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Until this week, the worst-kept secret in morning television was that NBC Today co-host Katie Couric was leaving to anchor The CBS Evening News.
Thursday, the second-worst-kept secret -- that The View's Meredith Vieira would replace Couric -- became official. NBC announced that Vieira, 52, will be paired with Matt Lauer on the top-rated morning show in September.
"I thought about this long and hard, and I am so, so honored to join this family," said Vieira, a onetime 60 Minutes correspondent who hosts daytime's Who Wants to Be a Millionaire and has done Bayer aspirin commercials.
"I know what a great show Today is. I have been watching it for as long as I can remember, and to actually be a part of this group means more to me than you're ever going to know," said the mother of three teenagers. "I just want to make everyone proud."
Network news analyst Andrew Tyndall said that in choosing Vieira, who is popular with women through hosting The View, NBC could draw from that audience, countering gains that second-place ABC's Good Morning America has made among female viewers, who make up the majority of morning-show audiences. "Anyway you slice it, the way Today is vulnerable against GMA is with women," he said.
In welcoming Vieira at a press conference in Manhattan, Lauer admitted as much. He said Today -- with hosts including Al Roker and Ann Curry -- is in great shape, but Vieira could be a new attraction: "One of the things we want to do in introducing Meredith to our audience -- and of course bringing over some of her audience -- is to let people know that it's time to flex our muscles, and Meredith is certainly a part of that."
In a statement, Couric, who leaves Today in May, said, "I'm thrilled that someone with Meredith's broad range of experiences is inheriting one of the greatest jobs in television. I wish Meredith the best of luck and hope she finds her time at Today to be as exciting and rewarding as I have."
Us Weekly editor Janice Min says that Vieira is the perfect choice. "Even in her role on The View, where strong personalities dominate, she somehow managed to maintain a neutral role as almost the unofficial moderator," she says. "That kind of objectivity and lack of 'Look at me! Look at me!' ego definitely will sit well with viewers in the morning."
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