Robin Red

Kristen Welker anchoring NN tonight. She was also the newsreader on Today this morning. Raphael Miranda, who did the weather this morning on Today, is also reporting weather on NN.

Welker has been showing up more often now, never seen her on Nightly but she is intelligent and prefer watching her on weekend Today over the primary hosts Erica Hill and Shenielle Jones.

That's a fair point, although my point was ultimately that they want MSNBC and NBC now to be more interchangeable, particularly in daytime.

 

And to be fair, I'm not the biggest fan of Diaz-Balart on MSNBC but I do think he's better on Nightly. I do wish NBC would appoint a regular person to that gig instead of contuining this hodge-pose, if you will.

They are in no rush for an evening news hosts during the weekend. Weekend news wars are gone now that Lester Holt and David Muir have been promoted to the weekdays.

I know what you mean, but just for the record, Kate is an NBC person appearing on MSNBC, not the other way around.

 

I think Thomas Roberts or Peter Alexander should get the Saturday spot. To me, when I see Carl Quintanilla, I think business and financial news as he is one of the main faces over at CNBC. When I see Jose Diaz-Balart, I think Spanish and Telemundo as he is the face of that network's news division. There's something about him that's not appealing. I don't like him on The Rundown on MSNBC either.

Carl has branched out and he appears on Real Sports with Bryant Gumbel.

I don't think Diaz Balart has the connection and he can talk kind of fast which is a turn off.

Sheneille Jones & Harry Smith are anchoring today's broadcast Kristen Welker providing news updates and -WNBCs Raphael Miranda doing the weather.

Harry Smith would do a good job on Weekend Today, I don't know if it is official but they seem to have gotten Craig Melvin as the regular co-host.

I think either Roberts or Diaz-Balart would make sense because it would then reinforce the notion of how MSNBC and NBC News are one (again) with having prominent MSNBC folks doing Nightly News on the weekends (including Kate Snow).

MSNBC has gone back to being a strict news format, giving leeway for NBC news talent to be on MSNBC. Kate Snow is going to be the shoe in fill in when Lester is away during the week on non holidays.

I think that Thomas Roberts, he filled in for Lester the past two days, should get the Saturday anchor position. He could keep his MSNBC show similarly to what Kate does. Jose is ok but he just lacks something for me.

Diaz Balart is being used to bring a sought after demographic and he is competing against Cecila Vega on ABC News.

I prefer Hoda Kotb as the host more then Savannah. I don't like Matt Lauer but she makes him more tolerable on the show.I have nothing against Savannah but she is bad matchup with Lauer, she needs a better partner.

I don't agree with this quota thing. Why does it have be some sort of quota that he's getting more prominent work instead of his qualifications for the gig? And it's not like he's some guy they just pulled out of nowhere, he's been around for a while now including of when he was on the This Morning on CBS in the late 90's (and yes, I know this was when you couldn't pay somebody to watch morning news on CBS but still). It is 2015, right?

 

As for Erica Hill, I've been all that fond of her but I don't think she's terrible either. She's capable but never really stood out to me. But she's perfectly fine filling in on MSNBC and considering she's a fill-in, that's all you need IMO.

Not attacking his credentials but I think it is no coincidence he was pushed cause he caters towards the Hispanic demographic who are rapidly growing population in the US. NBC and Telemundo have an agreement with each other .The changes in news business sometimes can reflect the political/cultural mood in the US.

MSNBC has lost the white blue collar demographic, they all went to Fox News. They can tap into the Hispanic demographic who can possibly help MSNBC's viewership.

MSNBC's change to just a news format helped in keeping them away from bad publicity. I respect your opinion and I agree that she is better off filling in. I can't take any on air personality seriously who change jobs as much as she has. I understand how fleeting the business is but she was given chances to make it at the big time and did not live up to expectations. She is trying to rebound her career now that she is at Weekend edition of Today and at 40 years old, a floating anchor and her days in that business are closing in unless she becomes smart like Chris Jansing and become a correspondent.

She anchored the 7-9am eastern block on MSNBC this morning, filling in for Morning Joe. I'm glad they are utilizing her more, and think she is an enjoyable and credentialed anchor. Would love to see her in CNN primetime.

She was on CNN and I remember during her stint there she was with flirting with Anderson Cooper. I don't think CNN wanted her, she lasted there for a couple of years. I don't enjoy watching as an anchor, I lost my interest in her when she was fired from CBS. I thank her for giving us Norah O' Donnell from CBS This Morning, who I enjoy watching. Erica Hill talks like a cartoon character in my opinion. She tries to act like she is Megyn Kelly/Kennedy all rolled into one.

GMA still claims total viewer spot but Today show has demo wins.

What has Today show been doing to keep getting demo wins. I would figure GMA would be getting the demo cause they seem to get the better guests.

Everything Erica Hill touches turns into ratings decline. She has a horrible track record, yet still ends up getting jobs. Mind boggling

Erica Hill is on MSNBC filling in more often. She is awful! She makes Don Lemon from CNN look like John Chancellor. Hill is just a disaster, fast talker, unprepared, can't ask good questions, seems lost, doubt she reads about stories she is covering. Who is she sucking up to keep her job?

No, I don't see Jose doing any more than hosting Saturday Nightly and appearances on MTP and pre recorded bits for NN. But I don't see it as a quota system. That being said NBC is realizing that Hispanics are a growing demographic so they should have their main anchor appear on the "flagship" network. A while back when Telemundo rebranded they specifically mentioned the "duality" of this generation who speak both English and Spanish. I think his appearances simply are showing just that.

It is a quota system caused they have plenty of qualified reporters who could've got the Saturday gig with respectable resumes who people recognize.

Peter Alexander, Carl Quintanilla, Harry Smith, are considered logical shoe in anchors for the job.

Jose is being used as quota, they have a woman hosting the Sunday edition and now they have a spanish speaking Latino.

Jose Diaz Balart is filling in on Nightly News again this weekend. I wonder if they are trying to introduce/groom him for future roles outside of Telemundo. It's a bit slow but they've been working him in a little bit at a time first appearing in interviews, then Meet The Press, some cross talk during election nights, his MSNBC show, one or two weekends co-hosting Today (his Noticiero Telemundo cohost Maria Celest Arraras filled in on Today's Take twice) and now being added into the rotation of Saturday Nightly.

 

I'm a big fan of him and glad to see that he's getting credit where credit is due.

Jose Diaz Balart is okay but I have a feeling that he is there to satisfy the Hispanic demographic who are becoming the largest minorities. NBC does not have many anchor Hispanics expect for Natalie Morales so they an extra one to reach their quota. I can't see him being vetted to become a potential fixture evening news anchor. I don't get that instinct that he ever going to be "next big thing".

When Lester was coming up on MSNBC you can tell by seeing him and how he presents the news that he was going to become a future main anchor and "next big thing" for NBC News. He was likable, respected, got people watching and last of endangered group of classic journalists.

I don't see that kind of thing with Balart the quota system is to transparent where people will just see him as another political pawn.

No offensive to Balart but that is how the optics is presented.

You should read Amy Robach book she released back in September about her battle with breast cancer.

 

She talk quit a bit and very openly in the book about why she left Weekend TODAY Show and NBC back in 2012. She doesn't hold back much.

 

She was very unhappy in her last couple years there.

 

 

She was going through a lot of stuff at the time (Stress along with anxiety attacks and other personal things and at one point she had a doctor appointment in early spring of 2012 where she found out her heart was damaged) and said how for the last few years she was not feeling the love anymore at NBC like they (the executives high up not her co-workers. she was still very much respected and love when it came TODAY Show staff) really did not want her there anymore. Her career has hit a dead end and she was not really going anywhere. she been doing Saturday TODAY for 4 1/2 Years. She had until 2010 been filling in for Meredith, Brian, Ann and Natalie but suddenly the calls started coming less and less and then eventually they just stop. She was told by doctors she needed to slow down with working. in 2012 her contract was up soon but she was not hearing at all from NBC about renewal and her agent was not getting any calls and that made her worried.

 

 

She admit that she wanted to move up to Weekday TODAY when Meredith announced she was leaving. She wanted the Third Hour co-hosting job on the Weekday Show. she thought (And says it was) her!

 

When Savannah got the Third Hour Job job she then felt it was time for her to leave. And so she joined ABC. She felt like she had to last chance. This was before the whole Ann curry tihng. Had she knew what was about to happen who knows if she would have stayed or not but when Amy left it made room for Tamron.

 

I should say she has no animosity for Savannah whatsoever. Just thought I should point that out. she doesn't blame her at all. She does still seem to have some bad blood towards NBC 9and probably rightfully so)

 

But then after awhile at ABC she also started to feel like they were not doing much with her anymore especially after Robin came back to GMA full time. they then kept promising her that they had something planned for her.

 

Anyway it was very interesting read. I was surprise at how much details she went into, a Great book overall.

 

But the same has happened to other Weekend Anchors including Jodi Applegate, Campbell brown, Soledad O'Brien and Maria Shriver. The only weekend Co-anchor who ever got promoted to weekday show was Katie Couric.

Thanks for the info and summary of the book. Out of all the people who left Today, I miss Amy and think that she deserved to move up to weekday Today. Compared to today's new members, I miss the old team from the Today show when it was Meredith, Ann, Lester, Amy, and Campbell. That was when the adults were running the show, the new members are okay but so lightweight.

I wonder if ABC would pick her up for GMA.

I think Jenna is moving onto to focus on her fitness career and she is going to be promoting her own book.

Maybe they are switching the format up a bit. I think Natalie is experiencing what Amy went through as she mentioned in her book. NBC has the tendency to drop a rising star when they see someone fresh come through, so they start putting all the attention on them and then drop the people that are there. This cycle always happens especially at NBC . I believed that this was happening to Lester too until the Brian Williams scandal. And we see how that turned out, Lester is their Saving Grace. I for one would like Natalie to leave too because she seems like she isn't happy. I know they would never do this but I would like for them to really phase out some people at Today (Matt, Al, and Natalie).

I always thought Amy Robach was going to get the Today show spot then Savannah but NBC liked Savannah and maybe impressed with her resume. When Ann Curry debacle happened, they wanted a female anchor who can mirror Matt Lauer and not afraid to stand up to him.They also wanted a cutesy Katie Couric clone which Savannah Guthrie is.

Natalie has hindered her promotional chances when stories about her affair with Matt Lauer is still circulating. As long as Matt is still married, the wife will have a say over what happens and Natalie will continue to be the newsreader.

This never came out but one insider said Lester actually thought about leaving Today show and possibly NBC because he was not elevating anywhere.It was written in his contract that he could leave NBC if he did not get the top spot of any major NBC show. He was doing the dead end weekend job for 12 years and wanted a change in his schedule. He was the only guy at NBC who paid his dues , working hard and not getting anything to show for it.

I speculate that NBC panicked over Lester possibly leaving, and circumstances with Brian Williams embellishments was a blessing in disguise for NBC to keep Lester at the network.

If Lester did leave, it would have been an shell shock/nightmare for NBC.If NBC is smart they will do whatever they can to keep Lester Holt content and that includes bumping up his salary cause he is NBC's saving grace. He was the only guy at the network to insiders that never had an ego and never brought drama with him to the network.

Agreed, I think Savannah is the new star of Today; she really is great on the show.

 

I was never a huge fan of Al and I'd like to see Dylan replace him. Natalie is good but I agree she just doesn't seem to like NBC anymore, my only problem with Natalie leaving is that Tamron is her heir apparent and I am not a fan of Tamron as news anchor. And finally, I would love to see Matt replaced but I'm not a huge Willie Geist fan and Carson is definitely not journalistic enough to co-host Today.

I agree about Al and think that he needs to go, he is boring and outlived his stay.

Today show's best replacement was Lester Holt and he has moved on and part of evening news and Dateline. Carson Daly is just a good sidekick, Willie Geist is a blank and nor has he paid his dues to really get the spot. If they were to find a replacement they would probably get someone on the outside with name recognition like Don Lemon or Anderson Cooper.

Well Natalie Contract expire in a year and as much as I hope she doesn't leave It does seem more likely she well. She been a valuable ember of TODAY for nearly a decade.

 

If NBC really does want to get rid of her then (and let renumber Morning Shows like to make change near the end of the year then they do in the middle or early on) then why not wait until ger Contract runs out a year from now?

 

But if Natalie is leaving on her own in order to get away from Tamron then I really don't blame her. But for the moment it just our speculation though it been written that Hoda could replace Natalie but that back when it was not sure if Lester would keep his Dateline Job.

 

But I would have Hoda or Sheinelle then Tamron. And Savannah obviously going to be there for many years to come.

 

I guess we will have to wait and see what happens. It just very cornering. And hen they start use to them ls like that it usually a good sign. But then we should take what the producers say with a grain of salt.

Natalie has been doing more assignments then anybody and she does not get along well with NBC News President Deborah Turness.

Turness believes that she does not have enough personality and she favors Tamron Hall.

Natalie has been up down in her career cause of stories about her affair with Matt Lauer. The possible affair has hurt her chances of ever ascending to becoming main anchor as long as Matt's wife has control over the situation and Matt Lauer is still at NBC.

Sheninelle was hired by Turness so she is going to be used in the coming future.

As far as Natalie being a Dateline host.If you have been on Dateline's social media pages, they love Lester Holt as their host and won't give him up without a fight.

I wonder if Harry Smith is going to be an official anchor for weekend Today. On Sunday's broadcast they announced with Erica Hill and Harry Smith. Maybe it was just because it was a special edition of Today but it seemed off given that since Lester Holt left the names have been dropped.

The names have been dropped, cause right now Weekend Today is a rotation with different anchors. I don't think Craig Melvin will be a solid replacement, he will always be the fourth wheel. Craig Melvin is too anxious and can't stream through a show smoothly. I have a feeling he will be a polarized figure the longer he stays a host on Today show. He should just stick to reporting.

Harry has been on the show more often doing those stories around the end of the show. Since Lester has left, the show needs a stablizing player that people are familar with. When Lester was at Today show he was a stabilzing presence that people liked and respected. When Matt was not around, Lester was there to keep stablilty there and often it was a treat to have him fill in.

Erica Hill is a hit or miss,Harry Smith knows her better then any anchor on NBC since they both worked at CBS and can possibly work better with her and keep her in her place.

Surely David Muir is the obvious choice to take over if George leaves? GMA is far more important to ABC than WNT. David has been doing a great job whenever he's filled in for George.

I figure George's sucessor would be GMA Weekend's Dan Harris, he does a good job on the weekend edition.

Kathy Orr finally made her debut on 29.

She is just as great as she was on her last day on KYW. They were stupid to drop her.

I think it's cause Kathy Orr cost too much at KYW, they were losing ratings and she was still getting a big contract.

GMA neeeds to change their content/ the variety fan fare is not working anymore and they need to stop using Lara Spencer all the time.

I think you could throw Jenna Wolfe in that mix but her career trajectory has been so odd in being demoted to news anchor and then now with this new role. I'm not a fan of hers but I was surprised that she got passed over for an outside hire in Erica Hill, who wasn't using Weekend Today as a stepping stone up but as a rebound. That role has usually been filled from within by NBC.

I thought Jenna Wolfe was good at anchoring Today and was sad to see her go. However I think once she was demoted and had her first child she may have wanted to take a different role. I only say this because her partner Stefanie Gosk is a correspondent and may not always be there so Jenna may have wanted a more typical 9-5 job.

I was never a fan of Jenna Wolfe and believed that she was never promotable to become a key player for NBC, her asthetics and optics were all wrong. She was loud, abrasive and lacked grace. I believe her co-anchoring with Lester helped flourish her career then anything especially the workout segments. If she was co-anchoring with anybody else then highly doubt she would have stayed at NBC as long as she has. I knew that as soon as Amy left that Jenna was not going to get two days, she was too polarizing.

Right now being promoted to weekday and getting to talking about her passion is win win for herself. She may no longer be the anchor, but she still has a job and she is doing what she loves.

Hiring Erica Hill was a fail! She is more grateful to have a job but she is not valued player, with any real skills and even when she appears on the weekday show you can tell that she does not fit in with the rest of the anchors.She is the type where she looks the part but her results has shown otherwise.She tries to be funny and reminds me of a middle-schooler looking around to see who gets her jokes - no one.

Erica Hill is joined by an unexpected partner on Weekend Today this morning: Harry Smith.

It's been a long while since I've seen him anchor a program, and I'm very excited to see him behind a desk again.

And my fellow Early Show fans will enjoy this. (cough Daybreak cough)

Harry Smith would be a great addition. Reminds me of Mr. Utley back in the day on Sunday Today. I also think they need to name Thomas Robertts Saturday Nightly News Anchor.

I like Harry Smith and think that he is good stable player for Weekend Today ever since Lester left the show. The weekend edition has been lite weight and does not really have the magic anymore, no chemistry among the three women.

Erica Hill is ratings disaster and flop, she is kind of boring, they better groom another female anchor in the next couple of years to take Erica's place.

I am not a fan of Peter Alexander anchoring. He seems really uncomfortable at the desk. I'd like to see Thomas Roberts get Saturday's.

I don't think Thomas Roberts has the gravitas for evening news, he fits more into cable realm.