HOLLYWOOD - NBC's Today show, which has been struggling in recent weeks to maintain its lead over ABC's Good Morning America, scored a major
"get" Monday when it landed the first TV interviews with two American
aid workers who had been jailed by the Taliban for allegedly
proselytizing Christianity, a capital crime under its rule.
Executive
producer Jonathan Wald told today's New York Daily News
that the show's producers had established a "good relationship" with the
father of one of the women, Heather Mercer, "and our team has been
working to keep that relationship going all along."
The interview was
particularly significant given recent studies indicating that
Today's features had been growing "softer," while GMA's
were being devoted to weightier matters.