NBC erred in calling Sarah Palin a 'co-host' during her 'Today' show stint

From NY Daily News: NBC erred in calling Sarah Palin a 'co-host' during her 'Today' show stint

Okay, admit it, the folks at NBC’s “Today” show blew it with Sarah Palin.

No, no, not in booking her. That was a masterstroke for NBC and Fox News, both of which gained high visibility points for bringing her in last Tuesday.

Where the people at “Today” messed up was by calling Palin a “co-host” and not just an extended guest.

By giving her the exalted co-host title, “Today” producers and NBC News officials triggered a debate over the division’s sense of credibility that continues a week after the former Alaska governor graced the show.

In short, a Ringling Bros.-worthy piece of marketing turns into a discussion about, well, how serious they are at NBC News.

That’s just a crock of feathers.

Former “Today” host Bryant Gumbel, now host of HBO’s terrific “Real Sports,” told Newsweek’s Howard Kurtz he was “embarrassed” by the Palin show and believes hosts “used to be judged not just on their popularity level but the extent to which they were capable of interviewing someone or reporting on a situation, or able to have a degree of gravitas. Now that is secondary to being popular.”

RELATED: COURIC'S 'GMA' FINALLY BEATS 'TODAY'

He’s not alone, nor is he the sharpest critic of NBC’s move. Some naysayers suggested Palin’s half dozen segments in a two-hour show changed the face of TV news.

Okay, maybe that’s an overstatement.

But calling Palin anything more than a guest left NBC News vulnerable to a debate that shouldn’t have even happened.

Palin didn’t handle big interviews. She wasn’t sent out to cover breaking news. She wasn’t called on to convey any critical information.

Her spotlight moment came when Matt Lauer interviewed her, not vice versa.

She was a guest with a fancy title — a guest who could get people talking and might blunt the potential impact of former “Today” host Katie Couric filling in for a vacationing Robin Roberts over on ABC’s “Good Morning America.”

That was critical for NBC because “GMA” lately has been closing the gap on “Today.”

Going into the week, ABC had pulled to within 137,000 viewers, potentially jeopardizing “Today’s” streak of winning 850 consecutive weeks.

Based on preliminary figures, it looks like the streak continues. ABC won Wednesday, but NBC took the other days — including Tuesday, when Couric and Palin went head to head.

In the larger picture, ABC and NBC should both be commended. By casting Couric in the starring role in the mornings — and NBC’s response with Palin — they got people, notably the media, talking about morning television in a way they hadn’t in a long time.

And despite the hand-wringing — the embarassments, if you will — serious journalism survived.