Ann Curry, Former TODAY Show Anchor Banned From Live TV Reports? So Says Source
NBC will not let Ann Curry tape live interviews and will only run pre-taped segments with the former "TODAY" show host, according to a new report.
"She's been pushing for live interviews, but NBC will only air her taped interviews, presumably so they can edit them," a source told The New York Post.
Curry was named NBC News national and international correspondent/anchor and "Today" anchor-at-large after her dreadful departure in late June from "TODAY." Curry was replaced with Savannah Guthrie because the morning show which had dominated ratings for 16 years was trumped by "Good Morning America."
Curry is banned from airing live reports because the last time she sat with her former co-anchor Matt Lauer in August, when he attempted to make small talk with her she barely acknowledged him.
"Good morning, Ann, nice to see you," said Lauer.
"Good morning," Curry replied. The talk show veteran immediately delved into her segment and the move was considered a rebuff in several reports.
Curry has filled in a few live reports since her "TODAY" exit. She has reported for NBC News' "Rock Center with Brian Williams." Her most recent report on Oscar-nominated Quvenzhané Wallis and Dwight Henry, the actors who play the daughter and father in "Beast of the Southern Wild," was a pre-taped segment.
Curry asked to be let out of her NBC contract in December so that she can move to CNN, but NBC has yet to grant her wish. She hopes to join the cable network in February to begin working for her former "TODAY" boss Jeff Zucker, who now helms the news channel. Zucker would like Curry to replace Anderson Cooper's current 8 p.m. EST time slot.
Later, Curry learned that executives at NBC said they will only consider releasing her if she does not appear on television for the next six months, according to a source.
"Ann's bosses weren't willing to let her out of her contract so she could accept a job at CNN," a source told Radar Online. "NBC has made it clear that if they let Ann out of her contract, they want to keep her off the air of a competing network for at least six months."
A rep for NBC told New York Post that "Ann Curry has a multi-year contract with NBC News. The rest of this gossip is nonsense."
