Names and faces

Matt Lauer, a fixture on NBC's Today show for two decades and a co-host since 1997, will remain on the show for a few more years as it tries to recover the dominance lost to rival Good Morning America. The network said Friday that Lauer had agreed to a contract extension for multiple years, although it would not specify how long. Lauer's last extension was announced in 2012. Terms were not disclosed; as the longest-lasting host in the most profitable time of day for broadcast news divisions, Lauer is certainly one of the highest-paid people in TV news. Lauer's future was the biggest question hanging over NBC's news division. Last week Lauer told NBC's bosses that he had decided to stay, and an agreement was reached quickly. He told his Today colleagues Thursday that he'd be staying, said an NBC executive who spoke on condition of anonymity because the network doesn't talk publicly about contracts. Lauer, 56, said in a statement that "I consider this the best job in broadcasting. I love the people I work with every day and I have such respect and gratitude for the people I work for. I couldn't be happier to be staying." Lauer began as a news anchor on Today in 1994 and replaced Bryant Gumbel as co-host three years later. Lauer has worked with Katie Couric, Meredith Vieira, Ann Curry and now Savannah Guthrie as co-hosts. Today spent an unparalleled two decades at the top of the morning ratings before losing ground to ABC's breezy Good Morning America, a downfall exacerbated by the negative fallout from Curry's removal in 2012.

Harrison Ford was hospitalized after being injured on the set of Star Wars: Episode VII. Disney said the 71-year-old actor was being treated for an ankle injury that happened during filming Thursday. The Star Wars sequel is being filmed at Pinewood Studios outside London. The accident wasn't a stunt sequence but involved the door of a spacecraft from the film. A police report on the accident cited a "garage door" injuring a 71 year-old man but didn't name Ford. The Millennium Falcon, which Ford's Han Solo piloted in the first Star Wars trilogy," was recently disclosed as part of Episode VII. Ford is one of several original Star Wars stars returning to the J.J. Abrams-directed sequel. He's joined by fellow alums Mark Hamill, Carrie Fisher and Peter Mayhew. Disney said shooting will continue as planned while Ford recuperates.

A Section on 06/14/2014

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