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NEW YORK CITY -- When Meredith Vieira took over for Katie Couric on NBC's "Today" show in 2005, the pressure was on. The top-rated program brings in about a half billion dollars in ad revenue annually, and staying on top was Vieira's only goal.

Thanks to help from the crew, Vieira has found her own place in the "Today" family.

"My attitude coming here following Katie was just be me, and people either like me or they won't. The only mandate I really had was please don't let the ratings go down on my watch. People have been very kind," she said when we sat down with her in New York.

Ratings have remained strong, with Today extending its run as the top-rated morning news program to 800 weeks.

The show is bigger than any one person. It's more the people behind the scenes that keep everything running. We're in the front doing our thing, but it's everybody else that's paddling really fast underneath the water that's making the difference.

–Meredith Vieira

The hours, however, have not been kind to Vieira. She says she has never adjusted to waking at 2:30 a.m.

"I'm a night person; I'll never be a day person. I think you are who you are, and I'm a night person. Even if I'm exhausted, around 8 o'clock it's like Dracula, and I'm up probably until 11," she said.

But that early wake-up call is quickly forgotten as Vieira gets in to work every day and hits the air with people who, she says, she genuinely respects and admires.

"We could not fake friendships on the air. People would know. It would be an awful job to do if you didn't like the other people you were working with because the hours are difficult," she explained.

Now, after nearly five years, the 57-year old Vieira will be leaving "Today" in June, three months before the end of her contract. With a husband battling multiple sclerosis and her youngest daughter heading to college in the fall, it's a decision Vieira has been weighing for some time.

Coming up next week

"I'm still kind of weighing options here. I love it. It's a great show. If I were to leave it would not be because of the show. It would be for personal reasons," she said.

When Vieira does leave, she says she'll have nothing but fond memories of her time in studio 1A and gratitude for all of people who have invited her into their homes every morning, including those here in Utah.

"Can I just say thank you to all of them for their support. It means a lot to us here, for sure," she said, as she promised to visit Utah someday in what would be her first trip to the state.

Vieira will reportedly continue hosting "Who Wants to be a Millionaire" after leaving "Today" in June. Anne Curry will take over as "Today" co-host with Matt Lauer.

E-mail: shaws@ksl.com