For a professional early-riser, Today show co-host Matt Lauer, 48, is still waking up to the reality that he is now the dean of morning television. Not only has former co-host Katie Couric's departure thrust him into the leading role at the NBC show, hut the ascension of ABC's morning man Charles Gibson to the evening anchor chair has made Lauer the most seasoned veteran of the high-stakes morning-news wars. With NBC struggling in primetime and facing deep cuts to its news division, Lauer is more vital to the network than ever before. As the star of a $500 miilion-a-year cash cow, he must steady the show as new co-host Meredith Vieira settles in and protect one of NBC's most reliable profit centers. For now, Today is still on top, handily beating chief rival Good Morning America (by nearly a million total viewers and some half a million in the key 25-54 news demo season-to-date). But the ABC newscast has been tenacious, and if The Early Show ever gets its much needed makeover, CBS may yet be a morning player. In a wide-ranging interview last month at his office overlooking Rockefeller Plaza, Lauer spoke about the importance of gravitas, life after Katie and the mixed blessing of having a "dream job."
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