Executive Producer of \'Today\' Says Ouster of Ann Curry Was His Call

By BILL CARTER

Commenting publicly for the first time about the decision to remove Ann Curry from the “Today” show's co-anchor position after only a year on the job, Jim Bell, the show's executive producer, said Wednesday that it “was absolutely my call.”

In a telephone interview, Mr. Bell spoke broadly about the show's recent ratings setbacks, including the end of its 16-year weekly winning streak. He offered numerous reasons that ABC's “Good Morning, America” had taken over as the regular leader in the morning news competition, including the sheer difficulty of maintaining dominance for so long a time.

But he especially pointed to what he called the difference in the show's approaches, calling “Today” a “more serious show” and accusing “GMA” of “doing something else.”

Asked if he was saying “GMA” is now a tabloid-style program, Mr. Bell said, “That's what I'm saying.”

Mr. Bell declined to call the original decision to name Ms. Curry to the anchor position a mistake, but he said that she is now “in the role she is naturally suited for.” (Ms. Curry has become a special correspondent for the show reporting, so far, mostly on international stories; for example, on Wednesday morning, she interviewed the president of Libya, Mohammed Magarief.)

Mr. Bell defended the insertion of Savannah Guthrie as the co-anchor beside Matt Lauer, calling her an important part of the “long view” plan to regain pre-eminence for the “Today” show. He said of the original choice of Ms. Curry to succeed Meredith Vieira: “Ann had earned it. Hindsight is 20/20. You can sit there and think this or that, but we're comfortable with that decision and the one we've made now.”

“Today” lost its long-standing lead over ABC's “GMA” in April, before Ms. Curry was ousted from the anchor job at the end of June. But even after NBC's Olympics coverage - and with Ms . Guthrie now the co-anchor - “Today” has lost every week to ABC in terms of total viewers. For the last four weeks, the show has trailed in the critical category of viewers between the ages of 25 and 54, which determines ad sales for news programs.

Mr. Bell specifically denied reports that have circulated recently that the decision to remove Ms. Curry was a response to demands by Mr. Lauer, who recently renegotiated his contract. “It was definitely not Matt's call,” Mr. Bell said. “He is the host and does not have management responsibility. It was not his call. That was my call.”

Mr. Bell said that rumors that he had a lunch with Mr. Lauer at which the anchor made a change on the co-anchor role a quid pro quo for his re-signing, were “absolutely not true.”

Mr. Bell expressed anger and incredulity at recent reports that Mr. Lauer had been been more vocal in his demands about the show, and had begun berating sta ff members. “These stories portraying Matt in a negative light are just preposterous,” Mr. Bell said. “Matt is the heart and soul of the broadcast. He has a heart of gold. This stuff about him has been very irresponsible and in a lot of cases flat-out wrong.”

Nor is “Today” facing any budget cuts to make up for paying Mr. Lauer a reported $25 million a year, Mr. Bell said. “There is no plan for any cutbacks of layoffs for any of the staff,” he said. As for any reduction to Matt's salary, which was reported in The Daily News this week, “That could not be more wrong,” Mr. Bell said.

“Today” should be facing a downturn in its profits, given its recent ratings declines. But the show was mostly sold out for the year during sales in advance of the television season, so “Today” effectively could have a year to fix itself before the financial impact is fully felt.

Asked what viewers could expect in the way of changes to affect this long- view approach, Mr. Bell said, “You just have to watch.”

Bill Carter writes about the television industry. Follow @wjcarter on Twitter.