New Era Begins on the Today Show

A new era began on the Today show as Savannah Guthrie took over Ann Curry's co-anchor chair. The lack of fanfare was carefully calculated.

A source told the New York Times media reporter Brian Stelter, "The priority now [is] protecting Mr. Lauer and Ms. Guthrie from the wrath of Ms. Curry's fans, thousands of whom posted angry comments online after her announcement...the Today show is an American institution, it's bigger than any one person. It's about protecting the franchise and making the franchise bigger and better."

Everyone is still talking about Curry's tearful goodbye.  

She spoke directly to viewers, telling them, "For you who saw me as a groundbreaker, I'm sorry I couldn't carry the ball over the finish line, but man, I did try."

Former Today show co-host Katie Couric spoke out in an interview on Spreecast saying, "It broke my heart to see Ann, I know she's suffering. This kind of tumult is hard for everyone."

New York Post columnist, Andrea Peyser, wrote of Curry's farewell, "It was a snuff film."

The Daily News called it, "Downright painful."

The Huffington Post noted that, "After fifteen years on the show, Curry was given a brief four minutes and twenty-three seconds to say goodbye to her audience," without any look back at her most memorable moments on the show.

Now everyone's wondering about Curry's replacement, Savannah Guthrie.

Guthrie is 40 years old. She grew up in Arizona and graduated from Georgetown Law School. She got the hightest score of the year when she passed the Arizona bar exam.

Now, she faces her biggest challenge yet in the wake of a controversial turnover.

Marisa Guthrie of The Hollywood Reporter told INSIDE EDITION, "We'll have to wait and see if Savannah's chemistry is an improvement, if viewers come back, if viewers hold a grudge against the show or Matt, because they perceive that maybe he pushed Ann out. There are all these variables and we just don't know how they will play out."