Matt Lauer, criticized after his ousting of co-host Ann Curry from NBC's "Today" show went public, has turned to comedy to improve the ratings of the failing show.

Last month, the New York Times posted an article discussing Lauer's lack of popularity and the show's declining ratings. "Today" once was the top performing morning show, but it is now consistently ranked behind ABC's "Good Morning America."

Matt Lauer is aware of his own negative press. The New York Post reported that Lauer made fun of himself while hosting the UJA Federation of New York's Broadcast Cable & Film Division event honoring Bloomberg Media Group CEO Andrew Lack.

Lauer told the audience, "If you've been following the papers lately, you know it's been a bit rough for me. These days, I only get asked to host dinners if polio is busy. Yup, I have a lower Q rating than polio right now."

The 'Q' rating is the way TV personalities measure their name recognition and likeability. Lauer's has dropped more than 50% in the last two years, according to the NYT.

Lauer, later on in the event, introduced his former "Today" co-host Katie Couric saying, "Katie has a way of making headlines. Who can forget when she was co-host of the 'Today' show? She got a colonoscopy on TV. Not to be outdone, two weeks ago, I got one in the New York Times."

Ann Curry was Lauer's co-host until she was kicked off the program in June 2012. Allegedly, Lauer pushed for Curry to be ousted because of their dislike of one another and their lack of chemistry on screen.

Some rumors suggest that NBC executives are considering replacing Matt Lauer with Anderson Cooper by 2014.