So my phone rings, and it’s my friend who has her Masters in Journalism from Columbia. Yeah, she’s smart. She also knows the broadcast/news/entertainment business and is always the first to point out such things as industry trends and the like. This call was about the TODAY Show’s hiring none other than, and it hurts me to type this, Kathy (cough cough) Leigh (gag) Gifford.
If that name doesn’t bring a shutter to you, perhaps you’ve been one of the lucky ones who has forgotten this attention-addicted egomaniac who used to sit next to Regis Philbin on a morning TV show that would best qualify as a tool to force the unemployed to seek work in lieu of another insipid hour of nonsense thanks to the afore mentioned Kathy (cough cough) Leigh (gag) Gifford.
Oh, you say, remembering. THAT chick. The one who talked about her kids all the time and kept telling people she would pray for them. Yeah, ok. And I’ll go to your house and rearrange your filing cabinets after doing your taxes. Uh huh.
Well, some genius at NBC is getting a fat paycheck to come up with the idea of hiring one of the most annoying people in the country to come on board at TODAY. I want to know who that person is because I am going to get their job. I’m a stockholder.
WHY is the world would ANYBODY think Kathy (cough cough) Leigh (gag) Gifford would add to any TV situation, let alone the venerable TODAY franchise? I’ve been a TODAY fan for longer than I care to tell you about. I’ve prepared for my first real job out of college while Willard, Jane and Bryant told me about what was going on in the world. I fed my infant son while John Palmer read the news. I was watching TODAY on September 11 when Katie Couric first mentioned a problem at the Trade Towers. It’s been my choice in morning TV viewing for a long, long time. I’m their target demo and it worked. I’m still their demo, with more disposable income (some months) but I’m throwing in the towel.
And as a sidebar, I don’t know one single person who likes this, uh, ‘talent’. Nobody. Ironically, the news of this comes after a week of layoffs across the country at network owned and operated TV stations. Veteran talent let go because the business is changing. Money isn’t there. Need to find a new model for success. Oh, I got it – let’s spend a lot of money on someone who ISN’T gonna work!
Knowing what I do about TV marketing, I can’t imagine ANY research material that shows Kathy (cough cough) Leigh (gag) Gifford and her patently untalented, uninterested shtick bringing any eyeballs to TODAY. Which one of the brain trust at NBC is responsible for this? The one who has NO idea about the basic rule of marketing: first do no harm.
