‘Today Show’ Host Ann Curry Being Forced Out — Is It Matt Lauer’s Fault?

Matt's inner voice: "I hate her like poison."

I've heard rumors about Matt Lauer disliking new-ish co-host, Ann Curry, who replaced Meredith Vieira last year.  Now, soon after Matt signed on to stay with The Today Show, all hell is breaking loose because the ratings are down and the Olympics are coming up.

via: NYTimes.com

The New York Times reports that Curry, who replaced Meredith Vieira as co-anchor on NBC's morning show "Today" last year, is on her way out, with a decision coming as early as next week.

According to the Times, NBC executives are negotiating with Curry in an effort to find a different position for her, possibly as a foreign correspondent. The Times' Brian Stelter writes that Curry, who is reluctant to give up the position that she assumed a mere year ago, has hired attorney Robert Barnett, who represented Christiane Amanpour during her exit from ABC News' "This Week," to represent her in the negotiations.

One source told the Times that the network is hoping to complete Curry's departure by the Summer Olympics, which kick off in July, so the network -- which is airing the Olympics -- can move forward to the Games with a clean slate.

"They feel real pressure to get it done by the Olympics," the individual said.

If NBC does decide to replace Curry on "Today," concerns about waning ratings could be at the heart of it. In April, "Good Morning America" beat "Today" in total viewership for a full week, the first time that "GMA" could claim such a victory in 16 years.

And then we also had this snippiness from The Gawker waaaay back in March:

The subtext of that "rocky" transition, according to sources, is that Matt Lauer just "absolutely hates her" as a co-host and is fed up with watching Curry turn what was once NBC's most charismatic and engaging program into a joyless slog.

"Everybody knows she's gone," said one source. "Everybody knows she's gone," said another. "Everybody knows she's gone," said another.

But, if Curry can keep her damaged ego in check, there is also talk of repositioning her at NBC News as some sort of special foreign corespondent so she can get back to doing the more serious journalism she covets—and to keep her far, far away from most of the people she's annoyed during her Today Show stint.

So. Who's going to replace Ann Curry and where in the world will NBC hide her?