Weekend 'Today' Challenge; Jenna Wolfe, Amy Robach, Others

NOTE: THERE ARE MORE THAN 30 WOLFE-ROBACH POSTS. SEARCH FOR THEM ALL BY ENTERING THE NAME IN THE SEARCH BOX IN THE UPPER LEFT CORNER OF THE PAGE

Over the last several weeks, I’ve shared my opinions about NBC’s decision to go with two different female anchors for the Sunday edition of ‘Today’. Amy Robach anchors with Lester Holt on Saturday with Jenna Wolfe reading the news headlines. Sunday brings a change with Jenna Wolfe sitting beside Lester Holt on the anchor desk and a rotating roster of news readers. This all developed after Campbell Brown bolted for a yet-to-debut show on CNN.

Saturday, Robach raised her game to be even more natural (and likeable). Wolfe read two very short news segments at the top of the hours with few problems and little impact on the show. As ‘Today’ opened Sunday, I wondered what a new weekend would bring. It was the same ‘ol, same ‘ol. There was a real lack of chemistry between Holt and Wolfe. Her ability to read package introductions is OK. But she had trouble focusing an interview about the weakness of the U.S dollar. In the second half hour, the lack of chemistry slapped viewers in the face as Wolfe tried to joke about her report to come later about what to hang in holiday stockings. Joking that she was Jewish and really needed this information plus she liked expensive gifts in her stocking, Holt was left with little more than a blank look on his face. If you played the Saturday and Sunday newscasts side by side, you would see a far better chemistry and natural flow of the show with Holt and Robach.

So does that mean Wolfe should not be a part of this show? Not at all. There is something that may suit her slightly quirky demeanor, often self-sacrificing sarcasm and over the top tone. I just don’t know what that is. That’s for NBC to decide. She obviously had a great deal of success doing sports at WABC. Perhaps she’s better suited for sideline reporting and analysis on ‘Sunday Night Football’ as NBC tries to transition her into a news or infotainment host. As I think about the challenge for NBC this morning, I jump to the decision by CBS to pull Hannah Storm from her sports environment to co-host the ‘Early Show.’ Perhaps NBC thought they could strike a similar balance. Storm brought a must more experienced background and a more engaging presence though.

In the end, NBC faces a challenge of grooming future talent. It’s not easy. Someone is always there to question or provide opinions on every move of on-air talent (It’s made far more easy these days by blogging). Outside of Brian Williams, there are few success stories of ‘promoting major talent’ from within. Consider these points.
-Williams is the clear ‘success story’ of grooming from within for NBC. No doubt, someone had to replace Tom Brokaw. I don’t know whether he was brought in to NBC in 1993 with that intent, but it became clear soon that NBC was grooming him for something. It took a few years to become official.
-But, when Katie Couric left ‘Today’, NBC turned to the outside for Meredith Viera. That happened even though they had a large group of female anchors already at NBC and over at MSNBC. NBC obviously felt none of them was ready.
-How many MSNBC anchors have made a successful leap to a major position at the mothership? Lester Holt is really the only one. With NBC 2.0, he’s now fronting all NBC weekend shows. He’s just a good, solid journalist to have in the stable with Brian Williams and Matt Lauer.

NBC is not alone in trying to find future talent. The challenge here is that ‘Today’ is such a staple in many viewers’ habits. While ‘Sunday Morning’ on CBS is clearly dominant on Sundays, ‘Today’ is a much larger brand that must be successful for NBC. Any failures on the weekend can damage the larger brand. From the beginning of my posts about the weekend ‘Today’ situation, I’ve tried to emphasis that my feedback is not about Jenna Wolfe as an individual. Her situation though opens NBC News up for broader criticism about ‘Today’ anchors and decision making.
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HERE ARE SOME COMMENTS FROM THE LAST POST ABOUT 'TODAY' ON SUPER BOWL SUNDAY.
"Here are some comments from the last post about Jenna Wolfe, Amy Robach and 'Today'.
I really enjoyed the Sunday show today. It is those unpredictable comments that make it fun. Great show Saturday, great show today."
"If you enjoy Lester Holt squirming with confusion and confoundment as to what his role is when his co-host keeps trying to dominate the show, then the show was about as enjoyable as it can get."
"Sundays are just uncomfortable. It is like inviting over the crazy uncle for the Holiday's and being continuosly nervous about what might come out of his mouth. That is the same feeling I get with Jenna Wolfe."
"Jenna's voice is not soothing. She did a piece on a taser party and refrained from her most annoying humor. Howver, her piece on the "what I learned from women who dumped me" was dull. Also, she kept interrupting the guests with stupid mumblings.She soaked up ann curry advertising jenna's dating status."
CHECK OUT PAST POSTS ABOUT WOLFE, AMY ROBACH, 'TODAY'
'Today' On Super Bowl Sunday
Wolfe-Robach, The Saga Continues
Endless Fascination With Wolfe
Jenna Wolfe & Weekend 'Today': Is OK Enough?
Robach Back, Wolfe Reading News
What In The World Has Happened To Weekend 'Today'
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