Why did Jane Pauley leave Today show?

Jane Pauley is an American television host and author who has worked in news since 1972.

From 1976 to 1989, Pauley co-hosted the Today show, first with Tom Brokaw from 1976 to December 1981, and then with Bryant Gumbel beginning January 4, 1982.

Jane Pauley left “Today” in 1989, after Deborah Norville was hired. She apparently felt threatened by Norville’s addition to the programme, so she asked to be released from her contract.

The close proximity of the moves piqued people’s interest, but Pauley told LIFE Magazine, “Choosing to go was certainly better than being told to go.”

Pauley returned to the Today show in March 2009 as a contributor, hosting a weekly segment called “Your Life Calling,” sponsored by AARP, that profiled people over the age of 50 who were reinventing their lives in new and different ways.

The award-winning series aired until 2013, when it was followed by Pauley’s second New York Times best-seller, Your Life Calling: Reimagining the Rest of Your Life.

Pauley, former Today co-host Bryant Gumbel, then-Today anchor Matt Lauer, and current weather anchor Al Roker  reunited on December 30, 2013 to co-host a special reunion edition of Today.