ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Monday, January 8, 1996 TAG: 9601110021
SECTION: EXTRA PAGE: 2 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: RENEE GRAHAM THE BOSTON GLOBE
On the morning he celebrated his 14th anniversary as host of the ``Today'' show - last Thursday - Bryant Gumbel announced that the 15th year would be his last.
Gumbel agreed to anchor the NBC morning show for one more year. But at a staff breakfast marking his 14 years with the program, Gumbel said the time had finally come for him to depart the program's famed Studio 8H.
``Fifteen years is a long time in one place,'' he said, ``and the world's too exciting to enjoy from just one vantage point.''
``When I first agreed to anchor `Today,' Dave Garroway [the program's first host] told me to do it for five years. `Any more than that,' he said, `and you wind up going in the woods to talk with a moose,''' Gumbel said. ``Well, I'm not ready to head to the woods just yet, because `Today' remains a vibrant, ever-changing program, and because I still think Dave's former chair is the best job for me in all of television.''
Gumbel has been host of ``Today'' longer than anyone in the program's 44-year history.
NBC News President Andrew Lack said the network is ``discussing a number of other projects with Bryant that I hope will keep him at NBC for the next 15 years.''
Calling Gumbel's journalistic skills ``legendary,'' Lack said, ``We are pleased that Bryant will continue with `Today' for what promises to be a very important year for the broadcast.''
On Thursday's ``Today'' show, Gumbel's anniversary was marked with a video essay of his years with the morning program. It featured comments from his former co-host, Jane Pauley, and Tom Brokaw, whom Gumbel replaced Jan. 4, 1982. In addition to Pauley, he has shared the anchor desk (now the anchor couch) with Deborah Norville and, now, Katie Couric.
``I'm looking forward to my 15th year as the host of `Today,' and to another year of helping to keep the show on top,'' Gumbel said.
Last week, ``Today'' scored its first yearly ratings victory since 1989 over ABC's ``Good Morning America.'' For 51 weeks, ``Today'' averaged a 4.3 rating (percentage of the nation's 95.9 million TV homes) and a 19 share (percentage of the sets in use). ``GMA'' averaged 4.2 rating/19 share; ``CBS This Morning'' averaged 2.5/11.
Last fall, there was wide speculation that Gumbel would leave the network after he was excluded from participation in the big television event that never was - an interview with O.J. Simpson following his acquittal on murder charges. Gumbel responded by taking a three-day hiatus.
But Paul Schulman, whose New York-based Paul Schulman & Co. buys commercial advertising time on the networks, doubted those events influenced Gumbel's decision.
``He maybe just feels he has done this - on to bigger and better,'' Schulman said. ``But he certainly is a very important player in the morning television arena, and replacing him will not be an easy task.''
Schulman would not speculate on Gumbel's replacement. The name of Matt Lauer, the ``Today'' show's news anchor, has been bandied about for the past year as Gumbel's likely successor. Lauer often assumes hosting duties when Gumbel is on vacation.
``They do have a year to get someone else in place, and right now that network cannot do anything wrong,'' Schulman said. ``They seem to be making all the right moves, so I wouldn't bet against whatever replacement they select.
``There's still a lot of very well-liked people remaining on the show. I don't think it's any kind of death knell for the `Today' show with him making this decision now.''
LENGTH: Medium: 71 lines ILLUSTRATION: PHOTO: Gumbel has been a ``Today'' show host longer thanby CNBanyone.