Curry kicked things off by asking Gingrich about news that it was actually Rick Santorum, and not Mitt Romney, who won the Iowa primary. Doesn’t this make Santorum, and not Gingrich, the obvious alternative to front-runner Romney? Well, recent polling shows, “I’m clearly within five points now of beating Romney,” or, as of last night, beating Romney by two points, said Gingrich, calling himself the only effective conservative vote.

Gingrich also said, although he ran a “positive campaign” in Iowa, he soon discovered that he’d have to match Romney’s “willingness to be very, very clear.” He also denied playing “the race card,” so to speak, in South Carolina in order to win more votes.

RELATED: Drudge Gets Exclusive, But When Will ABC Air Interview With Marianne Gingrich?

He then addressed his former wife’s upcoming interview:

Look, I’m not going to say anything negative about Marianne. My two daughters, Cathy and Jackie, have sent a letter to the president of ABC News saying, from a family perspective, they think this is totally wrong. They think ABC should not air anything like this, and that intruding into family things that are a decade, more than a decade old, are simply wrong. Now, I’ll let my daughters speak for it; I’m sure they’d be glad to come on and chat with you about it. I’m not going to comment beyond that because I’m focused on the big issues that concern the American people, which are the current challenges we have, largely because of the failure of the Obama presidency.

Have a look, courtesy of NBC:

Watch the video below, courtesy of NBC News:

(H/T National Confidential)

Conservative bloggers lambasted Gregory for his Klu Klux Klan reference. Ed Morrissey from Hot Air called the Meet The Press anchor’s comments “jaw-dropping”, saying, “What’s the implication here? That the Democratic Party has “grand wizards” that can boot candidates out of presidential races against their will? Can someone please take the race card out of Gregory’s less-than-full deck, please?”

Shortly after his appearance this morning, Gregory apologized via Twitter, saying ““Wizard” remark this morning was a very poor choice of words. Did not mean to make that connection at all. Was not thinking. I apologize.”

Watch Gregory’s comment below on The Today Show via NBC:

(h/t Hot Air)

Newt Gingrich appeared on the Today show Monday morning to discuss Herman Cain‘s candidacy and the swirling sexual harassment accusations levied against the former Godfather’s Pizza CEO. But the “one-on-one” interview turned into a wonderful piece of media bashing by Gingrich, who, apparently, didn’t feel like being baited into answering the typical, “How will you defeat Barack Obama?” line of questioning. When Ann Curry asked if unanswered questions about the allegations against Cain would hurt him as a nominee, Gingrich took control of the interview and blasted the media for blowing the stories out of proportion:

“What does it mean to the elite news media that nobody in the country ever walks up to us and raises questions you all raise? Herman Cain, I suspect, is getting far fewer questions from citizens about these kind of things than he is about jobs, about other things, and I just think there’s a huge gap between the gossip that fascinates political reporters and the average person’s concern about the price of housing, the availability of jobs, solving the budget deficit without crushing the middle class. A lot of things that, frankly, the substance level are dramatically more important to most Americans.”

When pressed by Curry on whether or not character matters in choosing a presidential candidate, Gingrich said it did, but explained that the interest in these gosspiy stories has raged out of control — to a level where it might become detrimental to the news media as a whole:

“When the news media goes and finds an anonymous report about an anonymous incident, about which you have remarkably limited information, and you decide that matters more than every other issue in the campaign–that may put your judgment in doubt…being the institutional news media.”

Watch the clip of the interview below, courtesy of Today:

The party was held at the Gramercy Park Hotel, which, while fancy, also possesses an undeniable schmanciness as well. When you walk in, there’s no sterile check-in counter, just one guy behind a low antiquey table with a guest book on it. I thought he was just waiting for someone to bring him a latte. I got there an hour-and-a-half early, not so I could secure on-street parking, but for some other good, strategic reason.

Luckily, the Gramercy Park Terrace (or The ‘Rrace, as I like to call it) was open to the unfashionably early, so I went up to get the lay of the land. There, I was met by an MSNBC PR staffer, who showed me around, and got me a copy of Chris Matthews‘ Jack Kennedy: Elusive Hero to peruse while I waited. I also finally got to meet some of the MSNBC PR staff, whom I’d only ever spoken to via phone or email. In fact, it looked like MSNBC’s entire PR staff was there. If they were cops, I’d have been out robbing a bank.

The ‘Rrace is a lush, zen-like space with two open bars (!), lots of plants everywhere, and a muted, nature-themed decor. I took a few pictures, grabbed a Diet Coke (the bartender informed me that it takes more skill to pour one of those than any other drink), and sat down to read Matthews’ book until the partygoers arrived.

One of the first to arrive was MSNBC President Phil Griffin, followed closely by Mediaite Managing Editor Colby Hall (also a Project: In Vino operative), both of whom headed straight for the bar. That was my cue to grab a glass of champagne, just to blend in, you see. Michael Calderone was another early arrival, whom I hadn’t seen since the last media-elite book party I’d infiltrated, for Bill Press‘ Toxic Talk, so we spent some time catching up. Since then, Mike has gone from Yahoo! News over to The Huffington Post.

Also in attendance was the lovely and talented Ann Curry, who was also at the Mediaite launch party. In fact, there were quote a few Mediaite launch party alums, including Willie Geist (who claimed to read Mediaite every morning, and passed a quiz to prove it), and broadcasting giant Dan Rather and his wife, Jean (who really like the vibe of the ‘Rrace). In that way, these things are kind of like summer camp, but with better S’mores and booze.

Other luminaries in attendance included comedy legend Jerry Stiller, New York Times media wunderkind Brian Stelter, Game Change co-author John Heilemann, MSNBC anchor Tamron Hall (no relation to Colby), Andrew Ross Sorkin, PBS’ Charlie Rose, and a couple of my White House comrades, Renegade author Richard Wolffe and newly-minted MSNBC dayside star Alex Wagner.

Wolffe asked after my bum ticker, but I caught the subtext. He was obviously trying to enlist me in some sort of scheme to promote socialized medicine, so I played along. I congratulated Alex on her new show, and after my second glass of champagne with no food, corralled Phil Griffin to let him know that whoever decided to give Alex her own show ought to be promoted. Any idiot can see her megawatt TV appeal, but she was also one of the hardest-working reporters on the White House beat for Politics Daily.

In conversations with the denizens of this media ivory tower, there were a few consistent themes. Herman Cain’s recent troubles came up a lot, with the general consensus being that he could probably survive the scandal absent a flesh-and-blood accuser coming forward, but that his campaign needed to learn how to handle it better. James O’Keefe‘s recent activity was also the subject of some buzz, with requisite outrage over his treatment of Sam Stein, but also disappointment that his expose´s weren’t more interesting.

A few people even expressed some positive feelings about the burgeoning prime-time slate at Current TV, the feeling being that there’s room enough in the sky for two forward-leaning lineups to succeed.

Chris Matthews was there, of course, and though I missed his remarks due to an ill-timed smoke break, I did manage to hear his shout-out to Willie Geist as “the most influential man in America at 5:30 AM.”

Matthews worked the party tirelessly for several hours, rarely sitting, and as the crowd began to thin out, I approached him to see if he’d sit for a brief interview, “whenever you’re ready.”

“Sure,” he said, “let me just say good-bye to a few people.”

I set up my camcorder (which cleverly decided to ignore the fact that I had plugged a microphone into it), and antsily waited for Matthews to return. With a three hour drive ahead of me, I guess impatience got the better of me, and after a few minutes, I started angrily composing tweets in my head about how Chris Matthews had ditched me at his book party. Fortunately for me, he showed up shortly thereafter, and even though it was probably the last thing he felt like doing, answered all of my questions at length.

All in all, it was a very good night. True, nobody got hammered (although I did feel a little lightheaded after my 2nd champagne on an empty stomach, and had to snarf down 3 emergency Wagyu beef skewers), and I didn’t get the smoking gun footage on these elites that I’d hoped for, but as I boarded the elevator to head back to Jersey, I felt pretty good about the whole thing. As the doors closed, a tall, strikingly beautiful woman hopped into the elevator. As we descended, she eyed my tripod, smiled, and asked, “Were you the photographer at the Victoria’s Secret party?”

No. No, I was not.

Take a look at are some photos from the event, via my crummy camcorder and MSNBC:

NEXT>>>> Photos from Chris Matthews’ Book Party

“But you didn’t finalize a bill, Mr. Vice President,” Curry countered. “No. Hey! There’s no way to finalize a bill,” Biden replied. “It’s very clear these guys have no intention. When we put this bill together, we put together elements of a bill that they had always supported. When have Republicans been against tax cuts for small businesses? When have they been against working on infrastructure? When have they been against giving veterans a break? We put this bill after hundreds of hours of negotiations on debt and many other things with the Republicans the last two years.”

Curry followed up Biden’s response by pointing to the economic suffering in the country, and asking if there wasn’t a “moral obligation” for President Obama and the Republicans in Congress to come to some kind of agreement on jobs before the next election.

“Absolutely, positively Ann!” exclaimed Biden. “We have done everything. we bent over backwards. we had basically a deal on cutting the debt. they could not sell it to their own members. they made it clear under no circumstances are they prepared to pay for anything that we need to do now, so we don’t raise the debt further, in order to help people to have jobs. This is crazy!”

Curry finished the interview by provocatively asking if Biden would be replaced as the Vice Presidential nominee on the Democratic ticket.

“There’s never been a question about that,” Biden chuckled. “The president’s made that clear and hardly anybody is raising it anymore. I guess it’s parlor game talk but the parlor is even bare down here now.”

Watch the Vice President’s interview below via NBC:

Holt isn’t at a loss for work himself, as he’s often seen on NBC and MSNBC. Like, really often. (He even admitted that “Sometimes, I’ll be flipping the channel at home and think, ‘Wow, there’s a lot of me on TV.’”) He’ll also be continuing his job as the co-anchor of the Today show’s weekend edition and fill-in anchor / correspondent for NBC Nightly News with Brian Williams and Today.

h/t Inside Dateline

See, in his book, Suskind misspells Burnett’s name as “Erin Burkett.” In an article published online earlier today, USA Today picked up on the misspelling, as well as on other mistakes in the book:

The book, officially released today, does have its share of errors. Erin Burnett, then a journalist with CNBC and now with CNN, is identified as Erin Burkett; David Axelrod is identified as Obama’s 2008 campaign manager; that title actually belonged to David Plouffe.

In the book, Suskind says the unemployment rate in June of 2009 stood at 8.0%; it was actually 9.5%.

“I would caution anyone to assume that if you can’t get those things right, that you suddenly get the broader analysis right,” said White House spokesman Jay Carney. “That analysis is wrong.”

Then, on the Today, co-host Ann Curry corrected the spelling of Burnett’s name… but mistakenly referred to her place of work as CNBC, not CNN.

And then, as always, there’s Twitter’s role in this increasingly strange story: In response to the media attention surrounding Suskind’s mistake, a new @ErinBurkett account has been created. And, evidently, @ErinBurkett is no great fan of @ErinBurnettCNN:

We’ve heard from a source close to Burnett that the anchor “may respond.”

BUT THEN ALSO: Erin Burkett actually exists. She’s a jazzy, bluesy singer with very nice hair, and she may end up on Out Front, Erin Burnett’s CNN show. In the meantime, here’s a reminder, from the show’s Twitter account, on how to spell its star’s name:

In addition to big media influencers, the list also includes women from various other competitive fields, including tech (Facebook’s Sheryl Sandberg comes in at #5), entertainment (Lady Gaga finds herself in the #11 spot), business (Walmart heiress Alice Walton comes in at #85) and politics (Michele Bachmann gets the #22 spot, while Sarah Palin comes in at #34.) Topping the list this year is German Chancellor Angela Merkel.

For a look at the full list — including bios of those who made the cut — visit Forbes‘ website.

In the meantime, take a look at the gallery below and tell us — Do you agree with Forbes‘ media picks? Who would you have added or left off?

Jill Abramson, #8 (1 of 10)

Next ►

Executive Editor, The New York Times

A Connecticut woman who lost her eyes, hands and most of her face in a horrific chimpanzee attack has revealed the results of a face transplant. Charla Nash, who was visiting a friend when the friend’s chimp charged and attacked her, survived the attack and underwent face transplant surgery in May. “I’m beginning to feel my jaw and chin,” she told TODAY. “And I can move my mouth and smile. I still feel weak. But little by little I’m getting stronger.”

Family members talked to TODAY‘s Ann Curry, describing Nash’s recovery as amazing:

Her daughter, Brianna, is thrilled and heartened by Charla’s progress. “I think she is impatient for recovery,” Brianna told TODAY. “Her speech is getting much better and she’s been getting up and starting to eat.”

When Charla told doctors at a recent follow-up visit that she’d regained her sense of smell, an amazed Brianna could only utter one word: “Wow.”

Watch it here, from NBC News:

In an exclusive, TODAY will reveal Charla Nash‘s new face for the first time. Nash, the Connecticut woman who was disfigured in a horrific chimp attack, underwent face transplant surgery. NBC News reports TODAY’s Ann Curry will debut post-surgery photos and video of Nash (shown in photo taken before the attack) on Thursday morning’s show. Nash’s daughter Briana and brother Stephen will join Curry in studio to talk about how Nash is doing since the face transplant.

Nash was disfigured in the 2009 attack, losing her eyes, hands and most of her face when a friend’s pet chimpanzee attacked her. The 200-pound animal was shot and killed by police.

CBS News recently reported that Nash’s first post-surgery request from doctors was for a hamburger:

Dr. Bohdan Pomahac led a 30-member surgical team to perform the 20-hour operation, which included a double hand transplant on Nash, but the hands failed to take and were removed.

Nash’s brother says she looks “fantastic.”

During a segment on water animals, a scarlet ibis (an type of red, exotic bird for those of you not acquainted with Ornithology) took flight and found a perch on Matt Lauer‘s head.

Lauer handled it like a champ, only freaking out a little bit when the bird’s handler fed it a fish and its rather sharp looking claws dug into his head. He either remained oblivious to, or decided to accept the fact that his balding head was squarely the focus of the shot as the camera zoomed in on the action.

Ann Curry fit in a joke about Lauder being obsessed with Purell, Lauer politely refused the offer for another bird topper, missed an obvious joke about Kate Middleton/crazy hats and shared that the bird must have “mistook me for a turtle”.

All in all, classic Today silliness that maybe tops that time Al Roker pretended like he was in Dirty Dancing.

Watch the clip below:

Watch the magic unfold around the 2:15 mark, courtesy of NBC:

Last night, Anderson Cooper again boldly defended the indefensible, putting “all those who dare to disparage Octomom Nadia Suleman” on his RidicuList (and for those of you who write for Washington-based blogs, before you write an outraged post about Coop, be advised: Cooper is being what we call sarcastic). At any rate, reflecting on Suleman’s recent visit to NBC’s TODAY, where her brood of 14 kids, including eight two year olds, wreaked havoc on the set, sending both Ann Curry and David Gregory into baby wrangling duty, Cooper suggests all you “haters” knock it down a notch.

“I, for one, happen to believe that children are our future,” Cooper explained on CNN’s AC 360 Monday night. “Yes, that’s right. Ergo, Octomom is fourteen times more concerned about the future than the rest of us. Oh yeah, wrap your mind around that little nugget. Octomom is a hero in my book, and her kids are angels.” And Cooper proceeds to show a clip from Octomom’s trainwreck interview on TODAY, where any talk was fully overwhelmed by kids climbing–and falling–over the set, into hot lights, and, at leaving Cooper wondering if NBC’s David Gregory might’ve wished he were safely back in Washington on the sedate set of Meet the Press. As Cooper asks, “was that David Gregory picking up poop?”

Did I remind you DC bloggers about the sarcasm thing yet? Hope so.

In the meantime, here it is, submitted for your enjoyment, from CNN:

DeMint argued that the government has enough assets and enough money in trust accounts to pay benefits on entitlements, so that even if the debt ceiling is not raised, a default would not immediately occur. DeMint explains:

“It’s not ideal, but we don’t need to panic and rush into a deal. And the President has actually been burning the clock with these secret negotiations pushing us up against a deadline so he can create this panic.”

And since DeMint says “last year’s election was about getting control of our debt” his belief is that Obama only gets an increase in the debt limit if Republicans get their desired spending cuts. Summing up, even though he freely admits that he doesn’t see a President when he looks at himself in the mirror, he is determined to help the eventual Republican candidate win since “what this President is doing: growing the government, expanding the debt – we cannot take another four years.”

Watch the clip from NBC below:

For her part, Suleman tried to explain that the children’s rambunctiousness (which really wasn’t that bad considering their age and number) as unusual and caused by lack of sleep. More importantly though, she also said that the recent headline-making interview in In Touch was completely fabricated, that she never talked to them, and that she was considering legal action. Curry asked how she deals with all the nasty things written about her on the Internet and Suleman said she doesn’t read it as it would be of no help to the kids to focus on her regrets now. She also said that she can’t worry about the fear of not giving any one of her kids enough attention.

Still, one has to wonder, when a professional Today cameraman is having a hard time getting all of the kids in focus without leaving one out, how can a mother do that with parenting?

Side note: Worst part of the segment? Curry trying to shoehorn Casey Anthony into the discussion.

Watch the clip from NBC below:

Maddow first suggested Sarah Palin could wait a long time before entering the race for President, since everyone else needs much more time to introduce themselves to the country than Palin. Also Maddow disputed the idea that Palin and Michele Bachmann are direct competitors, arguing we are “past the glass ceiling wherein people have to compete to be the female candidate.” Yet strangely Maddow saved her harshest critique for Christie, someone who claims he is definitely not running for President.

Christie made comments that President Obama can’t accomplish anything because he is preoccupied with being liked by everyone. Maddow began to argue in response that Christie’s brand is “I am the guy that screams at my own constituents,” when Curry interjected suggesting she focus less on personal attacks. Maddow responded:

“It’s not an ad hominem argument, Chris Christie is auditioning for Vice President. Chris Christie would like to be taken seriously on the national stage. That’s why he is embarrassing himself in his own state . . . and his brand is I will be rude and rudeness is actually what he’s trying to sell as a form of political authenticity.”

Whether such statements can be considered ad hominem attacks, or merely just political commentary, seems to depend on how one defines the latin term. Yet Maddow makes it clear, that not everyone likes Christie’s blunt brand.

Watch the clip from NBC below:

With Michele Bachmann being described as the GOP frontrunner in Iowa, former Minnesota governor Tim Pawlenty dimissed early polling that’s put the Republican presidential candidate in the single digits in Iowa, and promised he’d be a real contender. In an interview on NBC’s TODAY, “the reality is, at this point Mike Huckabee was at four percent, we’re at six percent, and he ended up winning the Iowa caucuses, so there’s plenty of time to do well in Iowa and beyond.”

Watch it here, from NBC:

President Obama‘s revealing interview on NBC’s TODAY covered plenty of ground, from the scandal surrounding Rep. Anthony Weiner to the economy, his family, and the president’s own feelings about his time in office. “I’m sure there are days where I say that one term is enough,’’ Obama said. “What keeps me going is a belief that the work that we started in 2009 is not yet complete.’’ The president told TODAY co-host Ann Curry that if, for some reason, he should decide not to seek a second term, his wife and daughters would not be disappointed.

“The girls seem to be thriving,’’ he said. “They continue to surprise me with how poised, well-mannered, [and] kind they are turning out even in the hothouse environment of the White House.’’

The president also invoked family in his comments on the future of Rep. Weiner, saying the congressman had embarrassed himself, his family and friends, and if Obama were in the same situation, “I would resign.”

But the president’s strongest words, perhaps, were about the economy, and the suggestion that Obama is somehow not serious about improving the lives of average Americans:

“I think ordinary folks understand I spend all my time thinking about this stuff, because I’m talking to these folks every single day,’’ he said. “When I see them at meetings, and they start crying, the notion, somehow, that I’m calm about that, is nonsense. But what is true is that as president, my job is to make sure that I am finding every good idea that we can to move the country forward.’’

Watch it here, from NBC News:

From MSNBC.com:

“’I can tell you that if it was me, I would resign,’ Obama told Curry.

…

‘When you get to the point where, because of various personal distractions, you can’t serve as effectively as you need to, at the time when people are worrying about jobs, and their mortgages, and paying the bills — then you should probably step back,’ Obama said.

Obama added that what Weiner did was ‘highly inappropriate’ and that he has ‘embarrassed himself’ and his wife and family, but said it will ultimately come down to a decision by Weiner and his constituents as to whether he will continue in office.”

Apparently, most of the interview will actually echo Carney’s comments with Obama saying that the Weiner situation is low on his radar and much less important than other pressing information like “joblessness, the economy and Afghanistan.”

Watch the report from Fox News below:

In a typically over-the-top and viral-ready farewell from TODAY to its departing co-host Meredith Vieira, the NBC morning show’s entire staff, from co-host Matt Lauer to Vieira’s replacement Ann Curry and every member of the show’s production team–all wearing matching t-shirts–took to Rockefeller Plaza in a lip sync performance right out of Glee.

Running arm in arm with her fellow anchors through a huge crowd of fans to the tune of Journey’s arena anthem Don’t Stop Believin,’ Vieira was clearly emotional–and surprised–as her final day at TODAY came to a close Wednesday morning. NBC’s Jimmy Fallon was among the unexpected guests bidding Vieira farewell, along with Carole King, who performed You’ve Got a Friend.

The production number is well worth watching. Here it is, from NBC:

MSNBC’s Rundown co-host Chuck Todd said farewell to his co-host Savannah Guthrie Friday, popping the cork for an on-set champagne toast as Guthrie prepares for her move to NBC’s TODAY. In a tweet about the morning, Guthrie told followers she and Todd were “kickin it like KLG and Hoda,” a reference to TODAY’s Kathie Lee Gifford and Hoda Kotb, who’ve been known to enjoy a late morning mimosa from time to time.

Guthrie moves into the news reader role at TODAY as part of the shuffle that includes Ann Curry replacing the departing Meredith Vieira.

In her first comments since announcing on-air this morning that she would leave NBC’s TODAY in June, Meredith Vieira told reporters it was a “tough decision” that took months to make to decide to depart the program. “I had to go with my gut, but it doesn’t make it any easier.”

Vieira said she began considering a departure from television’s top-rated network morning show in January, but didn’t say anything about the move officially until she announced her decision Monday morning on the show–confirming one of the worst kept secrets in television. “It didn’t take WikiLeaks for this to come out,” said NBC News president Steve Capus.

Vieira said the decision to walk away from TODAY was not easy, and she didn’t make up her mind until the last minute. “I was feeling torn, because I love it here,” she said. “But I had personal issues that were weighing on me.” It’s been reported that Vieira’s husband Richard is ailing, though she said today that he is in good health. Vieira said stories describing her departure as a move being forced by a gravely ill spouse were simply wrong. “Poor Meredith and her invalid husband,” she said, describing the tone of stories she read. “It diminished him, those articles, and it diminished me. I just wanted to set the record straight.”

Vieira’s last day on TODAY will be June 8. Her replacement beside Matt Lauer is Ann Curry, who has long been a part of TODAY as news reader and fill-in co-host. TODAY executive producer Jim Bell said the search for Vieira’s replacement was not a difficult one. “We didn’t have to go too far, just ten feet over to the newsdesk.”

The result is a transition that the network hopes and expects will be “seamless.” Capus says having so much talent associated with one program, and being able to move Curry into the co-host’s role, demonstrates that the move is being done “from a position of strength.”

As for rumors that another major shakeup–the departure of Lauer–could be in the works, Lauer confirmed he had met with departing CBS News anchor (and former TODAY co-host Katie Couric, but no, there won’t be a Lauer-Couric daytime show. “It’s not going to happen.” Lauer, who said of Vieira, “I have never enjoyed working with anyone as much as Meredith,” also insisted he’s firmly entrenched in his spot on the couch at TODAY.

“I read the speculation as well,” said Lauer. “I have a long term deal with NBC. I love this job. I love this place. It’s not worth talking about. I’m going to be here a while.”

Capus says NBC is now negotiating with Vieira on a new arrangement that will keep her at the network in some capacity, reporting occasionally for TODAY and perhaps working on other projects. “We love what Meredith has done, and we’re looking for a way to keep it going.”

Lauer and Curry described Vieira’s impact on the show, and what a joy it was to work with her. Curry will be replacing Vieira as Lauer’s co-host and Morales will be replacing Curry. Continuing the musical chairs, White House correspondent and MSNBC anchor Savannah Guthrie will replace Morales to co-host the show’s third hour. Vieira plans on remaining with NBC News, in a diminished capacity and suggested she might drop by her second home at Today from time to time.

Watch the clip from NBC below:

But we are also told that CBS has a bigger prize in mind with that possible hire, wooing Joe Scarborough and Mika Brzezinski to come host that show when their contracts are up within the year. That would be an interesting albeit risky move since despite the incredible buzz that show gets among movers and shakers, its national audience is still puny even compared to CBS’ current programming. But at this point, it seems CBS will try anything to resuscitate that perennially third place and buzzless show.

This comes in the midst of a seismic shift at the national morning shows these days with Ann Curry preparing to take over for Meredith Vieira at Today, Natalie Morales taking over Ann’s job as newsreader and Mediaite has learned that NBC will announce (probably today) that Savannah Guthrie is taking over Morales’ old spot at 9 AM. This means that the network has passed over Amy Robach who has been a regular fixture in the 9am hour as well as the Saturday Today co-host. Over at ABC Josh Eliot began his new job as the newsreader at GMA and Lara Spencer will be co-hosting the 8 AM hour.

So would Morning Joe and Mika help change CBS fortunes? Maybe, but they would probably have to change the show significantly from its primarily insider political buzz to appeal to a broader audience. But in the end, CBS demonstrated that they could change the entire morning anchor team without really changing the ratings so they may decide that with a bold move like this, they really have nothing to lose.

When reached, a CBS spokesperson told Mediaite “As always we decline to comment on rumor and speculation. We have no announcement to make.”

The Hollywood Reporter is citing “sources with direct knowledge of the situation” to report Meredith Vieira, as expected, will be leaving NBC’s dominant TODAY show in June, nearly three months before the end of her contract. Ann Curry will take Vieira’s spot as co-host alongside Matt Lauer, according to the report, and Natalie Morales will replace Curry as newsreader.

Insiders say the moves were made to carefully protect the TODAY brand from a newly invigorated challenge by ABC’s Good Morning America:

By elevating Curry and Morales, Today executives have the benefit of personalities that are familiar to viewers at a time of pronounced tumult in television news in general. Earlier this week, Katie Couric announced that she will step down as anchor of the CBS Evening News. And while she will mount a daytime program with former NBC News executive Jeff Zucker, Couric is also looking for a part-time perch at a news division with ABC News among her suitors. ABC News president Ben Sherwood has already hired several new faces: The Insider’s Lara Spencer and ESPN’s Josh Elliott will join Good Morning America.

In the article, a cover story in Guideposts magazine, Curry wrote the answer to her question of “what is it I need to be doing” came in the form of humanitarian reporting, which she has done in the years since, traveling around the world and solidifying her stature as one of NBC News’ top correspondents. She shared a story from her reporting with Guideposts:

That’s what brings me back to places like Congo. Most people don’t realize it is the site of the deadliest conflict since World War II. The fighting and war crimes against civilians challenge every definition of decency. Thousands die every month from malnutrition and disease.

Yet even in this place of suffering, it is possible to find hope. I’ll never forget Sifa, an 18-year-old Congolese woman I met in February 2008. I talked to her in the hospital. What she told me made me weep. Her parents were killed in front of her. She ran, but the killers caught her, chained her to a tree and raped her. She became pregnant; when the baby came, everything inside her broke. “Do you want revenge?” I asked.

She said, “No, all I want is to rise from this bed, thank the people who helped me and work for God.”

Watch it, from NBC:

Leisz sued the doctor who did her surgery and won $115,000–but she said Friday she still endures daily pain and is at risk for blindness. She says a procedure called “eyelid skin graft” is possible, but it requires major surgery and brings added risk. “I could be totally disfigured.”

As for sleep, she says there’s a “whole regime” she has to go through, including wearing a mask and running a humidifier, and the same goes for taking a shower, which requires putting gel in her eyes.

Watch it here, from NBC: