NBC News is trumpeting that Ann Curry has landed the first TV interview with former hostage Ingrid Betancourt since the French-Colombian politician was rescued last week.

Portions will air on Wednesday's "NBC Nightly News" at 6:30 p.m. on WESH-Channel 2. If you miss that show, NBC will offer more of the interview on Thursday's "Today" at 7 a.m.

Lisa Ling, fondly remembered by many viewers from ABC's "The View," has joined ABC's "Nightline" as a contributor. Her first report, on the struggles of retirees in Northern California, airs at 11:35 p.m. Thursday on WFTV-Channel 9. Ling continues as a special correspondent for "The Oprah Winfrey Show."

The Michelle Obama coverage was silly during the day Thursday. It entered the ridiculous zone Thursday night.

"Larry King Live" and "Verdict With Dan Abrams" each led with a discussion about Mrs. Obama's image makeover and Cindy McCain's latest comments. (Check out Mrs. Obama's look on "The View" with Barbara Walters and the gang.)

Abrams acted like Sherlock Holmes in announcing his show uncovered old footage of Sen. John McCain saying, "I really didn't love America until I was deprived of her company."

McCain has repeated variations on the comment. Abrams wondered if the comment "could undermine the steady right-wing attacks on Michelle Obama."

Here's one "Today" concert that's likely to make news: Boy George will perform Monday, July 7.

How will he look? How will he do? Expect many reviews.

"Today" noted that it will be the performer's first TV concert in 10 years. He starts his North American tour later that week in Aspen, Colo.

The NBC program said it is inviting New York sanitation employees to the George's concert -- he served community service with the sanitation departement after pleading guilty to falsely reporting a burglary at his New York home.

Expect a lot of Boy George photos in July 8 newspapers.

If you want music and marriage from your morning news programs, CBS and NBC will oblige.

NBC's "Today" is holding a wedding. The nuptials will be June 25. The couple is LaDonna and Darnell.

Will Matt and Meredith give them advice?

It's the ninth wedding that "Today" has thrown.

For music, you can start with Patti LaBelle on Thursday's "Early Show" on CBS.

And you can follow that concert with a performance by the Broadway cast of "Xanadu" on Friday's show.

Why did he write that scathing book? He changed his views. And that was news because, well, people don't like to acknowledge they've had a change of heart in our polarized culture.

Former White House press secretary Scott McClellan made a forceful case for himself and his controversial memoir, "What Happened," on Thursday's "Today." McClellan said his beliefs about President Bush, the administration and the Iraq war had changed.

"You get caught up in the White House bubble," McClellan told Meredith Vieira. "This is not a book that I could have written two years ago."

McClellan was there to promote his book. But in giving his first TV interview, McClellan struck bigger themes: He hoped the book would move the country beyond partisan warfare and the permanent campaign culture. He comes from a family that prizes public service, and that history is driving his rethinking.

CNN just reported that President Bush is puzzled by former press secretary Scott McClellan's controversial memoir. CNN added that the president considers the episode a sad situation and that White House aides wonder why McClellan didn't speak up sooner if he disagreed with policy.

Perfectly good question. Why didn't he?

Perhaps NBC's "Today" will ask McClellan when he appears Thursday morning to discuss "What Happened: Inside the Bush White House and Washington's Culture of Deception."

Keith OIbermann will interview McClellan live on MSNBC's "Countdown" at 8 p.m. Thursday.

CNN's Wolf Blitzer will interview McClellan at 6 p.m. Friday in "The Situation Room."

McClellan will be Tim Russert's guest on Sunday's "Meet the Press." The program airs at 9 a.m. on WESH-Channel 2.

CBS' Katie Couric will return to NBC's "Today" on Wednesday morning, and she'll have ABC's Charles Gibson and NBC's Brian Williams with her.

They'll also appear on ABC's "Good Morning America" and CBS' "The Early Show" the same morning.

The three evening anchors will be promoting a fund-raiser for cancer research.

The three broadcast networks will show the same hour program, "Stand Up to Cancer," on Sept. 5. It's a great cause.

In just TV terms, Couric and Matt Lauer together again -- that should be something to see.

Expect lots of questions about the Rev. Jeremiah Wright.

Meredith Vieira of NBC's "Today" interviewed presidential candidate Barack Obama and his wife, Michelle, in Indianapolis on Wednesday.

"NBC Nightly News With Brian Williams" featured a portion Wednesday night. But "Today" will have the bulk of the interview at 7 a.m. Thursday on WESH-Channel 2.

NBC News offered this preview. Vieira asks Michelle Obama if she feels Wright betrayed the senator.

Michelle Obama says: "You know what I think Meredith? I think we gotta move forward. You know, this conversation doesn't help my kids. You know, it doesn't help kids out there who are looking for us to make decisions and choices about how we're going to better fund education."

As I write this, "Today" is doing a segment on how to talk to kids about the Miley Cyrus photos.

What I learned from several moms at the Disney Channel Games: Stay calm in any discussion. Don't blow it out of proportion -- the way the media are. And the photo furor won't wreck Miley's career because she's too talented.

A co-worker just told me she thought the photo was beautiful and flattering, but that she wished Cyrus had been 18 years old, not 15.

Here's my take: I don't think it's a flattering shot. She looks like vampires have drained the blood out of her -- she reminded me of the little girl in "Interview with the Vampire."

Photographer Annie Leibovitz has done better work. The shot doesn't capture Miley's charm or pizazz. And the controversy just points up how differently people see things, whether it's presidential politics, "American Idol," pro basketball or a Miley Cyrus photo.

I think back to what new citizen Craig Ferguson said Saturday night at the White House correspondents' dinner: Isn't this a great country that we can argue about everything? Don't ever stop arguing, Ferguson said. And I don't think we ever will.   

Matt Lauer resumed his world travels on NBC. His first stop as part of this year's "Where in the World Is Matt Lauer?" weeklong marathon? On Monday, he was in Buenos Aires, Argentina.

Unshaven, he wore a red sweater, rode a motorbike and performed a tango. Could "Dancing in the Stars" be a future stop? Meredith Vieira and Ann Curry guessed correctly that Lauer was in "the Paris of South Ameria."

Good news for fans of Aaron Brown, who has been off the air since he departed CNN in 2005. He will be the host of PBS' "Wide Angle," when that series starts a new season in July. (He has been teaching journalism at Arizona State University.)

"If I was going to do broadcast journalism again, be a public person again ... then it had to be something different from what I'd done," Brown said in an interview with The Associated Press. "You can count on one hand how many gigs there are like this."

And he won't have to tango, either.

What will Richard Dawson think?

Al Roker is adding to his "Today" duties by becoming host of "Celebrity Family Feud."

The show, a star-studded spin on the long-running game show, debuts at 8 p.m. July 1 on NBC. John O'Hurley hosts the current daytime version of the show.

How will Roker handle it if the "family" at "Today" decides to play? Oh, the tough spots.

NBC honcho Craig Plestis raved:"This is a no-holds-barred, laugh-out-loud series that allows celebrities to be themselves among their family members or among longtime co-stars who have become like family."

Hey, wait, don't we have too many celebrities just being themselves today?

Where would television be without guests?

Brett Favre will stop by CBS' "Late Show With David Letterman" next week. His guest shot on Thursday, April 24, will be his first since announcing he was retiring from the Green Bay Packers. The Letterman show airs at 11:35 weeknights on WKMG-Channel 6.

Over on NBC's "Today," Alicia Keys will kick off a concert series on Monday. "Today" airs on WESH-Channel 2. Here's the lineup for the "Toyota Concert Series on Today" -- and yes, Miley Cyrus is on the bill:

May 2: Neil Diamond

May 9: Mary J. Blige

Cindy Hensley McCain, wife of presidential candidate John McCain, will co-host "The View" on Monday.

The ABC program airs at 11 a.m. on WFTV-Channel 9.

It will be Mrs. McCain's first time as a guest host. Do you like this development?

There's something a trend going on in daytime television. First Lady Laura Bush will co-host the 9 a.m. hour of NBC's "Today" on Tuesday.

Barbara Walters' life reflects a lot about the history of television broadcasting.

She broke barriers for women, soared on "Today," crashed on the evening news (remember that, Katie Couric). Walters also revived her career, made celebrities cry, turned "The View" into a daytime staple and inspired Gilda Radner's brilliant impersonation.

Walters has stories to tell, and she will share them with ABC anchor Charles Gibson in the special "Audition: Barbara Walters' Journey."

The program will air at 10 p.m. May 7 on WFTV-Channel 9. The broadcast coincides with publication of her book "Audition." Aha: The old TV-book tie-in.

But, hey, ABC is offering a juicy tease: Walters will talk about her "turbulent childhood," her three marriages and her serious romances. When did she have time for serious romances? Details, please.

What next? Will Condoleezza Rice get to anchor "NBC Nightly News" for an evening?

NBC News says that First Lady Laura Bush will serve as a guest host of "Today." She will have those duties for the 9 a.m. hour April 22 -- the 9 a.m. hour usually airs at 10 a.m. on WESH-Channel 2 to make room for "Live With Regis and Kelly."

NBC News offered this preview: "During her day as a 'Today' guest host, Mrs. Bush will learn the ins and outs of hosting a morning show, and she will participate in several segments and interviews. In addition to her hosting duties, Mrs. Bush will also give Ann Curry a rare look inside the Bush family ranch in Crawford, Texas."

Earlier in the telecast, the first lady and her daughter Jenna will promote their children's book, "Read All About It!"

So what do you make of Laura Bush's hosting on "Today"?

Would it be so bad if Katie Couric left the "CBS Evening News"?

Not in any way. Her newscast is running a distant third in the ratings. The anchor role doesn't play to her strengths. And her career has a tendency to overshadow a newscast filled with noteworthy reports.

So it's a relief to learn from The Wall Street Journal that CBS and Couric are likely to part company, possibly as soon as early next year.

She has a five-year contract that runs through 2011, but CBS is looking to trim costs. Ending the deal with Couric would be a quick way to reduce costs. She makes roughly $15 million a year -- a salary that would be justified if she delivered more viewers.

Those big teases at NBC's "Today." They better watch it. Their we've-got-an-announcement routine is growing tiresome.

They pulled that stunt last week in announcing that Kathie Lee Gifford was joining "Today" by hosting the fourth hour.

On Monday, they were teasing again that Matt Lauer had a big announcement. When he got around to it, toward the end of the 7 a.m. hour, he said he was leaving ... pause and GROAN from colleagues. But, no, he wasn't leaving "Today," which would be major news. He's going on another "Where in the World Is Matt Lauer?" jaunt. He starts April 28, which is during the all-important May ratings period.

I've enjoyed Lauer's world travels. But I don't enjoy the elaborate fandago of being teased by "Today." And I detest being led to believe -- even if for a moment -- that Lauer was leaving the show. It's not nice to fool the audience that way -- especially when many viewers are worried about their jobs.

After much teasing Monday morning, "Today" announced that daytime veteran Kathie Lee Gifford will join the show and co-host its fourth hour. Gifford begins her duties next week.

"Today," which more and more seems to want to be "Live With Regis and Kelly," is getting closer to the goal by hiring Philbin's former sidekick.

Getting to the announcement was mighty annoying. Matt Lauer and Meredith Vieira teased at the show's top about a major announcement. Vieira joked that she was pregnant, which would be news: She is in her mid 50s. But the actual news -- and it's a bit of a stretch to call it that -- didn't come until the second half-hour.

Lauer narrated a loving career retrospective on Kathie Lee. "She has always marched to the beat of a different drummer," Lauer said. After years of singing and acting, Lauer said, Kathie Lee learned "her best talent was being herself" and her partnering with Philbin was "a match made in TV heaven."

The New York Times reported last weekend that Kathie Lee Gifford could join NBC's "Today."

The Web site TMZ.com reported Tuesday afternoon that it's a done deal for Gifford to host the 10 a.m. hour of the four-hour program (which airs at 11 a.m. in Orlando on WESH-Channel 2).

But there's no confirmation yet from NBC News.

Oh, well. Her hiring would underscore the state of morning news. You might get hard news in the first half-hour, but after that, the focus turns to celebrity interviews, Britney, music, Dr. Phil, fashion, more Britney and general frivolity.

Gifford knows that routine. She won many fans and many detractors in her years as sidekick to Regis Philbin.

"Today" often seems to be aping "Live With Regis and Kelly" anyway. Kathie Lee should fit right in.

If you miss Valerie Bertinelli on Monday's Oprah, you can catch the "One Day at a Time" star on Tuesday's "Today."

Bertinelli is making the rounds because she has a memoir to sell -- and shocking stories to tell. Her book, "Losing It: And Gaining My Life Back One Pound at a Time," will be out Tuesday.

At 20, she married Eddie Van Halen just eight months after they met.

"It was stupid, just stupid," Bertinelli tells NBC's "Today." "I never should have been married. I was much too young to appreciate what it takes to make a marriage work."

She explains how she hid her drug use, which was part of the marriage, from the inquisitive media.

Ah, language. Television still has strict standards about what can and can't be said ... even as the Internet prompts people to speak more freely.

On Thursday's "Today," Jane Fonda was discussing "The Vagina Monologues" and used a four-letter word about the female anatomy. That word is a no-no on television.

Later, Meredith Vieira apologized. "Jane Fonda inadvertently said a word from the play that you don't say on television. It was a slip and obviously she apologizes and so do we. We would do nothing to offend the audience, so please accept that apology."

But the segment was to celebrate "The Vagina Monologues," playwright Eve Ensler and the V-Day movement, which fights violence against women. Fonda said, "I came to New York to see Eve, and it changed my life. It really did."

So if you wondered what Vieira was apologizing about, there's the explanation.

It's a familiar sweeps practice for affiliates to highlight their network's programming. The morning news at WESH-Channel 2 will go that route by highlighting NBC's "Today" next week.

Anchors Scott Walker and Syan Rhodes visited the national program in New York last month. Meteorologist Jason Brewer also went along.

"WESH 2 News Sunrise," which airs from 5 to 7 a.m. weekdays, will offer interviews with "Today" and provide behind-the-scenes glimpses of the No. 1 program nationally. The reports will air every day next week. "Today" has a huge presence on WESH; it airs from 7 to 9 a.m. and 10 a.m. to noon weekdays. Promotional spot show the WESH team clowning with Meredith Vieira and Al Roker.

"When you watch our reports, you'll get a real sense of why 'Today' has been the top morning show in America for so many years," Rhodes said in a release. "The team's chemistry is every bit as real in person as it is on TV!"

Will the focus on "Today" make you want to watch WESH or turn the channel to find local news?

Television will have some starry, starry days next week.

Bette Midler visits Oprah Winfrey's show on Monday. The Divine Miss M will preview her Las Vegas show and let viewers meet her daughter, Sophie. The show airs at 4 p.m. on WFTV-Channel 9.

On Tuesday's "Today," Meredith Vieira will interview Prince Andrew inside Buckingham Palace. NBC News is billing the chat as "rare and exclusive." "Today" starts at 7 a.m. weekdays on WESH-Channel 2.

ABC's "The View" will welcome the Rev. Al Sharpton on Monday. S. Epatha Merkerson, fresh from her rave reviews on Broadway for "Come Back, Little Sheba" drops by Tuesday. Wednesday's show features Sarah Brightman and Jonny Lee Miller, star of"Eli Stone."

I bet Dr. Phil McGraw's ears were burning Wednesday morning. He came in for withering criticism on NBC's "Today."

Lou Taylor, a spokeswoman for Britney Spears family, said the singer's relatives were never going to appear on "Dr. Phil." Remember all the hype about that, and McGraw's decision to drop that proposed show? Sounds as if he never had that show in the bag.

"There are many professionals and many resources that get vetted between this team of people that surround the Spears, and Dr. Phil did broach that issue," Taylor said. "But it was decided that that would be detrimental for anybody to ever do that. ... I felt that, too, was inappropriate for him to even be self-serving in bringing something like that up."

Russian leader Vladimir Putin is Time's Person of the Year.

The announcement came on Wednesday's "Today."

So what do you think of that?

Putin's influence on the future -- for good or bad -- figured heavily in the magazine's bestowing the title on him.

Other top candidates for Person of the Year were "Harry Potter" author J.K. Rowling and former Vice President Al Gore, who won the Nobel Peace Prize. Gore also won an Oscar and an Emmy, so he can polish them rather than brood over being snubbed by Time. And Rowling has all that money from her books -- and a good deal of the world's affection -- so she shouldn't be broken up by being passed over by Time.

Congratulations to Ann Curry for surviving that bungee jump on NBC's "Today." It had seemed like a silly stunt, but she threw herself into it good-naturedly for charity. She also quipped impeccably upside down.

"Do you need hair and makeup?" guest anchor David Gregory asked as she dangled.

"I know it's so difficult to pry hair and makeup away from you, David," Curry shot back.

Touche. You put yourself in danger, you deserve a little respect.

Tom Hanks gave Curry high marks and praised her chutzpah. He was there to promote "Charlie Wilson's War," which opens Friday.

Are you panting to know Time's Person of the Year? You'll want to watch NBC's "Today" on Wednesday, when that person will be revealed.

"Today" and Time will exploit the big announcement by revealing the nominees on Monday and Tuesday.

Yes, folks, three days of explanations to help sell those magazines.

Who will it be? Putin? Bush? Oprah? 

Brad Pitt will make a special announcement Monday on "Today," and don't look for it to be about Angelina Jolie.

Ann Curry will go to New Orleans to talk to Pitt. NBC News stressed that Pitt would make his comments "first and live on 'Today.'" If you miss the actor on "Today," he will talk to CNN's Larry King on Wednesday.

In July last year, Curry talked to Pitt in the Crescent City. He is supporting green-friendly building there.

"Today" starts at 7 a.m. weekdays on WESH-Channel 2.

CNN offered more details about Pitt's visit, which it billed as his "first internationally televised interview." Pitt will discuss Make It Right, a housing redevelopment project he formed in New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina. "Larry King Live" airs at 9 weeknights.

Katie Couric's progress -- or lack thereof -- at CBS is a constant topic. But Meredith Vieira rarely gains  attention for settling in so comfortably as Couric's replacement on NBC's "Today."

I was a Couric fan in the morning. But Vieira has a pleasing, down-to-earth manner and an easy camaraderie with Matt Lauer. Maybe there were some rough moments at the start, but they're not obvious now.

"I'm one year in. It's not an easy gig," Vieira told me Thursday. "It's incredibly rewarding. You get to do so many cool things."

She cited that morning's fare, which included a debate about Hillary Clinton, an interview with Dr. Phil McGraw and a zany chat with Jerry Seinfeld, a ubiquitous presence these days as he promotes "Bee Movie."

CBS and Katie Couric landed a big "get" Sunday with the interview of former CIA spy Valerie Plame Wilson. The more memorable report, however, was Anderson Cooper's thrilling look at a miracle food that restores starving children in Africa.

The Plame Wilson segment had no such happy side to it. It returned viewers to a sorry scandal that continues to divide people along partisan lines. The report also let Plame Wilson sound off in her first TV interview and promote her book, "Fair Game." She popped up as well on Monday's "Today."

To Couric's credit, the report wasn't just a chance for Plame Wilson to settle scores. Couric examined Plame Wilson's love of the spotlight, which led to that ill-advised photograph in Vanity Fair. Plame Wilson acknolwedged that she and her husband, former ambassador Joe Wilson, have become more partisan, which gives their critics ammunition. 

More snippets from Matt Lauer's interview with Sen. Larry Craig and wife Suzanne. She answers the speculation that their marriage was one of convenience to hide his gay lifestyle.

"Oh, give me a break ... people know me and know that I would never do that ... that's almost like selling your soul for something. No," Suzanne Craig tells Lauer.

NBC presents the interview under the banner "Matt Lauer Reports" at 8 p.m. Tuesday on WESH-Channel 2. More material will air on Wednesday's "Today" at 7 a.m.

Sen. Larry Craig used to be a major supporter of presidential candidate Mitt Romney. No more.

"I'd worked hard for him here in the state," Craig tells NBC's Matt Lauer. "I was a co-chair of his campaign on Capitol Hill. And he not only threw me under his campaign bus, he backed up and ran over me again."

Romney strongly condemned Craig after that bathroom scandal broke. Craig explains why he refuses to resign from the U.S. Senate in the NBC interview, to air at 8 p.m. Tuesday on WESH-Channel 2.

Matt Lauer has won a big "get" on the interview circuit: Sen. Larry Craig, the butt of a thousand jokes and endless speculation since that bathroom scandal.

The interview will air at 8 p.m. Tuesday under the banner "Matt Lauer Reports."

You can see more of the interview Wednesday during "Today."

Lauer also will interview Craig's wife, Suzanne.

Ken Burns has said there isn't a political bone in "The War."

I take him at his word. But the times make his epic documentary on World War II more relevant.

Viewers responded to "The War" for its fine filmmaking and engrossing storytelling. But another part of its appeal: its hopeful picture of the United States. In the 1940s, the country pulled together and put aside its divisions to fight Germany, Japan and Italy.

The image of the United States in "The War" is far different from today's deeply divided country with its partisan bickering over Iraq.

Is NBC News' "Today" becoming rock central or what? Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band performed Friday. Mick Jagger opens up in an interview with Matt Lauer on Tuesday.

Is you're a Rolling Stones fan, don't you want to see him?

Jagger talks about working with John Lennon on a song, performing "Dancing in the Streets" with David Bowie and putting out the solo CD "The Very Best of Mick Jagger," which is out Tuesday. But Jagger's most revealing comments concern his late father, who died at 93.

Bruce Springsteen provided ample evidence Friday of why he remains a superstar.

Springsteen surveyed the huge crowd gathered for Friday's "Today." "This is the same crowd you get for the dancing bear," The Boss said.

He was there to help push his new CD "Magic." He was frank and funny abut the promotion. "I must really want to sell some records bad to be up here this early singing these songs," he said. "It's a little desperate. But it's all right."

Biggest concert of the year on a morning news show? NBC's "Today" wins that race on Friday.

Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band will play Rockefeller Plaza that morning. Springsteen and the band will perform their hits and songs from their new CD, "Magic," which will be released Tuesday. They also begin a concert tour Tuesday in Hartford, Conn.

A tip: The Springsteen interview is scheduled for 8:20 a.m. He will perform his first song at 8:30 a.m. He is scheduled to play five songs, but is known to go longer. I think the Rockefeller Plaza crowd would make him want to play longer.

Another tip: The schedule in morning TV chan change quickly. Be prepared.

Meredith Vieira makes her first return to ABC's "The View" on Oct. 8.

She will be a guest on the show she moderated for nine years. She left the show last year to replace Katie Couric on NBC's "Today."

And Vieira has done a good job in her new assignment. "Today" will be one topic for discussion. Others: Rosie O'Donnell, Rosie O'Donnell's new book, Star Jones, Star Jones' new show and Barbara Walters' future. Rosie thinks Babs has lingered too long. Hey, Meredith, what do you think?

Beyond that, it should be fun to see how Vieira interacts with new host Whoopi Goldberg. That edition of "The View" is sure to make headlines.

Among all the wonderful salutes to the late, great Luciano Pavarotti, CNN's interview with Aretha Franklin stands out.

The Queen of Soul noted that opera titan was able to enjoy his renown in his lifetime. "He was given his flowers while he was here," she said.

Diane Sawyer read a lovely tribute to Pavarotti on ABC's "Good Morning America." Over on NBC's "Today," Matt Lauer and Meredith Vieira marveled how Pavarotti had brought opera to the masses. They talked with joy, not sadness, and I think that would have touched him, because he spread such joy through his art and his philanthropy. 

Meredith Vieira has landed what NBC News says will be J.K. Rowling's only television interview after the last Harry Potter novel is released.

The chat will air July 26 and 27 on "Today" and on the July 29 edition of "Dateline NBC." The women will chat in Edinburgh, Scotland.

How big a deal is the interview? In a release, NBC crowed: "This exclusive interview marks the first time Rowling will talk about the worldwide reaction to the final Harry Potter volume and the much anticipated and speculated about Potter finale, 'Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows.'"

Will the Potter conclusion top the "Sopranos" finale? I hope Rowling didn't pull a David Chase and stop writing in midpage.