named by only 6 percent of the respondents. More than two-thirds didn't list a favorite.

Paul Wendel, a 30-year-old accountant from Newtown, Pennsylvania, said he associates the evening news with a somber, older person.

"It doesn't mean she couldn't do a good job," he said, "but it isn't a person I would associate with the evening news."

Only veteran broadcaster Diane Sawyer of ABC's "Good Morning America" received higher marks than Couric, with more than seven in 10 viewing her favorably. Unfortunately for Couric, she also had 12 percent of the people who flat-out didn't like her, higher than for any of the news personalities tested.

"I don't like her phony perkiness," said Desiree Dillon, a writer from Benicia, California. "I find her to be rather patronizing. Some of her guests she just talks down to, and she wears her opinions on her sleeve."

The AP-TV Guide poll of 615 adults was conducted by Ipsos on Monday and Tuesday. It has a margin of sampling error of plus or minus 4 percentage points.

Six in 10 women said they would watch Couric in the evenings, compared with 38 percent of men.

"She kind of bugs me," said Ethelene Fortner of Tulsa, Oklahoma. "I watched Bob Schieffer. He wasn't cocky and a know-it-all like most of them are."

Couric turned down an offer of about $20 million a year to stay at NBC in order to take CBS' five-year deal at near her current salary of about $15 million, according to people close to negotiations who spoke on condition of anonymity because networks do not speak publicly about salaries. She's also agreed to do "60 Minutes" stories and prime-time specials for CBS