TIME: Almanac 1990/1990 Time Magazine Compact Almanac, The (1991)(Time).iso/time/102389/10238900.002

Text File | 1990-09-22 | 4KB | 68 lines

VIDEO, Page 81

Exit Jane, Amid Turmoil

Today is jolted by a newcomer's rise and Pauley's departure


    Watching the three of them together has been, in the words of
one TV critic, "like looking at a broken marriage with the home
wrecker right there on the premises." The other woman in this
scenario: Deborah Norville, 31, a blond comer at NBC who was
brought in to read the news on the top-rated Today show. TV gossips
surmised that Norville was being groomed to replace Jane Pauley,
38, as Bryant Gumbel's co-host. Suddenly the Today show became
high-tension drama: Is Bryant being nicer to Deborah than to Jane?
Did you notice a chill in the air? Cue the organ music.

    Last week the soap opera took another turn. In the midst of
negotiations with the network over her future, Pauley disclosed to
the Washington Post that she will probably leave Today by the end
of the year. She will remain at NBC (her contract ties her to the
network for two more years), though in exactly what capacity has
yet to be determined.

    Pauley's departure is the latest in a series of jolts to NBC's
once happy morning family. The turmoil began early this year with
the leaking of an internal memo in which Gumbel bluntly criticized
several of his Today colleagues, notably weatherman Willard Scott.
Egos were still being massaged when the show went through a
behind-the-scenes shake-up: NBC Sports president Dick Ebersol was
given new responsibilities as the executive in charge of Today, an
unusual and controversial appointment for someone outside the News
division. Then came Norville's unseating of veteran John Palmer as
anchor of the Today newscasts. Norville's sudden prominence (unlike
Palmer, she occasionally gets to join Gumbel and Pauley on the
couch) reportedly nettled Pauley and touched off rumors that she
would soon be replaced.

    If nothing else, NBC executives seem guilty of violating a
cardinal TV principle, the one about fixing things that aren't
broken. Today is No. 1 in the morning-news ratings, and has been
for nearly four years. Yet its margin over ABC's Good Morning
America has been shrinking. For the past two weeks, Today has led
by only 0.4 of a rating point, and it has fallen to second place
in the key demographic group of women ages 25 to 54. "There were
a lot of people who thought the show was a little stale," says an
NBC executive, "and that maybe it's when you're on top that you
should do something about it."

    Trading Pauley for Norville, however, may be risky. Pauley, a
13-year veteran of the show, remains a widely recognized and
popular news personality, as well as the best interviewer among
the morning-show women. Norville, who joined the network as anchor
of NBC News at Sunrise in 1987, has yet to prove herself with a
national audience. Her chief success to date: as correspondent for
Bad Girls, a prime-time special about troubled teens that drew
sensational ratings in August. Her fast rise has reportedly miffed
many colleagues at NBC News. Last week she found herself the target
of criticism for appearing as "anchor" at a Philip Morris sales
presentation in February. Though the network had approved her
appearance, NBC News president Michael Gartner later expressed
doubts about its propriety. "Had we understood what was expected
of Deborah," he said, "we would not have participated."

    For Pauley, one of NBC's few authentic news stars, this daytime
drama may end happily. She is likely to be promised some prime-time
exposure, possibly as anchor of a series of news specials. The
future for Today is murkier. NBC insiders speculate that weatherman
Scott will follow Pauley out the door; one office rumor even has
Gumbel being replaced by Later host Bob Costas, who is close to
Ebersol. No telling what that would do for the Today ratings, but
it should give the Today soap opera a long run.