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Erica Hill made her debut appearance on the weekend edition of the "Today" show on Saturday, causing a social media stir from devoted viewers.
After getting replaced by Norah O'Donnell at "CBS This Morning" over the summer, Hill jumped to the weekend edition of "Today" and assumed the co-hosting chair next to Lester Holt. Holt, who co-hosted the program on both days of the weekend, was previously joined by co-host Jenna Wolfe on Sundays. When Hill was hired, NBC moved Wolfe to the newsreader position on both Saturdays and Sundays, a role that was essentially seen as a demotion.
As the New York Times' Brian Stelter noticed, some viewers felt that Wolfe's sudden shift in roles felt all too similar to a previous "Today" show shake up: the ousting of co-host Ann Curry for Savannah Guthrie. The morning show has yet to fully recover from the dip in ratings that occurred after angry viewers tuned away from the show, upset by how the network treated Curry. Could the morning show face a similar kerfuffle on the weekends?
Viewers took to Facebook and Twitter to compare the two situations, expressing outrage that the NBC morning show made what they saw as another abrupt and inconsiderate anchor shuffle. "Here we go again, NBC stabs yet another of their people in the back, still love you Jenna!!" one commenter posted on the show's Facebook page.
Another commenter wrote, "I don't have any thing against Erica Hill, just like I don't have anything against Savannah Guthrie.... I just think it's pretty sad that you replace the best people. I loved Ann Curry and I love Jenna Wolf. I almost stopped watching your show when you replaced Ann. Jenna Wolf is one of my favorite people. Shame on you."
On Hill's second day, the "Today" show welcomed her with a video that consisted of all the anchors providing humorous tips and secrets of the trade. Wolfe seemed to wear a frosty expression on her face throughout the segment, perhaps confirming rumors that she was dissatisfied with her new role once Hill joined the show.
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