Ann Curry - 'Today' Show Plots To Oust Ann Curry, After One Year?

According to the New York Times, Curry began discussions with NBC officials several weeks ago regarding her future on the show, and has hired lawyer Robert Barnett to represent her in the negotiations. The show has suffered a ratings blip in recent months, with the 'Today' show beaten in the morning ratings by Good Morning America - something unheard of during Vieira's tenure. Robert Thompson, directed of Syracuse University's Bleier Center for Television and Popular Culture told the New York Daily News, "The 'Today' show was one of the things at Nbc that they could always count on being number 1.And the fact that it's been being challenged for the first time in a long time now by ABC, I suppose has everybody scrambling". Curry has been with the 'Today' show since 1997, previously serving as a news anchor. Sources close to the host have made it clear she does not want to leave, with one insider saying, "She got her dream job, and she doesn't want to let it go".

Curry's critics complain that she doesn't have enough chemistry with co-host Matt Lauer - who recently signed a $25 million-a-year contract. Lauer and Vieira were considered to have one of the strongest working relationships in television.