Just in case, some fresh faces on the bench for 'Today'

Philadelphia Inquirer ^ | Tue, Jul. 05, 2005 | Gail Shister

[Vision Thing]

Talk about a hot investment.

Alexis Glick, who three years ago was managing more than 200 floor traders at the New York Stock Exchange, is being mentioned as a possible successor to Today coanchor Katie Couric.

Since crossing over from CNBC to NBC's Today as a correspondent a year ago, Glick is getting increasing face time. She's seen almost daily in the 9-to-10 a.m. segment.

Couric, 48, has been Today's coanchor since April '91. Her estimated $12 million-a-year contract is up in May. Glick, 32 and, like Couric, a mother of two, is a far less costly TV newbie.

Do the math.

"Nonsense," new Today boss Jim Bell says. "It's summer. People are taking time off. Alexis is getting experience in the 9 o'clock hour - a place we really want to use to build our bench."

Smoothie Natalie Morales, an MSNBC anchor since '02, appears frequently in Today's first two hours and sometimes sits in for Couric. (Glick hasn't subbed for Couric yet.)

The boys' side of the bench includes MSNBC's Lester Holt, weekend Today coanchor, and David Gregory, NBC's chief White House correspondent and a weekend fill-in for Holt. There could be more, Bell says.

Before joining CNBC in April '03 as senior trading correspondent for its popular weekday morning show Squawk Box, Glick was a rising star on Wall Street.

At Morgan Stanley, she became the first woman to manage the stock-exchange floor operation of a heavyweight Wall Street firm.

Glick "is a fresh face," Bell says. "She's smart, a mom, worked on Wall Street. She has a unique background. We can use her for lots of different stories. She's doing great. She's getting experience to be part of the best team in morning TV."

Bell is looking to infuse "a different sensibility and feel" to Today's 9 a.m. hour, formerly a hodgepodge of disparate elements without much of a personality. It features the same on-air talent as the 7-to-9 a.m. show - Couric, Matt Lauer, Ann Curry and Al Roker.

To help give the 9 a.m. segment a distinct look, Bell recently named former Maury executive producer Amy Rosenblum as senior producer for Today's third hour. "Having fresh eyes and fresh ideas is a good thing," he says.

Also a good thing, for Today, is its June ratings surge.

In the most recent weekly Nielsens (June 20-24), Today averaged 5.5 million viewers - 700,000 more than ABC's Good Morning America. CBS's Early Show had 2.3 million viewers.

It was Today's 498th consecutive weekly blue ribbon, and the fourth straight week it beat rival GMA by more than 475,000 viewers, NBC says.

[Vision Thing]

Alexis Glick

[Meldrim]

Googled her up but I cannot find her school. The number of gals out of MIT this year who are going into investment banking is large...but to do it you need to have good grades. Alexis must either be bright or...

[Vision Thing]

Yup. I couldn't find much background info on Alexis. Who knows how she rose so fast on Wall Street and Rockefeller Center? The only explanation I can offer is that I enjoyed watching her on Squawk Box, and I'm certain that I'm not the only one. :-)