Ann Curry, Robin Roberts Lament Soft News Dominating Morning Shows
Morning show heavy hitters Ann Curry and Robin Roberts admitted that they think their shows have grown too fluffy in a new interview with Newsweek's Howard Kurtz.
The interview was published on Monday. The backdrop for the piece was the dramatic addition of Charlie Rose and Gayle King to CBS's "The Early Show," and the formal decision the network was taking to create a high-brow morning news program. CBS has rebranded and recast its "Early Show" multiple times. However, the show has remained in the number three spot for years, trailing ABC's "Good Morning America" and NBC's "Today."
Now, though, it seems that some of CBS' rivals may be looking wistfully on as the network makes a commitment to harder news. While both "Today" and "GMA" usually lead off their shows with politics or breaking news, there has been a definite emphasis on entertainment and human interest stories for many a year. Moreover, "Today" has two hours of programming that, in many ways, look more like daytime talk shows than a part of a news program.
During interviews with Ann Curry and Robin Roberts, Kurtz learned that the two leading ladies share simliar frustrations towards their respective shows' news diets. Curry said that she wants "more spinach and less sugar in this big meal we give viewers. Sometimes I feel personally our balance isn’t quite right."
Roberts agreed, saying of "GMA," "We need to be harder ... can we give them some medicine? We give them a lot of candy now.”
"GMA" has trailed "Today" for years; however, the show has significantly tightened the ratings gap in 2011. "GMA" has reportedly added nearly a half million viewers in 2011.
In another interesting tidbit, Kurtz reports that Joe Scarborough and Mika Brzezinski were extremely close to following their former producer Chris Licht to CBS News. (There were rampant rumors that the two were in talks to jump to "The Early Show," but they were always denied.) Apparently, NBC executives put a stop to the plan.
View the slideshow of morning news hosts below.
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Matt Lauer
Lauer co-hosts NBC's "Today" from 7-9 a.m. "Today" ranks number one as the morning show leader. The show provides viewers with a mix of hard and soft news.
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Ann Curry
Curry co-hosts NBC's "Today" from 7-9 a.m.
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Robin Roberts
Roberts co-hosts ABC's "Good Morning America" from 7-9 a.m. "GMA" trails behind "Today" in the number two spot. However, it significantly tightened the ratings gap in 2011. The show provides viewers with a mix of hard and soft news.
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George Stephanopoulos
Stephanopoulos co-hosts ABC's "Good Morning America" from 7-9 a.m.
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Charlie Rose
Rose will co-host CBS' "The Early Show" with Erica Hill from 7-8 a.m. CBS recently announced the addition of Rose and Gayle King and a decidedly focused hard news program. "The Early Show" has consistently trailed its network show competitors, "GMA" and "Today."
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Gayle King
King will co-host CBS' "The Early Show" from 8-9 a.m.
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Erica Hill
Hill currently co-hosts CBS' "The Early Show." She will co-host the program with Charlie Rose from 7-8 a.m.
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Steve Doocy
Doocy co-hosts Fox News' "Fox and Friends" from 6-9 a.m. "Fox and Friends" dominates cable news morning shows.
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Gretchen Carlson
Carlson co-hosts Fox News' "Fox and Friends" from 6-9 a.m.
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Brian Kilmeade
Kilmeade co-hosts Fox News' "Fox and Friends" from 6-9 a.m.
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Joe Scarborough
Scarborough co-hosts MSNBC's "Morning Joe" from 6-9 a.m. "Morning Joe" focuses solely on hard news and political commentary.
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Mika Brzezinski
Brzezinski co-hosts MSNBC's "Morning Joe" from 6-9 a.m.
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Soledad O'Brien
O'Brien will co-host CNN's 7-9 a.m. morning news program. CNN's "American Morning" fell behind MSNBC and even its own HLN. The network recently announced the return of O'Brien and the replacement of "Amerian Morning" with two new morning programs.
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Ashleigh Banfield
Banfield will co-host CNN's 5-7 a.m. morning news program.
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Zoraida Sambolin
Sambolin will co-host CNN's 5-7 a.m. morning news program.
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The Huffington Post Rebecca Shapiro First Posted: 11/14/11 09:24 AM ET Updated: 11/14/11 01:19 PM ET