Ann Curry has found a new home. More than two years after she tearfully left the Today show, the former anchor is cutting her exclusive ties with NBC News.
Curry, 58, confirmed in a press release that she is ending her long-running relationship with the network. She isn't going too far, however, as her next gig is backed by NBCUniversal.
The TV personality is founding a NBCUniversal-funded media startup with a focus on original reporting and curation of content on the national and global scale.
"This is about reaching for the edge of the future in journalism, which we know is undergoing an irrevocable transition," Curry said in a release. "I am excited about working to become a valuable link between traditional media and what is to come."
"In today’s world of fragmented media, this is the time to seize the opportunity to improve the way we distribute and even tell stories," she continued. "I want to expand my drive to give voice to the voiceless to emerging platforms and produce both scripted and non-scripted content, in addition to continuing to report on-air about stories that matter."
The journalist got her start in the business with an internship at an NBC-affiliated local news station in 1978, going on to work with NBC News, Dateline NBC, and NBC Nightly News before she was named co-anchor of the Today show in 2011. The final months of her tenure with the morning show were famously rocky as she butted heads with Matt Lauer, and she broke down crying during her last day on air in June 2012.
A source close to the network confirmed Curry's departure to Us Weekly and told Us, "She was waiting to leave. She was really bored."
After exiting the Today show, Curry still had years left on her contract, and stayed with NBC as a correspondent. According to Page Six, the former Today show star had to spend weeks negotiating out of said contract, which reportedly brought her some $12 million per year.
"Ann has not had nothing to do in the last year at NBC," a second source adds to Us. "She was nominated for five Emmys and did well-received segments on climate change, reported on the Central African Republic and interviewed the President of Iran. NBC could have used her more but she's been busy. This new venture is a great use of Ann's talents."
