Watching "The Morning Show"

I stayed up way too late last night binge watching “the Morning Show,” Apple TV’s new foray into the world of episodic programming. Having spent 18 years of my life anchoring the number one rated morning show in New York City, I wanted to see what they got right... and what they got wrong.

First – there was the abrupt and shocking announcement that – gasp – there would be two women now anchoring the show … (a chair left open after, shock again, the long time male anchor was fired for sexual misconduct). It was obviously so close to life imitating art.

While hiring a female anchor team may be the knee jerk reaction to #meToo, I have a different legacy. I was actually involved in the first all female anchoring team in New York more than 20 years ago. Mary Civiello joined me full time on the anchor desk after Matt Lauer left to go to the Today show. There were many male tryouts, but when the ratings went up and the audience responded well, decision made. And it was made by a long time broadcast executive named Bill Bolster. Ironically we held a memorial service for Bill just this past weekend. He was a visionary and it worked.

Worked so well in fact that we kept moving the show earlier and earlier…. oh that alarm clock! And we got some great bonus checks. Another underlying theme of “The Morning Show”, the fired (married) co- host feeling like he’s actually a victim of #meToo - which by the way I have heard from the mouths of real men who have been forced out of their jobs in recent months for the same reason. In one very ironic scene the anchorman accuses a producer of being a predator while he was simply caught up in a web of “consensual” sex (admittedly with younger women he worked with).

A little known truth is that most on air women I know – and we’ve talked about this endlessly – have been put in the position of men wanting, claiming or forcing us into compromising positions. In my case, it was actually the governor of a state … someone I totally admired until he invited me to a party that I discovered was only a party of two; him and me. It was devastating, but I managed to leave with little damage. Back then, it was his word against mine, and I knew mine wouldn’t hold water: I could lose my career, and so I kept my mouth shut. Mostly we all did – they held the power, we did not. And if ME TOO means other young women don’t have to put up with that … then more power to it."