Ann Curry steps down from Today post

Sat, June 30, 2012 - 6:04 AM

“Today" co-anchor Ann Curry confirmed speculation on Thursday with an announcement that she's stepping down from her anchor spot but not leaving the network.

Curry told viewers that Thursday marks her last time co-hosting, but she will go on to tell stories for other NBC News shows, including "Today."

The long-time anchor was surrounded by the rest of the hosting staff when she made the announcement, including Matt Lauer, Al Roker and Natalie Morales.

The moment arrived roughly a week after reports surfaced that she was headed for an exit.

“This is not easy to say but today is going to be my last morning as a regular co-host," Curry began tearfully. "I will still be a part of the 'Today' show family but I’m going to have a new title and a new role. And this is not as I expected... I never expected to leave this couch after 15 years, but I am so grateful, especially to all of you who watch, because Matt and I and everyone who sits on this couch, we often call ourselves a family. But you are the real 'Today' show family.”

Curry continued, “You are why I have ventured into dangerous places and interviewed dictators and jumped off of planes and off of bridges and climbed mountains and landed in the South Pole and convinced the Dalai Lama to come live in our studio,” she said of the work she's done over the past 15 years.

“For all of you who saw me as a groundbreaker,” she continued, “I’m sorry I couldn’t carry the ball over the finish line but man, I did try. And so to all of you who watched, thank you from the bottom of my heart for letting me touch yours.”