LA Times quotes Socolow in article on Matt Lauer’s ‘Today’ exit
Michael Socolow, a professor of communication and journalism at the University of Maine, was quoted in a Los Angeles Times article about how co-host Matt Lauer’s exit from NBC’s “Today” could affect the show’s ratings and morning television in general. One reason Lauer stayed at “Today” for so long is that the morning anchor job has maintained its high profile in the culture while broadcast TV ratings have faded, according to the article. Even as the audience for “Today” declined in recent years, Lauer remained the best-known — and one of the most liked — television personalities, the article states. Lauer’s outsized power was not necessarily healthy for the show, according to Socolow. “The $20-million-plus network television news anchor is done,” he said. “The Matt Lauer issue is a corporate management problem. And with Lauer gone, so will be the kind of control over personnel and broadcasts that set up these problems.”