Matt Lauer Intern Twitter Apology; Intern Said 'Today' Host Was "Not So Nice."
Matt Lauer made headlines again when the NBC anchor issued an apology to a former intern who said the host was "not so nice" to him when he worked at the morning show.
Local Fox reporter Mark Zinni retweeted a follower on Tuesday who quoted him saying that the Today host was not nice when Zinni was an intern the same year Lauer became a co-host in 1997.
Daren Sweeney is an executive producer at Fox 8 News in Cleveland, where Zinni now is employed. Sweeney tweeted, "'I was just a young kid with a bright future ahead of me,' @markzinni talking about internship at @todayshow and 'not so nice" @MLauer."
Lauer responded with an apology on March 13 and said, @Mark Zinni huh?" adding "Always tried to be nice Mark. Sorry you didn't think so. Hope you're doing well. Matt."
The tweet is no longer visible on Lauer's Twitter page.
Zinni explained his experience in an article on Fox 8 News' website. He mentioned that he was shocked to know that the anchor still remembered who he was.
"Bottom line, I was shocked Matt Lauer even bothered with me and, really, he remembers me? I'm flattered," Zinni wrote.
Some audience members chimed in and pointed fingers at Lauer for the messy departure of former co-host Ann Curry. Zinni said despite the drama, he had a great experience interning at the morning show.
"If you know me, you probably know that I don't take myself too seriously," he wrote. "So, my answer was more of a joke about being young and naive during my time at Today, but I added that he wasn't nice to me. I didn't slam the guy, I just made an honest comment."
Since Curry departed the show last June, the NBC morning program has had trouble with ratings over ABC rival Good Morning America.
Lauer endured a tough week as the anchor was the subject of a lengthy article in New York magazine. Reports surfaced on Wednesday that NBC approached CNN host Anderson Cooper to replace Lauer on Today before his contract ends in 2014.
As reported by Enstars earlier, the article said Lauer was also reportedly in negotiations with ABC at one point in to join the network after he heard that Ryan Seacrest was a likely candidate to replace him on Today.
