{"id":7514,"date":"2018-07-17T16:26:18","date_gmt":"2018-07-17T16:26:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/healthyaging.net\/magazine\/?p=7514"},"modified":"2018-07-19T18:39:44","modified_gmt":"2018-07-19T18:39:44","slug":"it-aint-over-for-ann-curry","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/healthyaging.net\/magazine\/spring-summer-2018\/it-aint-over-for-ann-curry\/","title":{"rendered":"It Ain\u2019t Over for Ann Curry"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><p class=\"author-credit\">By Carolyn Worthington<\/p><\/p>\n<p><span class=\"dropcap\">I<\/span>f you\u2019ve been a fan of NBC News and the Today Show over the years as I have, you\u2019re probably familiar with Ann Curry.<\/p>\n<p>Back in 1991, NBC News at Sunrise was my morning show of choice. A cup of coffee and news from anchor Ann Curry were a good start to my day. That lasted until 1996 when Curry moved on, appearing as a substitute news anchor on Today, a Dateline NBC co-anchor, and as a substitute NBC Nightly News anchor.<\/p>\n<p>In 2011, Curry was in my kitchen again on a regular basis when she took on the role of Today co-anchor. She was the replacement for Meredith Vieira who was said to be retiring from television.<\/p>\n<p>It was refreshing to have a professional broadcaster like Curry deliver what appeared to be well-researched news in a solid journalistic manner. I looked forward to seeing her and hearing what she had to say. However, it was pretty obvious that Matt Lauer was not happy to have her seated next to him. They had zero rapport, but I still enjoyed Curry\u2019s on-air presence.<\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_7615\" style=\"width: 410px\" class=\"wp-caption alignleft\"><a href=\"https:\/\/healthyaging.net\/magazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/Depositphotos_128415240_600x400-ann-curry-magazine-article.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-7615\" class=\"size-full wp-image-7615\" src=\"https:\/\/healthyaging.net\/magazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/Depositphotos_128415240_600x400-ann-curry-magazine-article.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"400\" height=\"600\" srcset=\"https:\/\/healthyaging.net\/magazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/Depositphotos_128415240_600x400-ann-curry-magazine-article.jpg 400w, https:\/\/healthyaging.net\/magazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/Depositphotos_128415240_600x400-ann-curry-magazine-article-200x300.jpg 200w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 400px) 100vw, 400px\" \/><\/a><p id=\"caption-attachment-7615\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Ann Curry attending the &#8216;Elvis &amp; Nixon&#8217; premiere during the 2016 Tribeca Film Festival, New York. Photo: Deposit Photos.<\/p><\/div>\n<p>Sadly, the on-air partnership only lasted for a year. I wasn\u2019t totally surprised that Curry had been asked to leave. Was it a decline in ratings? Was it Matt Lauer\u2019s lack of connection with her? Was it another example of an aging woman being pushed from on-camera work? Who knew?<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThis is not easy to say, but today is going to be my last morning as a regular co-host of Today,\u201d Curry said on the show. \u201cThis is not as I expected to ever leave this couch after 15 years, but I am so grateful, especially to all of you who watch.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>She\u2019d been given a new role, she said, \u201cwhich essentially means that I\u2019m going to get tickets to every big story we want to cover with a terrific team of my choosing.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>How awkward was this moment? It was bad enough that Matt Lauer didn\u2019t try to hide how uncomfortable he was with her, but to have NBC put her out there alone with the task of resigning on air?<\/p>\n<p>\u201cFor all of you who saw me as a groundbreaker, I\u2019m sorry I couldn\u2019t carry the ball over the finish line\u2014but, man, I did try,\u201d she said. \u201cSo for all of those who watched, thank you from the bottom of my heart.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>It was unsettling, to say the least, to watch a tearful Curry explain her departure. It was also surprising that NBC did nothing to show highlights of her work that had spanned almost a generation. What a contrast to the two-hour send-off that NBC gave to retiring Meredith Vieira.<\/p>\n<p>In the wake of the subsequent news of the disgraced Matt Lauer, it\u2019s interesting to go back to the video of Curry\u2019s last show and watch the insincere looks on Lauer\u2019s face.<\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" width=\"1060\" height=\"596\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/vCgbSmOJKL4?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"autoplay; encrypted-media\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/p>\n<h3>A Lesson in How to Move Forward<\/h3>\n<p>How we face challenges in life, large and small, defines us and brings out our true character. Some might have folded after being thrown under the bus by NBC. Curry would continue for a few years with NBC, popping up as an international correspondent from far-off places. But it was clear that NBC had pulled her from a pedestal and apparently did not include makeup and wardrobe as part of her package out in the field.<\/p>\n<h3>First, a Look Back<\/h3>\n<p>Curry was born in Guam in 1956. Her father, Bob Curry, was from Pueblo, Colorado, and served for 24 years in the navy. He met his wife, Hiroe Nagase, during the U.S. occupation of Japan at the end of World War II. She was a streetcar conductor and caught his eye. He made it a point to take her car every day. In spite of being transferred out of Japan, he was able to return to duty there two years later and married Nagase. After overcoming a battle with tuberculosis, Nagase gave birth to five children. Ann Curry is the oldest. Curry\u2019s parents were married for 53 years. Nagase died at age 74 and defied the odds by having a long life after tuberculosis. Bob Curry, who instilled in his children the mantra of \u201cdo something of service,\u201d passed away at age 78.<\/p>\n<p>Ann Curry spent her earliest years in Japan where she attended school on the naval base in Sasebo, Nagasaki. The family later moved to Ashland, Oregon, where she went to Ashland High School. In 1978, with a degree in journalism from the University of Oregon, Curry started her career in broadcasting as an intern with KTLV, in Medford, Oregon, an NBC-affiliate. From there, her career moved forward, step by step, as she became the first female news reporter at the Medford station, a reporter in 1980 for the NBC station in Portland, and then to Los Angeles as a reporter for the CBS station where she was awarded two Emmys for her work.<\/p>\n<p>Curry has been married for over 30 years to Brian Ross who also attended the University of Oregon. Ross is CEO of FIX Flyer LLC, a technology company that focuses on complex institutional securities trading. They married in 1989 and have a son, William \u201cWalker\u201d, and a daughter, McKenzie. The family lives in New Canaan, Connecticut.<\/p>\n<p>Over the years, Curry has reported on conflicts in Syria, Afghanistan, Iraq, Somalia, Darfur, Congo, the Central African Republic, Serbia, Lebanon, and Israel. She\u2019s reported on nuclear tensions from North Korea and Iran. And she\u2019s reported on numerous humanitarian disasters, including the tsunamis in Southeast Asia and Japan and also the massive 2010 earthquake in Haiti. In the latter, her appeal via Twitter (@AnnCurry) is credited for helping to speed up the arrival of humanitarian planes.<\/p>\n<p>She has contributed groundbreaking journalism on climate change. She\u2019s interviewed scientists and native peoples; documented glacial melt in the Arctic, the Antarctic where she spent time inside an expedition hut left by Shackleton, and on Mount Kilimanjaro; and documented the deepening drought in the American West. Curry is also known for her focused reporting from inside Iran. She gave voice to its women, human rights activists, and young people, including Green Revolution activists. She also first broke the news of Iran&#8217;s interest in negotiating a nuclear agreement with the outside world.<\/p>\n<p>For her stories, Curry has also traveled to the South Pole where she delivered the first live news report to an American audience, South Africa and Botswana where she tracked the AIDS epidemic, Somalia and Kenya where she documented Al Qaeda\u2019s link to Al Shabaab terrorists, and also to Syria, Chad, Liberia, and Pakistan, among other places.<\/p>\n<p>Curry has conducted a long list of exclusive and news-breaking interviews. These have included every U.S. president from George H.W. Bush through Barack Obama, their first ladies, numerous foreign heads of state, secretaries of state, and also countless diplomats, religious leaders, and big-name celebrities.<\/p>\n<p>Curry has won seven national news Emmys and numerous Edward R. Murrow awards, Gracie Allen Awards, and National Headliner Awards. The NAACP has honored her with an excellence in reporting award. Women in Communications has awarded her a Matrix Award. Curry has also been given numerous humanitarian awards, including from Refugees International, Americares, Save the Children, and the Simon Wiesenthal Center, which awarded her a medal of valor for her dedication to reporting about genocide.<\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_7617\" style=\"width: 760px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><a href=\"https:\/\/healthyaging.net\/magazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/Photo.-David-Turnley.-PBS-750.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-7617\" class=\"size-full wp-image-7617\" src=\"https:\/\/healthyaging.net\/magazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/Photo.-David-Turnley.-PBS-750.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"750\" height=\"501\" srcset=\"https:\/\/healthyaging.net\/magazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/Photo.-David-Turnley.-PBS-750.jpg 750w, https:\/\/healthyaging.net\/magazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/Photo.-David-Turnley.-PBS-750-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/healthyaging.net\/magazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/Photo.-David-Turnley.-PBS-750-700x468.jpg 700w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 750px) 100vw, 750px\" \/><\/a><p id=\"caption-attachment-7617\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Photo. David Turnley. PBS<\/p><\/div>\n<h3>Reinventing Yourself Even After 60<\/h3>\n<p>How can you reinvent yourself? How can you stay in the game that you love and continue to follow your passion?<\/p>\n<p>Team up with a production company and come back swinging. That\u2019s exactly what Ann Curry has done with her new television documentary series, We\u2019ll Meet Again with Ann Curry, which airs on PBS. The six-part series is perfect for Curry. Serving as executive producer and on-air talent, Curry showcases her talent as a news reporter once again in the series produced by Blink Films in partnership with Ann Curry Inc.<\/p>\n<p>The producers set out to explore some of history\u2019s most dramatic events through the personal stories of those who experienced them. This brings together people whose lives intersected at pivotal moments. Each episode reveals the powerful bonds forged among people who now, against the odds, have the chance to reunite with someone who\u2019s transformed their life.<\/p>\n<p>The series reveals these moving personal stories of hope, courage. and love. From a Vietnam War baby desperate to find the American father she last saw 40 years ago to the military chaplain who helped a stranger through the trauma of 9\/11, from a Japanese-American girl interned in 1942 who never forgot the classmate who helped her during her darkest hours to civil rights workers whose lives were forever changed by the deep relationships they formed in the South in the 1960s.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWE\u2019LL MEET AGAIN is where history meets the drama of real life,\u201d said Beth Hoppe, chief programming executive and general manager of general audience programming at PBS. \u201cMajor events are brought to life in a completely personal way through these memorable stories of those torn apart and thrown together. And how wonderful to have the opportunity to be present at these extraordinary reunions.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt\u2019s a privilege to document the stories of ordinary men and women who lived through extraordinary moments in history,\u201d said Justine Kershaw, an executive producer at Blink Films. \u201cIn their quest to be reunited they must unlock some traumatic personal memories of these historical events, and their courage to confront their past in order to finally meet again the person with whom they share a unique bond demonstrates the extraordinary power of the human spirit.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>So, who better to recount the extraordinary power of the human spirit than Ann Curry?<\/p>\n<h3>The Episodes<\/h3>\n<p>The first season episodes premiered in January and February 2018. All of the aired episodes can be viewed online now, but a PBS membership (donation) is required.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.pbs.org\/video\/heroes-of-911-emp4nw\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Click here to view<\/a><\/p>\n<p>Here is a summary of each episode\u2026<\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_7610\" style=\"width: 760px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><a href=\"https:\/\/healthyaging.net\/magazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/06\/WMA-Pacific-Reiko-Nagumo-2ndGrade-with-Mary-Francis-750w.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-7610\" class=\"size-full wp-image-7610\" src=\"https:\/\/healthyaging.net\/magazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/06\/WMA-Pacific-Reiko-Nagumo-2ndGrade-with-Mary-Francis-750w.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"750\" height=\"648\" srcset=\"https:\/\/healthyaging.net\/magazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/06\/WMA-Pacific-Reiko-Nagumo-2ndGrade-with-Mary-Francis-750w.jpg 750w, https:\/\/healthyaging.net\/magazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/06\/WMA-Pacific-Reiko-Nagumo-2ndGrade-with-Mary-Francis-750w-300x259.jpg 300w, https:\/\/healthyaging.net\/magazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/06\/WMA-Pacific-Reiko-Nagumo-2ndGrade-with-Mary-Francis-750w-700x605.jpg 700w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 750px) 100vw, 750px\" \/><\/a><p id=\"caption-attachment-7610\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Reiko Nagumo (left), Mary Francis (right). Photo: Courtesy of Reiko Nagumo<\/p><\/div>\n<h4>\u201cChildren of WWII\u201d<\/h4>\n<p>Following the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor in 1941, the U.S. entered World War II. Two children whose lives were forever changed by the war search for lost friends. Reiko, a Japanese-American woman sent to an internment camp as a child, hopes to find the classmate who stood by her in the face of anti-Japanese sentiment. Peter, who fled the Nazis with his parents in 1938, searches for the family who befriended him in the last refuge open to the German Jews: the Shanghai Ghetto.<\/p>\n<h4>\u201cRescued From Mt. St. Helens\u201d<\/h4>\n<p>When Mount St. Helens erupted on May 18, 1980, 57 people were killed and hundreds more injured. Volcanic ash was scattered across 11 states. In this episode, two people who survived the disaster reveal how the experience influenced their lives. Mindy, a trainee scientist whose inspirational team leader was killed by the blast, wants to find his family to let them know he saved her life. Sue hopes to find the brave helicopter pilot who risked his own life to rescue her.<\/p>\n<h4>\u201cLost Children of Vietnam\u201d<\/h4>\n<p>The war in Vietnam may have ended in 1975, but its impact lingers in countless lives today. Two children who became refugees after the war tell their stories. Tina, born in Saigon, searches for the American father she last saw more than 40 years ago. And Nam hopes to find Gary, the Texas cowboy he met as a 12-year-old refugee and who inspired his dream of coming to America.<\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_7611\" style=\"width: 760px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><a href=\"https:\/\/healthyaging.net\/magazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/06\/WMA911PatrickAnn-750.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-7611\" class=\"wp-image-7611 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/healthyaging.net\/magazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/06\/WMA911PatrickAnn-750.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"750\" height=\"610\" srcset=\"https:\/\/healthyaging.net\/magazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/06\/WMA911PatrickAnn-750.jpg 750w, https:\/\/healthyaging.net\/magazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/06\/WMA911PatrickAnn-750-300x244.jpg 300w, https:\/\/healthyaging.net\/magazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/06\/WMA911PatrickAnn-750-700x569.jpg 700w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 750px) 100vw, 750px\" \/><\/a><p id=\"caption-attachment-7611\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Ann Curry (left), Patrick Anderson (right). Photo: Courtesy of Simon Harries\/Blink Films<\/p><\/div>\n<h4>\u201cHeroes of 9\/11\u201d<\/h4>\n<p>During the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks on New York and Washington, strangers were thrown together in unimaginable situations. Patrick, a businessman visiting New York, searches for Emily, the photographer\u2019s assistant who comforted him after the collapse of the World Trade Center towers. Timothy, a military chaplain plunged into chaos at the Pentagon, hopes to thank the fellow chaplain who gave him the courage to carry on.<\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_7609\" style=\"width: 760px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><a href=\"https:\/\/healthyaging.net\/magazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/06\/WMACRSherieAnn-750w.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-7609\" class=\"size-full wp-image-7609\" src=\"https:\/\/healthyaging.net\/magazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/06\/WMACRSherieAnn-750w.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"750\" height=\"500\" srcset=\"https:\/\/healthyaging.net\/magazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/06\/WMACRSherieAnn-750w.jpg 750w, https:\/\/healthyaging.net\/magazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/06\/WMACRSherieAnn-750w-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/healthyaging.net\/magazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/06\/WMACRSherieAnn-750w-700x467.jpg 700w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 750px) 100vw, 750px\" \/><\/a><p id=\"caption-attachment-7609\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Sherie Labedis (left), Ann Curry (right). Photo: Courtesy of Justine Kershaw\/Blink Films<\/p><\/div>\n<h4>\u201cFreedom Summer\u201d<\/h4>\n<p>During the civil rights movement of the 1960s, Fatima, a teenager from New York, volunteered to register voters in Louisiana. Now, she returns to the South, hoping to find Thelma, the daughter of her host family whose courage in the face of racism was unforgettable. Sherie searches for Lefty, the charismatic civil rights activist whose commitment to nonviolence inspired her own lifelong involvement with social justice causes.<\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_7613\" style=\"width: 760px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><a href=\"https:\/\/healthyaging.net\/magazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/WMALGBTQPaulAn-750w.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-7613\" class=\"size-full wp-image-7613\" src=\"https:\/\/healthyaging.net\/magazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/WMALGBTQPaulAn-750w.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"750\" height=\"500\" srcset=\"https:\/\/healthyaging.net\/magazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/WMALGBTQPaulAn-750w.jpg 750w, https:\/\/healthyaging.net\/magazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/WMALGBTQPaulAn-750w-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/healthyaging.net\/magazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/WMALGBTQPaulAn-750w-700x467.jpg 700w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 750px) 100vw, 750px\" \/><\/a><p id=\"caption-attachment-7613\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Ann Curry (left), Paul Tosi (right). Photo: Courtesy of Simon Harries\/Blink Films<\/p><\/div>\n<h4>\u201cComing Out\u201d<\/h4>\n<p>For decades, gay Americans did not have equal protection under the law. Many even faced prejudice, possible imprisonment, and rejection from their families and society. Two stories of the struggle for acceptance are told in this episode. Tom longs to find Maria, the friend he trusted with his secret and who saved him from brutal electroshock conversion therapy in the 1960s. Paul, who was the University of New Hampshire student body president in 1973, searches for Wayne, who organized the first gay student organization on campus. Wayne\u2019s courage to take the fight to court against overwhelming opposition from the state\u2019s conservative governor changed Paul\u2019s life and ultimately helped him accept his own sexuality.<\/p>\n<h3>What\u2019s Your Story?<\/h3>\n<p>Plans are underway for the second season. If you have a story that might fit the series, the producers are willing to hear about it and consider it for a future production. Here\u2019s the link to Blink Films where you can connect with the production company about your story: <a href=\"http:\/\/BlinkFilmsUK.com\/MeetAgain\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">BlinkFilmsUK.com\/MeetAgain<\/a>.<\/p>\n<h5>We\u2019ll Meet Again is a production of Blink Films. The series is produced by Simon Harries and executive producers Ann Curry, Justine Kershaw, and Andra Heritage. All photos courtesy of PBS.<\/h5>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Pro broadcaster keeps moving with new TV series<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":7565,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[93,95],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-7514","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-spring-summer-2018","category-spring-summer-2018-features"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/healthyaging.net\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7514","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/healthyaging.net\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/healthyaging.net\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/healthyaging.net\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/healthyaging.net\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=7514"}],"version-history":[{"count":10,"href":"https:\/\/healthyaging.net\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7514\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":7824,"href":"https:\/\/healthyaging.net\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7514\/revisions\/7824"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/healthyaging.net\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/7565"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/healthyaging.net\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=7514"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/healthyaging.net\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=7514"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/healthyaging.net\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=7514"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}