‘Today’ eyes woman’s touch

NBC brass are eager to get a woman to take over the “Today Show.” Sources tell us top execs at the network are “hell-bent” in getting a woman to succeed Jim Bell as executive producer once Bell moves on to another role. Sources said NBC is “desperate” to get back on top in the morning race after losing its longtime lead to ABC’s “Good Morning America” and it believes that putting a woman in the top job “is a start,” one insider said. We hear Amy Chiaro, executive producer of “The Dr. Oz Show and a former producer at “Today,” is quietly meeting with the NBC brass about the “Today” position. Page Six recently reported that Izzie Povich, the daughter of talk-show host Maury Povich and exec producer of MSNBC’s “The Last Word With Lawrence O’Donnell,” could also be joining “Today” — and sources told us she was previously the front-runner for the top spot. Another source tells us that hiring a woman might stanch the bleeding from the “public execution” of Ann Curry as co-host, which is believed to have turned female viewers off. An NBC rep said “We seem to be repeating ourselves, but Jim Bell has no plans to leave the ‘Today Show.’ ” NBC announced yesterday that Willie Geist will become a co-host of the “Today” 9 a.m. hour.