Best and Worst Morning News Anchors On NBC, ABC & CBS

Who’s the best network morning news anchor? Much has been made in the last few years about the weakened condition of the expanded ‘Today’ on NBC. ABC’s ‘Good Morning America” keeps surging and receding. The wave has stopped well short of ‘Today’ to this point. And, for more than a decade now, the pulse of the ‘Early Show’ on CBS has sputtered along like a car engine ready to collapse.

We all know that major news events drive viewers to turn on the TV remote. But which network they select to watch is difficult to explain. The heated election season or the “Ends of the Earth’ stunt in November seems to have breathed new life into ‘Today’. Others suggest viewers have finally settled in with a preference for Matt and Meredith instead of Diane and Robin. So after much thought and years of watching all three major morning shows, here are my rankings.

THE BEST
Diana Sawyer ABC, Good Morning America
Sawyer is at the top of her game! Wait, we’ve been saying that for years about this often under-appreciated anchor who’s worked at ABC and CBS. Sawyer’s passionate and extensive reporting on international issues gives GMA, and ABC as a whole, a journalistic level that no other network achieves. In fact, with the apparent decreasing importance of world news on Charlie Gibson’s ‘World News’, Sawyer’s occasional but highly promoted and insightful international reporting is among the best on all networks. She’s great with personal stories as well. As to her morning TV duties, Sawyer has a very welcoming tone and demeanor. She, like no other anchor, actually talks to you as viewer. Either she’s really communicating well or her writers have crafted copy to fit her style that she connects with most every story. There’s a big question of whether Diane will leave ABC or hope to replace Charlie Gibson if he steps down from ‘World News’ in the next few years. She and Gibson are the two biggest assets that ABC has now. The network would be well served to keep them both (and happy) for as long as they can. Oh by the way, another reviewer recently pointed out that Sawyer looks better than ever… even at 62. Agreed.

RUNNER UP
Matt Lauer NBC, Today
Lauer is the utility players for ‘Today’ who luckily escaped the unfriendly glare of the Katie Couric years. He was the right thing at the right time for ‘Today’ after the troubled Bryan Gumbel years. Now, Lauer is the glue that holds ‘Today’ together… at least the first two hours. It’s nice to see a good guy finish first. Little was made of Lauer’s contract renewal (which was not too shabby at all). His ability to grill interviewees about serious topics and then transition to the lighter fare of later segments is easy to watch. ‘Today’ already appears to be grooming David Gregory or Lester Holt for a post-Lauer era. While I really like Holt, and Gregory is growing on me, Lauer provides the ‘comfort’ that keeps bringing me back to ‘Today’.

SECOND RUNNERS-UP
Harry Smith – CBS The Early Show
It’s a shame that such a good storyteller has been buried so long on a show that can’t find success to save the executive producers’ job. On ‘Early’, he’s always caught in the muddy waters of weaker female anchors and Dave Price’s gimmicky weather segments. When Smith fills in on ‘CBS Sunday Morning’, it’s always a pleasure to watch. I hope CBS can find such a role for him in the future.
Maggie Rodriguez – CBS The Early Show
She’s the new woman in the AM block… and she’s pretty darn good. She brings a natural quality to the show that seems genuine (only people who work with her know whether that’s true). She’s a breath of fresh air for ‘Early’. Her experience in Miami may have gotten her in the door but her true tests will come as she walks viewers through major news events. To succeed, she will have to think globally and as a leader to engage and gain the confidence of viewers. Time will tell. However, I’m just not convinced that this is the TIME for ‘Early’. Rodriguez may be caught in the revolving door of the CBS morning news slot.

THE REST
Meredith Viera – NBC, Today
I really loved her on ‘The View’. Meredith could be Meredith. On ‘Today’, it’s tough for this laughing, giddy, blunt, opinionate host to become a confident, trusted, respected news anchor. With Lauer at her side, she has a great leaning post. I know ‘Today’ must be more demanding than ‘The View’. I hope she spends the time at ‘Today’ to fulfill her career desires. But, I can’t wait to watch Meredith when she moves on to a show that allows her to be Meredith all the time… not the guarded news anchor at the top of ‘Today’.
Robin Roberts – ABC, Good Morning America
We’ve come to know the very personal and passionate sides of Roberts. Her battle with cancer and her reporting after Katrina connected her to millions of viewers in a way they will never forget. She deserves great applause and support for both. She is an aggressive anchor opposite Sawyer who always managers to take control, even with a calm demeanor. Her weaknesses in taking control of a show appear when Sawyer is a way. There’s just something uneasy or clumsy when Sawyer is not present. Admittedly, that could speak more to the strength of Sawyer than a weakness of Roberts.
Julie Chen – CBS The Early Show
Whether any of us fully agrees with the reasoning for keeping her front and center of ‘Early’ for so long, there is one thing for certain. She’s managed to keep her job on a third-rated morning program when many others haven’t. But, there is a natural connection that is missing in communicating with the morning audience. She may be passionate for her career but she struggles to truly connect to content outside of adlibbed cooking segments.

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