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Karl, Lisa and that tanty on Today

Lisa Wilkinson walked off the set after a Karl Stefanovic aside, but it's not about to derail their successful partnership.

2013-10-14_1447Media keep reporting on this one, so looks like someone will have to clear it up….

Yes Lisa Wilkinson recently walked off the set of Today for 45 minutes (AFR first reported this). She was unhappy with an off-the-cuff remark by Karl Stefanovic, and that’s about the sum total of it.

Stefanovic had mentioned he was “moonlighting” on the NRL Footy Show with a special report, prompting Wilkinson to chip in that she too was moonlighting by hosting the afternoon Nine News Now (which she’s done a couple of times now).

But jokey Karl dismissed it as being too off-Broadway, prompting Wilkinson to head to her dressing room for 45 minutes. Given his oft-blokey presenting style, it’s a miracle she hadn’t had course to resort to this earlier. But nobody’s writing about that.

Such is the nature of Today‘s various segments that her absence probably went unnoticed by many of the audience. After all, anyone on their team can handle most segments, usually on short notice. It’s what they’re paid to do.

Wilkinson has told Woman’s Day, “No-one needs to worry about our relationship.

“People have been concerned that I was upset, but this stuff happens in a dynamic news environment.

“I can assure you if I had a problem with Karl he’d be the first to know about it and vice-versa.”

Robust tiffs are indeed part of a personality-driven industry but they don’t lead to break ups for successful career unions, especially where everyone is paid very handsomely. While it’s a smarter -and more lucrative- decision to deal with it and put it behind you, it does make for good media fodder.

As reported last week, former Nine News boss Mark Calvert is now also working on Today with exec producer Neil Breen, following unrelated behind the scenes tension.

While Breen has indeed been instructed to rein in his temper, he is also in no danger of losing his position.

Admittedly, the drama probably plays well into the hands of the opposition. Last week Sunrise averaged 330,000 to Today‘s 307,00 with the latter winning on Thursday, and the rest to Seven. Meanwhile Wake Up is waiting in the wings with a very eye-catching backdrop, but a trio yet to prove themselves.

And there you have it…

13 Responses

  1. I don’t care about the drama- stuff happens!!!. They are still humans!! Society has become so unforgiving and brutal with their comments. I think that Karl and Lisa are the best morning hosts which exist on Australian TV. If either one of these people leave the show it will be a great disappointment!!!

  2. I’ve seen TEN’s trailer for Wake Up! and the set with the beach in the background looks washed out and a bit too busy. It also looks a bit too Beach Blanket Bingo for my liking. Hopefully they’ll fix all this up before the first episodes go to air.

  3. Bring on all the ‘dramas’ & ‘personality clashes’ at Today. The media frenzy will attract the sightseers to Today which will bump up the ratings a la Sunrise dramas.
    Lets hope the media go to town on the Today ‘dramas’
    By the way I believe that they actually do all like one another. Their chemistry does appear to be real when they are chatting amongst themselves.

  4. Today is nothing without Karl,whether you like it or not,he is the glue that keeps the fairly bland show together.Lisa can be quite a boring one and without him, it’s not fun anymore. WIth this new morning show on ten, the pressure is on, with a show with “Nicknames”…..please. The only credible one is Nartasha Belling, the other two not. Today could do with a major makeover in studio as it is looking old and tired.

  5. I’m surprised she hasn’t done this before. I’m still surprised Karl is still on the air after showing up drunk the next morning from being at the Logies. And I was even more shocked when he won gold. Logie awards should go to people with talent not to people who can read stuff off a cue card. Anyways, I like Lisa but perhaps Karl should leave.

  6. Yeah, I never noticed her missing. When I read all about this on Twitter today, I was assuming they were talking about today’s show. It happened weeks ago, why bring it up now.

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