Bryant Gumbel

Bryant Gumbel starts earning his $7 million a year tonight on CBS."Public Eye With Bryant Gumbel" (9 p.m.-10 p.m., WJZ, Channel 13) has generated all sorts of ballyhoo since it was announced earlier this year: Not only does it feature Gumbel, whose decision earlier this year to sign with CBS was a rare piece of good news for its embattled news division, but it's also airing live (which means there were no preview tapes to be sent out).Tonight's debut is scheduled to feature Gumbel's interview with Gene McKinney, the Army sergeant major accused of sexual misconduct.

Bryant Gumbel was talking about Gene Upshaw's leash, but the real question now is whether someone will try to put a leash on Gumbel. The longtime broadcaster irked outgoing NFL commissioner Paul Tagliabue with his commentary at the end of the recent edition of HBO's Real Sports (which is, by the way, an excellent program that ranks as one of the few on television practicing sports journalism). Gumbel was addressing Tagliabue's replacement, Roger Goodell. According to a transcript from HBO, here is the offending passage: "First of all, before he cleans out his office, have Paul Tagliabue show you where he keeps Gene Upshaw's leash.

"I'm not sure I could properly identify the 'greatest' book I've ever read. I can only tell you that the 'Autobiography of Malcolm X' was the book that had the greatest impact on my life. To a young black man growing up on Chicago's South Side, the book was a revelation, prompting me to look at myself and my world as I've never done before."- Bryant GumbelHost of CBS' "Public Eye";former host, NBC's "Today Show"From "Books That Shaped Successful People," by Kevin H. Kelly (Fairview Press, 1995)

Story of a 3-Day Pass [Xenon] $15 In his sly introduction on the DVD of his 1968 feature directorial debut, Melvin Van Peebles explains that he moved to Europe in the 1960s after being denied a chance to direct in Hollywood. He ended up in France, where writers could get a temporary permit to direct, and he was able to make this ambitious racial drama about an African-American soldier (Harry Baird) up for promotion who is given a three-day pass to Paris, where he falls in love with a white woman (Nicole Berger)

Sexist attitudes and behavior at NBC News' "Today" show by Bryant Gumbel and top male NBC executives led to the program's steep fall from favor in morning TV, according to charges in a new book by a former "Today" talent booker.Judy Kessler's "Inside Today: The Battle for the Morning" describes what she says were Mr. Gumbel's abusive language and actions toward women; his frequent reference to co-host Jane Pauley, using an obscene anatomical term; and his all-male locker-room-like meetings from which Ms. Pauley and "Today" women staffers were excluded.

The TV Repairman:"SportsCenter" the other night referred to Walt Dropo as Drop-Oh. . . It was probably to Marv Albert's advantage that Bryant Gumbel took him off the "Today Show" Wednesday. Marv, it seems is always pushing something, in this case his book and a video, and he's on too much.* Jim Brown is right: Too many guys lugging the ball in the NFL go out of bounds when they might be able to make more out of the play.* Best Bet: This weekend's must-see is the Burbank (Calif.) K.C. Dog Show Sunday evening at 6 on ESPN (taped Sept.

NBC News yesterday named Matt Lauer to succeed Bryant Gumbel as co-host with Katie Couric of "Today" starting Jan. 6."From the day I first saw Matt Lauer substitute for Bryant Gumbel, I knew he had the skills and knowledge to one day ascend to the anchor chair," Jeff Zucker, executive producer of "Today," said in making the announcement.After stops in Philadelphia and Boston, the 38-year-old Lauer joined "Today" three years ago as its news anchor. He has regularly substituted for Gumbel, and yesterday's announcement of his promotion confirmed what everyone expected.

NEW YORK - The Rev. Al Sharpton has filed a $1 billion defamation lawsuit against AOL Time Warner Inc. over a Home Box Office cable show that aired FBI surveillance tapes of Sharpton discussing a drug deal. Sharpton said in the lawsuit filed in New York State Supreme Court in Lower Manhattan that Tuesday night's Real Sports with Bryant Gumbel program about corruption in sports failed to show portions of the 1983 tapes in which Sharpton allegedly rejects the drug deal. "I will not bend or buckle or bow to a smear campaign," Sharpton, who is considering a campaign for U.S. president in 2004, said during a news conference at the courthouse yesterday.

LOS ANGELES -- It was vintage Bryant Gumbel.In meeting with the press to discuss his role as anchor of a new CBS morning show, he acknowledged mistakes were made in his last job at the network, host of the failed prime-time newsmagazine"Public Eye With Bryant Gumbel.""I'm a proud guy and a confident guy, and any time you don't do as well as you thought you could have, you come away somewhat tainted. There were a lot of reasons it didn't work, many of them mine," Gumbel said.But when he was asked to be specific about his failings, he ended the discussion, saying, "I don't think this is the proper forum to discuss it."

Bryant Gumbel was talking about Gene Upshaw's leash, but the real question now is whether someone will try to put a leash on Gumbel. The longtime broadcaster irked outgoing NFL commissioner Paul Tagliabue with his commentary at the end of the recent edition of HBO's Real Sports (which is, by the way, an excellent program that ranks as one of the few on television practicing sports journalism). Gumbel was addressing Tagliabue's replacement, Roger Goodell. According to a transcript from HBO, here is the offending passage: "First of all, before he cleans out his office, have Paul Tagliabue show you where he keeps Gene Upshaw's leash.

NEW YORK - The Rev. Al Sharpton has filed a $1 billion defamation lawsuit against AOL Time Warner Inc. over a Home Box Office cable show that aired FBI surveillance tapes of Sharpton discussing a drug deal. Sharpton said in the lawsuit filed in New York State Supreme Court in Lower Manhattan that Tuesday night's Real Sports with Bryant Gumbel program about corruption in sports failed to show portions of the 1983 tapes in which Sharpton allegedly rejects the drug deal. "I will not bend or buckle or bow to a smear campaign," Sharpton, who is considering a campaign for U.S. president in 2004, said during a news conference at the courthouse yesterday.

I'LL ADMIT IT, I fell victim to the hype. On the day "The Early Show," made its debut I got up earlier than usual and walked the dog. Then I rushed home and planted myself in front of the TV.When the clock struck 7, I expected to see Bryant Gumbel go head-to-head against "Good Morning America" and his former colleagues, Matt Lauer and Katie Couric on the "Today" show. At first, I wasn't too concerned when Don Scott and Marty Bass hung around past 7; I thought they'd eventually fade away. They didn't.

A big news story to cover, no major goof-ups and an interview with the president of the United States. You might think that would make for a pretty good debut of a network morning news show.But there is one other element that will probably overshadow all others in the minds of many: While CBS' new morning broadcast, "The Early Show," featured four jugglers in its outdoor-on-the-plaza segments, NBC's top-rated "Today" had Mariah Carey in concert on a stage in Rockefeller Plaza. The disparity between Carey with a plaza full of adoring fans and a quartet of jugglers from the Moscow Circus suggests how far CBS has to go to be competitive in the news show-as-carnival-midway that network morning television has become.

Bryant Gumbel returns to morning television Monday as the star of a new CBS morning program, "The Early Show." And, while CBS News is running a publicity blitz with everyone including Gumbel saying the right things, the truth is that there are all sorts of questions connected with the new show, and expectations are, in fact, relatively low. You need look no further than Baltimore for evidence of the real let's-wait-and-see attitude with which...

LOS ANGELES -- It was vintage Bryant Gumbel.In meeting with the press to discuss his role as anchor of a new CBS morning show, he acknowledged mistakes were made in his last job at the network, host of the failed prime-time newsmagazine"Public Eye With Bryant Gumbel.""I'm a proud guy and a confident guy, and any time you don't do as well as you thought you could have, you come away somewhat tainted. There were a lot of reasons it didn't work, many of them mine," Gumbel said.But when he was asked to be specific about his failings, he ended the discussion, saying, "I don't think this is the proper forum to discuss it."

"I'm not sure I could properly identify the 'greatest' book I've ever read. I can only tell you that the 'Autobiography of Malcolm X' was the book that had the greatest impact on my life. To a young black man growing up on Chicago's South Side, the book was a revelation, prompting me to look at myself and my world as I've never done before."- Bryant GumbelHost of CBS' "Public Eye";former host, NBC's "Today Show"From "Books That Shaped Successful People," by Kevin H. Kelly (Fairview Press, 1995)

Bryant Gumbel is coming to CBS as more of a partner with the network than an employee.That's the message that came through yesterday during a press conference at CBS' Black Rock headquarters in Manhattan confirming reports published here and elsewhere that Gumbel is leaving NBC after 25 years to anchor a prime-time newsmagazine next fall on CBS."Essentially, what we've agreed is to be in business together," CBS News President Andrew Heyward said when asked to characterize the deal between the network and Gumbel.

Almost 15 years since he first sat in it, Bryant Gumbel is today vacating the host chair on NBC's "Today," leaving under his own power, with nary a hint of the cattle prod used on some of his predecessors.Did anyone ever suspect it would happen any other way? After the debacle that followed their roughshod treatment of Jane Pauley a few years back, there's no way the honchos at NBC were going to push Gumbel out the door. And any attempt to treat him the way Deborah Norville was treated, hung out to dry as the sacrificial lamb to her bosses' boneheadedness, probably would have resulted in bloodshed at Rockefeller Center.

"Mad About You" (8 p.m.-8: 30 p.m., WBAL, Channel 11) -- Jamie has difficulty trusting Mabel's first baby-sitter (Lili Taylor), while waitress Ursula (Lisa Kudrow) can't determine what's different about Jamie. NBC."Nova" (8 p.m.-9 p.m., MPT, Channels 22 and 67) -- "Treasures of the Sunken City" tells of the Lighthouse of Alexandria, Egypt, one of the seven wonders of the ancient world, which was destroyed by an earthquake in 1375. Could its remains still be lying under the sea? PBS."NewsRadio" (8: 30 p.m.-9 p.m., WBAL, Channel 11)

Bryant Gumbel starts earning his $7 million a year tonight on CBS."Public Eye With Bryant Gumbel" (9 p.m.-10 p.m., WJZ, Channel 13) has generated all sorts of ballyhoo since it was announced earlier this year: Not only does it feature Gumbel, whose decision earlier this year to sign with CBS was a rare piece of good news for its embattled news division, but it's also airing live (which means there were no preview tapes to be sent out).Tonight's debut is scheduled to feature Gumbel's interview with Gene McKinney, the Army sergeant major accused of sexual misconduct.