Matt Lauer usually reports breaking news about other people. This morning Lauer was in the news for the same reason he has reported on so many others over the last few months. Lauer has been accused of misconduct toward a colleague and has been fired from the "Today" show, according to NBC.
The public is still trying to get over the shock of Charlie Rose being abruptly fired from "CBS This Morning" because of inappropriate behavior and harassment over the years.
Now the exact same thing has happened concerning a fixture at NBC. Therefore, two men from two of the three morning talk shows have been fired in the last couple of weeks.
The complaint
NBC News president Andrew Lack wrote in a memo on Wednesday morning that the network had received a detailed complaint on Monday night. The complaint came from a colleague accusing Lauer of inappropriate workplace behavior. The complaint was too detailed to be overlooked. Lack said after a thorough review the allegation appeared to be a clear violation of NBC's standards. He added that the evidence proved that this may not have been the only incident even though it is the first complaint received over Lauer's 20 years at NBC News.
Therefore, Lauer's termination was immediate.
Sad day at NBC
Co-anchor Savannah Guthrie was emotional when she announced on "Today" why her former colleague wasn't reporting the news along with her on Wednesday morning. Guthrie held back tears as she said she and others at the network are heartbroken. She described Lauer as a dear, dear friend. However, she stated that she was also heartbroken for her brave colleague who told her story of harassment. The colleague's name was never mentioned.
The news must go on
Those who have to report sad news concerning their own are to be commended. When Charlie Rose was dismissed without warning Gayle King and Norah O'Donnell had to pick up the slack while being heartbroken.
First, they had to explain to the public why Rose was not at the news desk.
The same thing happened with Savannah Guthrie who had Hoda Kotb by her side on Wednesday morning instead of her friend and former co-anchor. They had to hide their disappointment and broken hearts.
Lauer became the co-anchor for the news show on January 6, 1997. The 59-year-old anchor replaced Bryant Gumbel. Since then, Lauer has reported on others who have been fired or dismissed from their positions at NBC including Bryan Williams, Ann Curry and Billy Bush. At the time, Curry and many others believed Lauer had something to do with her losing her position.