Word: nbc
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Dates: during 1980-1989
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...format of the morning show is almost as old as television itself. Like many another of the medium's innovations, it was laid out by NBC's Wunderkind president Sylvester ("Pat") Weaver in the early '50s. "We want America to shave, to eat, to dress, to get to work on time," he wrote in a memo outlining what he had in mind. "But we also want America to be well informed, to be amused, to be lightened in spirit and in heart, and to be reinforced in inner resolution through knowledge...
...landed with a thump. Critics were hostile, advertisers were wary, and audiences were slow to build. Though Host Dave Garroway gave viewers exactly what Weaver wanted them to have, NBC was ready to kill the show after the first year. Salvation came in the furry form of J. Fred Muggs, a baby chimpanzee. His owners, two former NBC pages, brought him to visit the set, and a producer decided to put him before the cameras. As Darwin discovered long ago, man's primitive cousins are endlessly fascinating, and soon just about everyone in the country-or so it seemed...
...show, Today is now imitating Good Morning imitating Today. The changes began in 1976 under Paul Friedman: interviews were cut down and sharpened. Phil Donahue, whose syndicated talk show is seen by 8.5 million viewers daily, was hired for a shorter four-times-a-week Today segment. Says one NBC insider: "The thrust was 'Let's figure out what makes Good Morning successful and duplicate...
Since Hartman was the key to that success, the network even tried to clone him. NBC executives quietly approached another actor, Alan Alda of MASH, to see if he would like to replace Brokaw. Alda was flattered but said...
...Garner in the Polaroid commercials. She was brought in last summer to substitute for Pauley, who was getting married to Cartoonist Garry Trudeau (Doonesbury). Though no one said as much, it seemed clear that if Hartley had done well, the job might have been hers. She did not impress NBC, however-the result of sabotage from the staff, according to Hartley-and Pauley's contract was extended three years...