They've been warming up all week. But this morning NBC kicked off its Olympics coverage in earnest from the temporary mountaintop studio of the Today Show. The network's decision to put Matt Lauer and Meredith Vieira 3800 feet above Vancouver on Grouse Mountain was brilliant. The mountain agreed to open to the public around the clock (snow problems aside) so that the live broadcast at 4am Pacific Time wouldn't have a lifeless backdrop. (more...)

video If you are a watcher of the nightly network newscasts you probably noticed that the all the networks had got their teams on the ground in Haiti in order to be able to broadcast live from there last night. NBC not only sent Brian Williams but also Ann Curry and Al Roker from the Today Show team (video below) who took turns reporting back to Lester Holt last night from a scavenged satellite phone a television camera (via the generosity of Reuters) that did not sync up (there is something weirdly affecting in this day and age to see even the most advanced media outlets struggle with technology). Obviously up until sometime yesterday afternoon CNN owned the coverage, primarily because reporting breaking news is what they do best and they were able to get on the ground before anyone else. (more...)

As if Today show weather anchor Al Roker doesn't have enough jobs already, he's adding a new title to his resume - murder mystery author. And his first release, The Morning Show Murders, takes place at a morning show and involves the murder of the show's executive producer. How does that make you feel, Today show EP Jim Bell? (more...)

In a week-long prank battle dubbed "Today Gets A Laugh," the hosts of the popular morning show traded tricks in order to playfully embarrass the unsuspecting. So with mischief in the air, you'd think the cast would be a tad wary when TV Guide Magazine booked a photo shoot for the Today stars, claiming to have crowned them "The Greatest Television Cast of All Time." Preposterous, no? (more...)

VIDEO Yesterday we noted how you'll be seeing even more of Al Roker beginning on Monday. Well today we saw (or rather, heard) more than usual. (more...)

Al Roker is about to get even more TV time - beginning Monday, he co-hosts "Wake Up With Al" on The Weather Channel. The program, airing weekdays for an hour at 6amET, is co-hosted by The Weather Channel's Stephanie Abrams. So besides his three hours on Today, his MSNBC-produced shows, his work on The Food Network and more, you now get more Al in the morning. (more...)

The Internet has been crackling with weird, random celebrity death rumors since last Thursday, when Farrah Fawcett and Michael Jackson died. Thursday night rumors of Jeff Goldblum's demise were greatly exaggerated via Twitter (trending topic!); the actual death on Sunday of TV pitchman Billy Mays seems to have added to the actual celebrity-death trend (begun earlier last week by Ed McMahon), and exacerbated the trend-watching hysteria online (really, Al Roker?) So far, these are the false celebrity death rumors that have circulated: (more...)

Al Roker has a lively and very engaged Twitter feed, filled with replies and conversational back-and-forths (and weather reports, as Spencer Pratt no doubt would point out). I caught this exchange last night, between Al and some young punk. I love the inter-generational schooling going on here. Apparently My Little Margie was a big deal. See below: (Demerit to Al for perpetuating celebrity-death-trend hysteria; demerit to Byrdtweets for not knowing how to spell "Cronkite." Come on, now.)

I posted earlier earlier about about my friend Veronica De La Cruz, who has been working social media like crazy to save her brother Eric, who needs a heart transplant but couldn't get one due to ridiculous inter-state red tape (he's covered in Nevada but there are no centers who perform the operation; however, the nearest out-of-state facility is ineligible because his Nevada health insurance won't cover it).