Ann Curry, at long last, leaves NBC News — sort of
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Version 0 of 1. More than two years after Ann Curry said a tearful goodbye on “Today” — pushed out by NBC execs who felt her non-chemistry with Matt Lauer accelerated the show’s falling ratings — the veteran anchor is finally leaving the network. Well, sort of. NBC announced on Tuesday that Curry will no longer work for the network as a full-time employee. Instead, she will launch an NBCUniversal-funded media start-up focused on national and global news. The reports can be aired on any platform or network — including NBC News, the announcement was quick to point out — but she’s not required to be exclusive to NBC. That last part is a big deal because, according to multiple reports, Curry has not been thrilled with her “anchor at large” and “national and international correspondent” titles ever since she was booted from the “Today” show in June 2012. She’s reported on many international news stories for the network, from interviews with Iranian President Hassan Rouhani to Ukraine’s Prime Minister Arseniy Yatsenyu, but has been much less visible since her “Today” departure. (She wasn’t even in Sochi last winter for the Olympics, arguably NBC’s biggest broadcast of the year.) Curry, who has been at NBC for 25 years, had a pricey contract reportedly set to expire this year; and the last week or so has been a flurry of rumors that NBC would not renew it. Though NBC called the rumors “completely untrue,” Page Six first reported on Tuesday afternoon that Curry was indeed free from the network. That’s for the best for both parties. The “Today” show, still behind “Good Morning America” in the ratings race, has never really recovered since Curry’s awkward departure, which got widespread criticism as they were perceived to push her out the door. Still, Curry added a statement to the NBC’s release on Wednesday. “I am sincerely grateful to NBC News for allowing me to offer viewers a vast and diverse body of work, including a depth of humanitarian reporting I understand still resonates,” she said. “It has been a privilege to work with so many good and talented people at the network and I look forward to what we will do ahead. At the same time, I can’t wait to expand my reach and work with people I admire in other places.” |