Ann Curry Leaves TODAY, With Nothing But Grace

Im not sure if I can explain it, or should, but I love the Today Show. Ever since I went to New York for the first time in 1998(1997?...can't remember exactly) and stood outside Rockefeller center, The Today Show has been my go-to morning show. In fact, I can't even stand the other morning shows.

Part of my fandom with TODAY is that I think Matt Lauer is easily one of the best reporters in the business. He can be hard on top celebrities, he can be funny, and he seems to have the best personality for a person in that seat. He's an anchor with a soul who talks to you and reports like there are no cameras. He's smooth, he's clear, he's jovial, and he's practiced. That's a perfect anchor.

Another part of my fandom with the show has to do with the second time (out of 2) that I was in the Today Show audience. It was June 26th, 2009. How do I remember? Because as we stood outside Studio 1A, the producers told us that there would be a very different broadcast that day. Michael Jackson had died. I only saw Matt that day, and that was through panes of glass. Al did his segments inside (as did Ann) and Meredith was live in Los Angeles.

I'll also never forget being in 2nd period band in 9th grade, and an administrator coming into the classroom to tell us that the country was in a state of emergency and that 2 planes had hit the Twin Towers in New York. We put our instruments away and turned on the classroom TV...to TODAY. I remember Matt and Katie's voices on that day and I've even been known to replay that broadcast via YouTube from time to time. How does a news anchor cover a story like that? The way they did.

When I was in the crowd at the Today Show in the late 90s, my aunt and uncle made up signs to hold, like many do. One of the signs said something along the lines of, "I eat breakfast with Katie, Matt, Al, and Ann." Ann was so thrilled that her name had made the sign that she kissed it and signed it. It was amazing. I remember her being so, so very kind.

I guess I didn't follow it enough to know the drama that occured when Ann was passed up for the anchor position after Katie left. But it was clear when Meredith left that this was something Ann had always wanted to do.

Ann is phenomenal human. She goes overseas as a reporter when others won't. She cries on camera and is even unafraid to make ghastly, embarassing mistakes. She asks pointed questions at times when it's needed. She flubs over and over again.

She's very real.

And I think that makes her a phenomenal reporter. She somehow manages to break all the rules of journalism while still drawing you in with her deep smile and heart for the individual. She worked brilliantly as the news reporter in studio for so many years and every assignment went on left the world in tears.

About 8 months or so ago (a few months after she got the job), I started to notice her flubs more often. And these were little. Before, whe was known to walk into a camera shot not paying attention. She was known to share too much to the viewing audience. But I started to notice that she was having problems reading the teleprompter. She had never been real great at it, but the way she covered before had worked at the news desk, and it didn't seem to feel right at the anchor desk.

Something just didn't fit. She didn't have the smoothness of Lauer. It started to bug me. I liked Meredith, but I like Katie better. I liked Ann a lot, but not at the anchor desk. Sigh.

Apparently, I wasn't the only one. Today, on TODAY, Ann Curry left her position as co-anchor. It was an odd departure but had been rumored for some time as Good Morning America had rivaled the Today Show's ratings. Ratings, in TV, seem to be the end all be all and one can only imagine that Ann's tenure at the anchor desk wasn't helping TODAY garner any more interest. When people are defecting to a competitor, you have to do all that's in your power to regain control. Over the past week, that's what NBC News has done.

The good news is that Ann has a new job. Sort of. It seems unclear exactly what that job will entail and look like on a day to day basis, but I hope we see more of the reporting that we were used to from Ann Curry. I appreciate her humanitarian work, reporting on those who have no voices, calling all viewers to see the worlds of other people and to offer their hearts to them much like Ann has given her heart to them.

In the end, Ann wasn't the right choice for the anchor position. It was her dream job and for that she was able to hold it for just over a year. Sometimes, though, we aren't fit to do what we do and we must nuance our dreams to work in the best way possible. Hopefully Ann will see this new position as a way to live out her dream.

Personally, I wish Ann the best of luck. I can't wait to see her on camera again. She's been a bit frustrating over the past year, but now that she's gone, I'm truly going to miss her.

When Conan left NBC, he drug their name, reputation, and money through the mud. He was so angry over the way that he was treated that he used his last month at the show to show NBC just how much power he had. When Ann left the Today Show, it what seemed to be a very similar situation, she was as kind as he has ever been. Her grace, in the midst of what must be a gut wrenching time, is remarkable.

She is a role model among role models and I hope we continue to have more of her influence in our lives. As Matt said this morning, "She has the best heart in the business."

So very, very true.

-B

On Florida Southern College's Beauty

I spent five years (four as a student, one as a staff member) at Florida Southern College in Lakeland, FL.  Yesterday, it was announced that the Princeton Review named Florida Southern College as the "Most Beautiful College Campus" in the United States. Good ol' FSC announced it on Facebook  and Twitter yesterday and this morning, it showed up on the Today Show (despite Ann's questioning look and incorrect graphic):

[vodpod id=Video.14362285&w=425&h=350&fv=launch%3D43985296%5E200874%5E225578%26amp%3Bwidth%3D420%26amp%3Bheight%3D245]

Of course, I posted this all over the Twitter and Facebook. Many friends of mine felt as if this was an appropriate time to throw out the, "Hey, looks aren't everything" lines.  I'd like to share below (names blurred to spare the guilty):

All of the above participants are friends of mine, a few of whom I'm very close to. They miss the point, however.

When I came to Florida Southern, I remember moving into Hollis Hall, the dreaded first year male dorm (although I'd be slaughtered for mentioning the D-word, they are residence halls or community living centers, not dorms). The day we moved in, they were conveniently replacing major portions of the flooring in the lobby. Hollis's rooms were small, brick rooms, with non-moveable furniture. I remember thinking, "Welp, welcome to college." My girlfriend (now wife) though, moved into one of the gorgeous brick buildings in the center of campus, where the first year women live. She had a large room, with a giant window to the outside, her own bathroom, etc. I remember thinking, "Welp, I guess I'll hang out here."

That year, though, was the second year of the current President's residency at Florida Southern, Dr. Anne Kerr. Florida Southern's previous President had done phenomenal things for the college's relationship with students and Dr. Kerr came in to take care of some of the finances and build needed buildings.

What most people don't know about Florida Southern is that it is the largest single-site collection of Frank Lloyd Wright architecture in the world. Those people weren't in Annie Pfeiffer Chapel setting up for Praise Band Practice when tourists came waltzing through gazing up at the large glass ceiling overhead. Like him or not (I could take him or leave him), Frank Lloyd Wright is probably one of the best known, and most skilled, American architects of all time. While Florida Southern's buildings are not his most famous pieces, they are fine work and are working examples of quality artistry by FLW. They speak highly of our President Ludd Spivey, when he convinced FLW to come design a campus.

Throughout Dr. Kerr's tenure at Florida Southern, she has made it her goal (through her skills as a fund raiser) to beautify the campus...one building at a time. She's torn down the buildings that made no sense, didn't fit the FLW theme, and worked to build buildings that made the campus stand out.  She's raised money to support the United Methodist Church (and our relations with the school), and she (along with a hard working maintenance staff and generous givers) has turned the college into a gorgeous campus over the past six years or so. As she's built buildings, she didn't just hire any random architect to come and build new buildings, she hired Robert A.M. Stern of Yale University's School of Architecture.  His mission was to design brand new, functional buildings, that attempted to emulate Frank Lloyd Wright's artistic vision, while bringing Florida Southern into the 21st century. He has, and continues to do, a phenomenal job.

Because when you visit a place, what it looks like says a lot about it.

Dr. Kerr knows that.  She gets it.

In all honesty, what Dr. Kerr has done with Florida Southern mimics, I think, what Steve Jobs has done with Apple during his tenure there. She got rid of unnecessary, nonsensical pieces and replaced them with new, beautiful, architecturally-fitting buildings and landscapes that say quite a bit about where Florida Southern is, and where it is going. Because while the outside does not always give us a clear image of the inside, it says a lot about attitudes and forward thinking ideas. I think Duke University's campus reflects the same mindset.

So, does it matter what Florida Southern looks like on the outside? Yes, yes it does. It's not about attracting more students, although that certainly is a byproduct. It's not about "fooling" the outside world. It's not even about getting Florida Southern's name on the map. Florida Southern's beauty is about creating a gorgeous environment where young minds can come to be molded, shaped, and changed. Florida Southern's environment says a lot about the future of the college and where the leadership behind the school is taking the school. Ludd Spivey is regarded around campus as a brilliant mind who brought the school back from devastation in a tough economic time and changed the campus to be the "temple of education" that he thought it needed to be. Dr. Kerr's transformation of the campus is perhaps not as dramatic, but I think she's done for the school what few Presidents would have dreamed possible.

Florida Southern's tagline is: On the move!

And it is a very, very appropriate tagline. I think the Princeton Review's choice of Florida Southern as the most beautiful campus is complete affirmation of that fact.

Dr. Kerr ought to be congratulated, not criticized, as she has done an extraordinary job.

-B

See below when Florida Southern was featured on the Travel Channel (and my Grandmother in law talking about how she helped to build the Buckner Building).

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KSjlqERhAq4]

Did you catch the Travel Channel's quality videography at 3:22?