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In the summer of 1958, television manufacturer
In 2006, Studio 1A underwent a major renovation to prepare for the upgrade to 
On September 16, 2013, ''Today'' debuted a new set and graphics package (it was originally set to debut on September 9, 2013, but was delayed one week to complete final design details). The "home base" is located on a platform that can spin 360°, therefore allowing the view and direction of the camera to change depending on the half-hour. A new couch and background was added in the "sofa area" (where the anchors sit and discuss topics). A
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File:Sheinelle Jones.jpg,
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Saturday Co-Anchor File:Kristen Welker by Gage Skidmore.jpg,
Saturday Co-Anchor File:Actress Malin Akerman Visits TODAY Show (50026255087) (cropped).jpg,
Sunday Anchor
Saturday editions are anchored by
The job of "panelist" has no set definition. Panelist duties can range from conducting interviews to reporting on a number of topics in-studio and in the field. Regular panelists on the program include the following:
*
''Today'' music history page
{{DEFAULTSORT:Today 1952 American television series debuts 1950s American television news shows 1960s American television series 1960s American television news shows 1970s American television series 1970s American television news shows 1980s American television news shows 1990s American television news shows 2000s American television news shows 2010s American television news shows 2020s American television news shows Television morning shows in the United States Black-and-white American television shows English-language television shows American live television series NBC original programming Sirius XM Radio channels Television shows filmed in New York City
''Today'' (also called ''The Today Show'' or informally, ''NBC News Today'') is an American news and
The show's first broadcast aired on January 14, 1952 as the brainchild of television executive Sylvester Weaver, who was then
's ''talk
Talk may refer to:
Communication
* Communication, the encoding and decoding of exchanged messages between people
* Conversation, interactive communication between two or more people
* Lecture, an oral presentation intended to inform or instruct
...
morning television
Breakfast television (Europe, Canada, and Australia) or morning show (United States) is a type of news broadcasting, news or infotainment television show, television programme that broadcasts Live television, live in the morning (typically br ...
show that airs weekdays from 7:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m. on NBC
The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an Television in the United States, American English-language Commercial broadcasting, commercial television network, broadcast television and radio network. The flagship property of the NBC Enterta ...
. The program debuted on January 14, 1952. It was the first of its genre
Genre () is any form or type of communication in any mode (written, spoken, digital, artistic, etc.) with socially-agreed-upon conventions developed over time. In popular usage, it normally describes a category of literature, music, or other for ...
on American television
Television is one of the major mass media outlets in the United States. , household ownership of television sets in the country is 96.7%, with approximately 114,200,000 American households owning at least one television set as of August 2013. ...
and in the world, and after 70 years of broadcasting it is fifth on the list of longest-running United States television series
This is a list of the longest-running United States television series, ordered by number of years the show has been aired. This list includes only first-run series originating in North America and available throughout the United States via natio ...
.
Originally a weekday two-hour program from 7:00 a.m. to 9:00 a.m., it expanded to Sundays in 1987 and Saturdays in 1992. The weekday broadcast expanded to three hours in 2000, and to four hours in 2007 (though over time, the third and fourth hours became distinct entities). ''Today''s dominance was virtually unchallenged by the other networks until the late 1980s, when it was overtaken by ABC
ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script known as the alphabet.
ABC or abc may also refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media Broadcasting
* American Broadcasting Company, a commercial U.S. TV broadcaster
** Disney–ABC Television ...
's ''Good Morning America
''Good Morning America'' (often abbreviated as ''GMA'') is an American morning television program that is broadcast on ABC. It debuted on November 3, 1975, and first expanded to weekends with the debut of a Sunday edition on January 3, 1993. Th ...
''.
''Today'' retook the Nielsen ratings
Nielsen Media Research (NMR) is an American firm that measures media audiences, including television, radio, theatre, films (via the AMC Theatres MAP program), and newspapers. Headquartered in New York City, it is best known for the Nielsen rat ...
lead the week of December 11, 1995, and held onto that position for 852 consecutive weeks until the week of April 9, 2012, when ''Good Morning America'' topped it again. ''Today'' maintained its No. 2 status behind ''GMA'' from the summer of 2012 until it regained the lead in the aftermath of anchor Matt Lauer
Matthew Todd Lauer (; born December 30, 1957) is an American former television news personality, best known for his work with NBC News. After serving as a local news personality in New York City on WNBC, his first national exposure was as the ne ...
's departure in November 2017. In 2002, ''Today'' was ranked No. 17 on ''TV Guide''s 50 Greatest TV Shows of All Time.
The entertainment magazine ''Variety
Variety may refer to:
Arts and entertainment Entertainment formats
* Variety (radio)
* Variety show, in theater and television
Films
* ''Variety'' (1925 film), a German silent film directed by Ewald Andre Dupont
* ''Variety'' (1935 film), ...
'' reported the 2016 advertising revenue during the first two hours of the show was $508.8 million.
On July 15, 2020, NBC launched ''Today'' All Day, a 24-hour digital streaming extension of the program available through its website and Peacock
Peafowl is a common name for three bird species in the genera ''Pavo (genus), Pavo'' and ''Afropavo'' within the tribe Pavonini of the family Phasianidae, the pheasants and their allies. Male peafowl are referred to as peacocks, and female pea ...
.
History
Founding
The show's first broadcast aired on January 14, 1952 as the brainchild of television executive Sylvester Weaver, who was then vice president
A vice president, also director in British English, is an officer in government or business who is below the president (chief executive officer) in rank. It can also refer to executive vice presidents, signifying that the vice president is on t ...
of NBC
The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an Television in the United States, American English-language Commercial broadcasting, commercial television network, broadcast television and radio network. The flagship property of the NBC Enterta ...
. Weaver was president of the company from 1953 to 1956, during which time ''Today''s late-night companion ''The Tonight Show
''The Tonight Show'' is an American late-night talk show that has aired on NBC since 1954. The show has been hosted by six comedians: Steve Allen (1954–1957), Jack Paar (1957–1962), Johnny Carson (1962–1992), Jay Leno (1992–2009 and 201 ...
'' premiered. In pre-production, the show's proposed working title was ''The Rise and Shine Revue''. The show was first supervised by Jerome Alan Danzig
Jerome Alan Danzig (February 7, 1913 – July 15, 2001) was an American reporter, news producer, and top adviser to New York Governor Nelson A. Rockefeller.
Biography
Danzig was born on February 7, 1913 in Manhattan, the son of Helen (née Wolf) ...
.
''Today'' was the first program of its genre
Genre () is any form or type of communication in any mode (written, spoken, digital, artistic, etc.) with socially-agreed-upon conventions developed over time. In popular usage, it normally describes a category of literature, music, or other for ...
when it premiered with original host Dave Garroway
David Cunningham Garroway (July 13, 1913 – July 21, 1982) was an American television personality. He was the founding host and anchor of NBC's ''Today'' from 1952 to 1961. His easygoing and relaxing style belied a lifelong battle with depressi ...
. The program blended national news headlines, interviews with newsmakers, lifestyle features, other light news and gimmicks (including the presence of the chimpanzee
The chimpanzee (''Pan troglodytes''), also known as simply the chimp, is a species of great ape native to the forest and savannah of tropical Africa. It has four confirmed subspecies and a fifth proposed subspecies. When its close relative th ...
J. Fred Muggs
J. Fred Muggs (born March 14, 1952) is a Common chimpanzee, chimpanzee born in the African colony of French Cameroon that forms part of modern-day Cameroon. Brought to New York City before his first birthday, he was bought by two former NBC pages ...
who served as the show's mascot during the early years), and local news updates from the network's stations. It has spawned several other shows of a similar type, including ABC
ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script known as the alphabet.
ABC or abc may also refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media Broadcasting
* American Broadcasting Company, a commercial U.S. TV broadcaster
** Disney–ABC Television ...
's Good Morning America, and CBS
CBS Broadcasting Inc., commonly shortened to CBS, the abbreviation of its former legal name Columbia Broadcasting System, is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the CBS Entertainm ...
' now-defunct ''The Early Show
''The Early Show'' is an American morning television show that aired on CBS from November 1, 1999 to January 7, 2012, and the ninth attempt at a morning news-talk program by the network since 1954. The program aired Monday through Friday from ...
''. In other countries, the format was copied – most notably in the United Kingdom with the BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC
Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board exam. ...
...BBC Breakfast
''BBC Breakfast'' is the BBC television Breakfast television, breakfast news programme. Produced by BBC News, the programme is broadcast on BBC One and the BBC News (TV channel), BBC News channel. The simulcast is presented live, originally from ...
'' and ITV
ITV or iTV may refer to:
ITV
*Independent Television (ITV), a British television network, consisting of:
** ITV (TV network), a free-to-air national commercial television network covering the United Kingdom, the Isle of Man, and the Channel Islan ...
's '' Good Morning Britain'', and in Canada with ''Your Morning
''Your Morning'' is a Canadian breakfast television program that is broadcast on CTV and CTV News Channel. It debuted on August 22, 2016 and airs live from 6-9 a.m. in the Eastern Time Zone and simulcast elsewhere in Canada according to local sc ...
'' on CTV Television Network
The CTV Television Network, commonly known as CTV, is a Canadian English-language terrestrial television network. Launched in 1961 and acquired by BCE Inc. in 2000, CTV is Canada's largest privately owned television network and is now a divis ...
.
Scheduling history
When ''Today'' debuted, it was seen live only in theEastern Time Zone
The Eastern Time Zone (ET) is a time zone encompassing part or all of 23 states in the eastern part of the United States, parts of eastern Canada, the state of Quintana Roo in Mexico, Panama, Colombia, mainland Ecuador, Peru, and a small por ...
and Central Time Zone
The North American Central Time Zone (CT) is a time zone in parts of Canada, the United States, Mexico, Central America, some Caribbean Islands, and part of the Eastern Pacific Ocean.
Central Standard Time (CST) is six hours behind Coordinate ...
, broadcasting for three hours each morning but seen for only two hours in each time zone. Since 1958, ''Today'' has only broadcast live on the Eastern Time Zone, and has been on broadcast delay
In radio and television, broadcast delay is an intentional delay when broadcasting live material, technically referred to as a deferred live. Such a delay may be to prevent mistakes or unacceptable content from being broadcast. Longer delays las ...
for the five other U.S. time zones (Central, Mountain Time Zone
The Mountain Time Zone of North America keeps time by subtracting seven hours from Coordinated Universal Time (UTC) when standard time ( UTC−07:00) is in effect, and by subtracting six hours during daylight saving time ( UTC−06:00). The clo ...
, Pacific Time Zone
The Pacific Time Zone (PT) is a time zone encompassing parts of western Canada, the western United States, and western Mexico. Places in this zone observe standard time by subtracting eight hours from Coordinated Universal Time ( UTC−08:00) ...
, Alaska Time Zone
The Alaska Time Zone observes standard time by subtracting nine hours from Coordinated Universal Time (UTC−09:00). During daylight saving time its time offset is eight hours (UTC−08:00). The clock time in this zone is based on mean solar ti ...
and Hawaii–Aleutian Time Zone
The Hawaii–Aleutian Time Zone observes Hawaii–Aleutian Standard Time (HST) by subtracting ten hours from Coordinated Universal Time ( UTC−10:00). The clock time in this zone is based on the mean solar time of the 150th meridian west of the ...
). Partly to accommodate host Dave Garroway's declining health, the program ceased live broadcasts in September 1959, opting instead to broadcast an edition taped the previous afternoon punctuated with live newscasts each half-hour. The experiment, which drew criticism from many sides, ended when John Chancellor succeeded Garroway in July 1961.
''Today'' was a two-hour program for many years, airing from 7:00 a.m. to 9:00 a.m. in all time zones except for Alaska
Alaska ( ; russian: Аляска, Alyaska; ale, Alax̂sxax̂; ; ems, Alas'kaaq; Yup'ik: ''Alaskaq''; tli, Anáaski) is a state located in the Western United States on the northwest extremity of North America. A semi-exclave of the U.S., ...
, Hawaii
Hawaii ( ; haw, Hawaii or ) is a state in the Western United States, located in the Pacific Ocean about from the U.S. mainland. It is the only U.S. state outside North America, the only state that is an archipelago, and the only stat ...
, and the U.S. Virgin Islands, until NBC expanded the program to three hours (extending the program until 10:00 a.m.) on October 2, 2000. A fourth hour (which extended the program until 11:00 a.m.) was eventually added on September 10, 2007.
In August 2013, ''Today'' released a mobile app for smartphones and tablets.
Current weekday showtimes and arrangements
The program airs live in the Eastern Time ZoneThe weekday editions air live exclusively in the Eastern Time Zone, even when it goes on the road. and on tape delay beginning at 7:00 a.m. in each of the remaining time zones. The remaining three feeds are frequently updated with minor fixes and repairs, and often, correspondents will tape updates that are then edited into the delayed feeds. NBC affiliates in some markets including in the east coast, such asWYFF
WYFF (channel 4) is a television station licensed to Greenville, South Carolina, United States, serving Upstate South Carolina and Western North Carolina as an affiliate of NBC. Owned by Hearst Television, the station maintains studios on Ruther ...
in Greenville, South Carolina, air the third and fourth hours of ''Today'' on tape delay to accommodate live syndicated programmes airing at such times.
When breaking news
Breaking news, interchangeably termed late-breaking news and also known as a special report or special coverage or news flash, is a current issue that broadcasters feel warrants the interruption of scheduled programming or current news in orde ...
stories warrant, ''Today'' will produce a West Coast edition by broadcasting parts of the show live for viewers there. In such an event, the live portion does not typically go beyond the 7:00 a.m. (Pacific Time) half-hour or the bloc before the first set of advertisements. Once completed, the remaining blocs/segments taped from the East Coast edition will follow. Throughout the live segment, the presenters will explicitly make some reference to the show being live on the west coast from time to time until the tape-delayed segments resume.
In some instances, when an NBC News
NBC News is the news division of the American broadcast television network NBC. The division operates under NBCUniversal Television and Streaming, a division of NBCUniversal, which is, in turn, a subsidiary of Comcast. The news division's var ...
Special Report of breaking news
Breaking news, interchangeably termed late-breaking news and also known as a special report or special coverage or news flash, is a current issue that broadcasters feel warrants the interruption of scheduled programming or current news in orde ...
or a live event occurs during the ''Today'' show time slot in the eastern time zone, the show's anchors will assume hosting responsibilities and the show will go live across all time zones until such time when the Special Report segment finishes. At that point, viewers outside the Eastern Time Zone will return to regularly-scheduled programming (i.e. the segment of the ''Today'' show feed already in progress in their corresponding time zone or their local newscast).
Local cut-ins
During the first two hours of the program, localnetwork affiliate
In the broadcasting industry (particularly in North America, and even more in the United States), a network affiliate or affiliated station is a local broadcaster, owned by a company other than the owner of the network, which carries some or a ...
s are offered a four-minute window at 26 and 56 minutes past the hour to insert a local newsbreak (which usually also includes a local forecast, and in large and mid-sized markets, a brief traffic report) and local advertisements. Certain NBC affiliates that produce an additional morning newscast for a sister station or digital subchannel
In broadcasting, digital subchannels are a method of transmitting more than one independent program stream simultaneously from the same digital radio or television station on the same radio frequency channel. This is done by using data compress ...
may prerecord the local inserts aired during the first one to two hours of ''Today'' to focus production responsibilities on just one of their local channels.
Satellite radio simulcast
Starting in June 2014,SiriusXM
Sirius XM Holdings Inc. is an American broadcasting company headquartered in Midtown Manhattan, New York City that provides satellite radio and online radio services operating in the United States. It was formed by the 2008 merger of Sirius S ...
began simulcasting ''Today'' on a new channel called Today Show Radio, Channel 108, with ''The Best of Today'' starting at 6am (Eastern) and the ''Today Shows live broadcast from Studio 1A at Rockefeller Center in New York City starting at 7:00 a.m. (Eastern), with a tape delayed broadcast at beginning 7:00 a.m. Pacific time. On Mondays ''The Hoda Show'' with Hoda Kotb
Hoda Kotb ( ; arz, هدى قطب, ''Hudā Quṭb''; ; born August 9, 1964) is an American broadcast journalist, television personality, and author. She is a main co-anchor of the NBC News morning show ''Today'' and co-host of its entertainment ...
is broadcast exclusive on the Today Show Radio channel. On Tuesdays ''Off the Rails'' with Al Roker
Albert Lincoln Roker Jr. (born August 20, 1954) is an American weather presenter, journalist, television personality, and author. He is the current weather anchor on NBC's ''Today'', and occasionally co-hosts '' 3rd Hour Today''. He has an ina ...
, Dylan Dreyer
Dylan Marie Dreyer (born August 2, 1981) is an American television meteorologist working for NBC News. She is also an anchor on Today's 3rd Hour. Dreyer frequently appears on ''Today'' on weekdays as a weather correspondent and as a fill-in for ...
and Sheinelle Jones
Sheinelle Marie Jones (born April 19, 1978) is an American journalist and a news anchor and correspondent for NBC News. She is one of the hosts of the third hour of ''Today'' on weekdays.
She is also the host of the educational nature program '' ...
airs at 1:00 p.m. (Eastern). On Wednesdays ''The Happy Hour'' with the producers of ''Kathie Lee and Hoda'' airs, and on Thursdays ''Today Show Confidential'' with the producers of ''TODAY'' airs. The channel also simulcasts ''NBC Nightly News
''NBC Nightly News'' (titled as ''NBC Nightly News with Lester Holt'' for its weeknight broadcasts since June 22, 2015) is the flagship daily evening News broadcasting#Television, television news program for NBC News, the news division of the NB ...
'' with Lester Holt
Lester Don Holt Jr. (born March 8, 1959) is an American journalist and news anchor for the weekday edition of ''NBC Nightly News'' and ''Dateline NBC''. On June 18, 2015, Holt was made the permanent anchor of ''NBC Nightly News'' following the ...
at 6:30 p.m. (Eastern) The Today Show Radio service is not currently available on SiriusXM's sister service in Canada and Channel 108 is locked out for Canadian subscribers.
Studio
RCA Exhibition Hall (original studio)
The ''Today'' program first originated from the RCA Exhibition Hall on 49th Street inManhattan
Manhattan (), known regionally as the City, is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the five boroughs of New York City. The borough is also coextensive with New York County, one of the original counties of the U.S. state ...
in a space now occupied by the Christie's
Christie's is a British auction house founded in 1766 by James Christie (auctioneer), James Christie. Its main premises are on King Street, St James's in London, at Rockefeller Center in New York City and at Alexandra House in Hong Kong. It is ...
auction house, just down the block from the present-day studio. The first set placed a functional newsroom in the studio, which Garroway called "the nerve center of the world.” The barrier between backstage and on-stage was virtually nonexistent. Garroway and the on-air staff often walked through the newsroom set. Glimpses of the camera crew and technicians were a frequent occurrence, as were off-screen voices conversing with Garroway. Gradually, machines and personnel were placed behind the scenes to assemble the news and weather reports, and the newsroom was gone by 1955.
Studio 3K, Florida Showcase, Studio 8G, and Studio 3B
In the summer of 1958, television manufacturer Philco
Philco (an acronym for Philadelphia Battery Company) is an American electronics industry, electronics manufacturer headquartered in Philadelphia. Philco was a pioneer in battery, radio, and television production. In 1961, the company was purchased ...
complained to NBC that staging ''Today'' in a studio explicitly called the RCA Exhibition Hall was unfair (RCA owned NBC at the time). The network bowed to the pressure, and on July 7, 1958, ''Today'' moved across the street to Studio 3K in the RCA Building, where it remained through the early 1960s.
On July 9, 1962, the program returned to a street-side studio in the space then occupied by the Florida Showcase. Each day, the ''Today'' production crew would have to move the Florida
Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and to ...
-related tourism merchandise off the floor and wheel in the ''Today'' news set, desks, chairs and cameras. When the show wrapped at 9:00 a.m. Eastern Time, the news set would be put away and the tourism merchandise returned to the floor.
After three years in the Florida Showcase, ''Today'' moved back to the RCA Building on September 13, 1965. The network converted its news programming to all-color broadcasts at that time, and NBC could not justify allocating four (then-expensive) color cameras to the Florida Showcase studio. For the next 20 years, the show occupied a series of studios on the third, sixth, and eighth floors of NBC's headquarters; most notably Studio 3K in the 1970s, Studio 8G (adjacent to Studio 8H, home to ''Saturday Night Live
''Saturday Night Live'' (often abbreviated to ''SNL'') is an American late-night live television sketch comedy and variety show created by Lorne Michaels and developed by Dick Ebersol that airs on NBC and Peacock. Michaels currently serves a ...
''; also the current home of ''Late Night with Seth Meyers
''Late Night with Seth Meyers'' is an American late-night news and political satire talk show hosted by Seth Meyers on NBC. The show premiered on February 24, 2014, and is produced by Broadway Video and Universal Television. Airing weeknights a ...
'') in the late 1970s and early 1980s, and finally Studio 3B from 1983 to 1994.
Studio 1A
''Today'' moved to the new street-side studio on June 20, 1994, providing a link to the show's 1950s origin. Since the debut of the 1990s set, the national morning news programs of each of the major broadcast and cable-news networks have moved street-side – including two of ''Today''s Rockefeller Center neighbors,Fox News
The Fox News Channel, abbreviated FNC, commonly known as Fox News, and stylized in all caps, is an American multinational conservative cable news television channel based in New York City. It is owned by Fox News Media, which itself is owne ...
' ''Fox & Friends
''Fox & Friends'' is an American daily morning news and talk program that airs on Fox News. It premiered on February 1, 1998, and is currently hosted by Steve Doocy, Ainsley Earhardt and Brian Kilmeade on weekdays. Will Cain, Rachel Campos-Du ...
'' (at Sixth Avenue
Sixth Avenue – also known as Avenue of the Americas, although this name is seldom used by New Yorkers, p.24 – is a major thoroughfare in New York City's borough of Manhattan, on which traffic runs northbound, or "uptown". It is commercial ...
) and CNN
CNN (Cable News Network) is a multinational cable news channel headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia, U.S. Founded in 1980 by American media proprietor Ted Turner and Reese Schonfeld as a 24-hour cable news channel, and presently owned by ...
's since-cancelled '' American Morning'' (in the summer of 2005, CNN reversed the trend, abandoning its street-level studio and moving upstairs in the Time Warner Center
Deutsche Bank Center (also One Columbus Circle and formerly Time Warner Center) is a mixed-use building on Columbus Circle in Manhattan, New York City. The building occupies the western side of Columbus Circle and straddles the border between ...
at Columbus Circle
Columbus Circle is a traffic circle and heavily trafficked intersection in the New York City borough of Manhattan, located at the intersection of Eighth Avenue, Broadway, Central Park South ( West 59th Street), and Central Park West, at the so ...
). ABC's ''Good Morning America
''Good Morning America'' (often abbreviated as ''GMA'') is an American morning television program that is broadcast on ABC. It debuted on November 3, 1975, and first expanded to weekends with the debut of a Sunday edition on January 3, 1993. Th ...
'' broadcasts from Times Square Studios
Times Square Studios (TSS) is an American television studio owned by The Walt Disney Company, located on the southeastern corner of West 44th Street and Broadway in Times Square, Midtown Manhattan, New York City. The studio is best known as the ...
, although only a portion of its studio is street side.
In 2006, Studio 1A underwent a major renovation to prepare for the upgrade to high-definition television
High-definition television (HD or HDTV) describes a television system which provides a substantially higher image resolution than the previous generation of technologies. The term has been used since 1936; in more recent times, it refers to the g ...
broadcasts. After the departure of Katie Couric
Katherine Anne Couric ( ; born January 7, 1957) is an American journalist and presenter. She is founder of Katie Couric Media, a multimedia news and production company. She also publishes a daily newsletter, ''Wake Up Call''. From 2013 to 2017, ...
and while a new set was readied (during the summer of 2006), the program was broadcast from a temporary outdoor studio in Rockefeller Plaza, the same set that NBC used at the Olympic Games
The modern Olympic Games or Olympics (french: link=no, Jeux olympiques) are the leading international sporting events featuring summer and winter sports competitions in which thousands of athletes from around the world participate in a var ...
since 2004. During the week of August 28, 2006, the show was moved to a temporary location outside of Studio 1A because MTV
MTV (Originally an initialism of Music Television) is an American cable channel that launched on August 1, 1981. Based in New York City, it serves as the flagship property of the MTV Entertainment Group, part of Paramount Media Networks, a di ...
was converting the outdoor studio into their red carpet booth for the 2006 MTV Video Music Awards
The 2006 MTV Video Music Awards aired live on August 31, 2006, honoring the best music videos from June 11, 2005, to June 26, 2006. The show was hosted by Jack Black at Radio City Music Hall in New York City.
The 2006 Video Music Awards marked th ...
. A mock set was set up in ''Dateline NBC
''Dateline NBC'' is a weekly American television news magazine/reality legal show that is broadcast on NBC. It was previously the network's flagship general interest news magazine, but now focuses mainly on true crime stories with only occasion ...
''s studio, which was also used during inclement weather. The program also used a temporary outdoor set at NBC Studios, and MSNBC
MSNBC (originally the Microsoft National Broadcasting Company) is an American news-based pay television cable channel. It is owned by NBCUniversala subsidiary of Comcast. Headquartered in New York City, it provides news coverage and political ...
's ''Countdown with Keith Olbermann
''Countdown with Keith Olbermann'' is an hour-long weeknight news and political commentary program hosted by Keith Olbermann that aired on MSNBC from 2003 to 2011 and on Current TV from 2011 to 2012. The show presented five selected news stories o ...
'' (which joined at Studio 1A in 30 Rock on October 22, 2007).
On September 13, 2006, ''Today'' moved back into the revamped Studio 1A space. The new studio was divided into five different sections on the lower level including an interview area, the couch area, the news desk, the performance/interview/extra space area, and home base, which is where the anchors start the show. A gigantic Panasonic
formerly between 1935 and 2008 and the first incarnation of between 2008 and 2022, is a major Japanese multinational corporation, multinational Conglomerate (company), conglomerate corporation, headquartered in Kadoma, Osaka, Kadoma, Osaka P ...
103-inch plasma display
A plasma display panel (PDP) is a type of flat panel display that uses small cells containing plasma: ionized gas that responds to electric fields. Plasma televisions were the first large (over 32 inches diagonal) flat panel displays to be release ...
monitor is often used for graphic display backgrounds. A kitchen set is located upstairs from the main studio. The blue background that is seen in the opening of the show in home base moves up and down to allow a view of the outside from the home base.
Some minor changes were implemented throughout the early and middle part of 2013, not only in the way that things are presented, but also with modified graphics and minor updates to the set. That year, a new, larger anchor desk was introduced with space to seat all four main anchors (Guthrie, Lauer, Morales and Roker). The new desk brought an end to the "news desk", as the third "news reader" (Morales) now sits at the main anchor desk. Other minor changes included a new larger desk for the third hour. After the August 16, 2013, broadcast, the program vacated Studio 1A, while the space underwent a remodeling with a more modern look with (as stated by executive producer Don Nash) "a lot more bells and whistles to play with.”
On September 16, 2013, ''Today'' debuted a new set and graphics package (it was originally set to debut on September 9, 2013, but was delayed one week to complete final design details). The "home base" is located on a platform that can spin 360°, therefore allowing the view and direction of the camera to change depending on the half-hour. A new couch and background was added in the "sofa area" (where the anchors sit and discuss topics). A social media
Social media are interactive media technologies that facilitate the creation and sharing of information, ideas, interests, and other forms of expression through virtual communities and networks. While challenges to the definition of ''social medi ...
area known as the "Orange Room,” was also added to Studio 1A, which contains screens that display Twitter
Twitter is an online social media and social networking service owned and operated by American company Twitter, Inc., on which users post and interact with 280-character-long messages known as "tweets". Registered users can post, like, and ...
comments or trending topics, Carson Daly
Carson Jones Daly (born June 22, 1973) is an American television host, radio personality, Television producer, producer, and celebrity, television personality. Prior to 2003, Daly was a VJ (media personality), VJ on MTV's ''Total Request Live'', ...
was hired to present segments from the room during the broadcast. Six screens that also connect to one 6' x 16' screen were added in the fashion/special topic area. During its first two days of use, the show transitioned away from its news and entertainment format to a format that emphasized the social interaction of the anchors, Roker and newsreader.
The graphics were also overhauled with introduction of the new set (a slightly modified version of this package and the revised logo debuted on ''Early Today
''Early Today'' is an American early morning news broadcasting, television news program that is broadcast on NBC on weekday mornings. The program features general national and international news stories, financial and entertainment news, off-bea ...
'' that November, further integrating the early-morning news program's branding with ''Today''). The logo-to-peacock animation was moved from the left corner to the bottom right side corner of the screen. The logo that was first previewed on September 13, 2013, pared down the number of circular arches from five to three with its coloring switching from different variations – generally shades of red, orange and yellow to depict a sunrise – to entirely orange.
In September 2015 ''Today'' updated the set once again, the update included new floors, a new couch, and a new anchor desk. The new set retains the 360 home base used in the previous design. The new set replaced much of the dark wood colors with lighter colors and removed the emphasis of orange in previous design in favor of orange accents.
In February 2018, while Guthrie and Kotb were at the 2018 Winter Olympics
, nations = 93
, athletes = 2,922 (1,680 men and 1,242 women)
, events = 102 in 7 sports (15 disciplines)
, opening =
, closing =
, opened_by = President Moon Jae-in
, cauldron = Kim Yun-a
, stadium = Pyeongchang Olympic Stadium
, winte ...
, the studio received minor changes including new screens and flooring in the former screen area; and by November of the same year, the Orange Room got a minor change that included a triangular-pattern wall and wooden flooring.
On-air staff
Weekdays
Savannah Guthrie
Savannah Clark Guthrie (born December 27, 1971) is an American broadcast journalist and attorney. She is a main co-anchor of the NBC News, morning show ''Today'', a position she has held since July 2012.
Guthrie joined NBC News in September 2 ...
File:Hoda Kotb.jpg, Hoda Kotb
Hoda Kotb ( ; arz, هدى قطب, ''Hudā Quṭb''; ; born August 9, 1964) is an American broadcast journalist, television personality, and author. She is a main co-anchor of the NBC News morning show ''Today'' and co-host of its entertainment ...
Al Roker by Gage Skidmore.jpg, Al Roker
Albert Lincoln Roker Jr. (born August 20, 1954) is an American weather presenter, journalist, television personality, and author. He is the current weather anchor on NBC's ''Today'', and occasionally co-hosts '' 3rd Hour Today''. He has an ina ...
File:Craig Melvin.png, Craig Melvin
Craig Delano Melvin (born May 20, 1979) is an American broadcast journalist and anchor at NBC News and MSNBC. In August 2018, he became a news anchor on NBC's ''Today'' and, in October 2018, a co-host of ''Today Third Hour'' before being made ...
File:Carson Daly headshot from Fleet Week New York 2018.jpg, Carson Daly
Carson Jones Daly (born June 22, 1973) is an American television host, radio personality, Television producer, producer, and celebrity, television personality. Prior to 2003, Daly was a VJ (media personality), VJ on MTV's ''Total Request Live'', ...
Sheinelle Jones
Sheinelle Marie Jones (born April 19, 1978) is an American journalist and a news anchor and correspondent for NBC News. She is one of the hosts of the third hour of ''Today'' on weekdays.
She is also the host of the educational nature program '' ...
File:Actress Malin Akerman Visits TODAY Show (50026255087) (cropped2).jpg, Dylan Dreyer
Dylan Marie Dreyer (born August 2, 1981) is an American television meteorologist working for NBC News. She is also an anchor on Today's 3rd Hour. Dreyer frequently appears on ''Today'' on weekdays as a weather correspondent and as a fill-in for ...
File:Jenna Bush Hager 2017 2.jpg, Jenna Bush Hager
Jenna Welch Bush Hager (born November 25, 1981) is an American news personality, author, and journalist. She is the co-host of ''Today with Hoda & Jenna'', the fourth hour of NBC's morning news program ''Today (U.S. TV program), Today.'' Hager an ...
Main show
During the week, the flagship hours of ''Today'' (7:00 a.m. – 9:00 a.m.) are co-anchored bySavannah Guthrie
Savannah Clark Guthrie (born December 27, 1971) is an American broadcast journalist and attorney. She is a main co-anchor of the NBC News, morning show ''Today'', a position she has held since July 2012.
Guthrie joined NBC News in September 2 ...
(2012–present) and Hoda Kotb
Hoda Kotb ( ; arz, هدى قطب, ''Hudā Quṭb''; ; born August 9, 1964) is an American broadcast journalist, television personality, and author. She is a main co-anchor of the NBC News morning show ''Today'' and co-host of its entertainment ...
(2018–present) alongside co-hosts Al Roker
Albert Lincoln Roker Jr. (born August 20, 1954) is an American weather presenter, journalist, television personality, and author. He is the current weather anchor on NBC's ''Today'', and occasionally co-hosts '' 3rd Hour Today''. He has an ina ...
(weather anchor, 1996–present), Craig Melvin
Craig Delano Melvin (born May 20, 1979) is an American broadcast journalist and anchor at NBC News and MSNBC. In August 2018, he became a news anchor on NBC's ''Today'' and, in October 2018, a co-host of ''Today Third Hour'' before being made ...
(news anchor, 2018–present) and Carson Daly
Carson Jones Daly (born June 22, 1973) is an American television host, radio personality, Television producer, producer, and celebrity, television personality. Prior to 2003, Daly was a VJ (media personality), VJ on MTV's ''Total Request Live'', ...
(features anchor, 2013–present)
Third hour
Sheinelle Jones
Sheinelle Marie Jones (born April 19, 1978) is an American journalist and a news anchor and correspondent for NBC News. She is one of the hosts of the third hour of ''Today'' on weekdays.
She is also the host of the educational nature program '' ...
and Dylan Dreyer
Dylan Marie Dreyer (born August 2, 1981) is an American television meteorologist working for NBC News. She is also an anchor on Today's 3rd Hour. Dreyer frequently appears on ''Today'' on weekdays as a weather correspondent and as a fill-in for ...
– who appear on the main show as contributors – serve as the co-hosts (with Roker and Melvin) of '' 3rd Hour Today'' at 9:00 a.m.
Fourth hour
Kotb andJenna Bush Hager
Jenna Welch Bush Hager (born November 25, 1981) is an American news personality, author, and journalist. She is the co-host of ''Today with Hoda & Jenna'', the fourth hour of NBC's morning news program ''Today (U.S. TV program), Today.'' Hager an ...
co-host the fourth hour – titled ''Today with Hoda & Jenna
''Today with Hoda & Jenna '' (also known as the fourth hour of ''Today'' or simply ''Hoda & Jenna'') is an American daytime television talk show on NBC, hosted by Hoda Kotb and Jenna Bush Hager. The program airs as the fourth hour of NBC's ''Toda ...
'' – at 10:00 a.m.
*Note: ''3rd Hour'' and ''Hoda & Jenna'' – while part of the ''Today'' show – are their own distinct entities and are listed as such.
Weekends
Peter Alexander Peter Alexander may refer to:
* Pete Alexander (born Grover Cleveland Alexander; 1887–1950), American baseball player
* Peter Alexander (Shakespearean scholar) (1893–1969), professor of English language and literature at the University of Glasgo ...
Saturday Co-Anchor File:Kristen Welker by Gage Skidmore.jpg,
Kristen Welker
Kristen Welker (born July 1, 1976) is an American television journalist working for NBC News. She serves as a White House correspondent based in Washington, D.C., and co-anchor of '' Weekend Today'', the Saturday edition of ''Today'', alongside ...
Saturday Co-Anchor File:Actress Malin Akerman Visits TODAY Show (50026255087) (cropped).jpg,
Willie Geist
William Russell Geist (born May 3, 1975) is an American television personality and journalist. He is co-anchor of MSNBC's ''Morning Joe'' and anchor of ''Sunday Today with Willie Geist''. Geist also frequently serves as a fill-in anchor on bot ...
Sunday Anchor
Peter Alexander Peter Alexander may refer to:
* Pete Alexander (born Grover Cleveland Alexander; 1887–1950), American baseball player
* Peter Alexander (Shakespearean scholar) (1893–1969), professor of English language and literature at the University of Glasgo ...
and Kristen Welker
Kristen Welker (born July 1, 1976) is an American television journalist working for NBC News. She serves as a White House correspondent based in Washington, D.C., and co-anchor of '' Weekend Today'', the Saturday edition of ''Today'', alongside ...
alongside co-hosts Joe Fryer (features anchor) and Somara Theodore (weather anchor) from Washington, D.C.
Sunday editions are anchored by Willie Geist
William Russell Geist (born May 3, 1975) is an American television personality and journalist. He is co-anchor of MSNBC's ''Morning Joe'' and anchor of ''Sunday Today with Willie Geist''. Geist also frequently serves as a fill-in anchor on bot ...
from New York City.
Former staff
''Today'' anchors started out as "Communicators". Creator Pat Weaver envisioned a person whose responsibilities would go beyond the bounds of traditional sit-down news anchors. The Communicator would interview, report, moderate dialogue and generally tie the show together into a coherent whole. Garroway and his successors have all followed that model, with little variation. Now, the hosts are expected to do much the same, and on any given day will talk with correspondents, newsmakers and lifestyle experts; introduce and close each half-hour, conduct special segments (such as cooking or fashion) and go on-assignment to host the program from different locations. Although the "Communicator" nomenclature has since dropped out of favor, the job remains largely the same.Anchors
Including Hoda Kotb and Savannah Guthrie, eight men and eight women have served as primary ''Today'' hosts since the program's inception: *Dave Garroway
David Cunningham Garroway (July 13, 1913 – July 21, 1982) was an American television personality. He was the founding host and anchor of NBC's ''Today'' from 1952 to 1961. His easygoing and relaxing style belied a lifelong battle with depressi ...
(January 14, 1952 – June 16, 1961)
* John Chancellor
John William Chancellor (July 14, 1927 – July 12, 1996) was an American journalist who spent most of his career with NBC News. He is considered a pioneer in TV news. He served as anchor of the ''NBC Nightly News'' from 1970 to 1982 and continu ...
(July 17, 1961 – September 7, 1962)
* Hugh Downs
Hugh Malcolm Downs (February 14, 1921July 1, 2020) was an American radio and television broadcaster, announcer and programmer; television host; news anchor; TV producer; author; game show host; talk show sidekick; and music composer. A regular t ...
(September 10, 1962 – October 8, 1971)
* Barbara Walters
Barbara Jill Walters (born September 25, 1929) is an American broadcast journalist and television personality. Known for her interviewing ability and popularity with viewers, Walters appeared as a host of numerous television programs, including ...
(September 16, 1966 – June 4, 1976)
* Frank McGee (October 11, 1971 – April 17, 1974)
* Jim Hartz
James Leroy Hartz (February 3, 1940 – April 17, 2022) was an American television personality, columnist and reporter during the mid- and late-1970s. At age 24, he was the youngest correspondent NBC had ever hired. Hartz became best known to a nat ...
(July 29, 1974 – August 23, 1976)
* Tom Brokaw
Thomas John Brokaw (; born February 6, 1940) is an American retired network television journalist and author. He first served as the co-anchor of ''The Today Show'' from 1976 to 1981 with Jane Pauley, then as the anchor and managing editor of '' ...
(August 30, 1976 – December 18, 1981)
* Jane Pauley
Margaret Jane Pauley (born October 31, 1950) is an American television host, and author, active in news reporting since 1972. Pauley first became widely known as Barbara Walters's successor on the NBC morning show ''Today'', beginning at the age ...
(October 11, 1976 – December 29, 1989)
* Bryant Gumbel
Bryant Charles Gumbel (born September 29, 1948) is an American television journalist and sportscaster, best known for his 15 years as co-host of NBC's ''Today''. He is the younger brother of sportscaster Greg Gumbel. Since 1995, he has hosted H ...
(January 4, 1982 – January 3, 1997)
* Deborah Norville
Deborah Anne Norville (born August 8, 1958) is an American television journalist and businesswoman. Norville is the anchor of ''Inside Edition'', a syndicated television news magazine, a position she has held since March 6, 1995. She markets and ...
(January 8, 1990 – February 22, 1991)
* Katie Couric
Katherine Anne Couric ( ; born January 7, 1957) is an American journalist and presenter. She is founder of Katie Couric Media, a multimedia news and production company. She also publishes a daily newsletter, ''Wake Up Call''. From 2013 to 2017, ...
(April 5, 1991 – May 31, 2006)
* Matt Lauer
Matthew Todd Lauer (; born December 30, 1957) is an American former television news personality, best known for his work with NBC News. After serving as a local news personality in New York City on WNBC, his first national exposure was as the ne ...
(January 6, 1997 – November 28, 2017)
* Meredith Vieira
Meredith Louise Vieira (born December 30, 1953) is an American broadcast journalist and television personality. She is best known as the original moderator of the daytime talk show '' The View'' (1997–2006), the original host of the syndicated ...
(September 13, 2006 – June 8, 2011)
* Ann Curry
Ann Curry (born November 19, 1956) is an American journalist and photojournalist, who has been a reporter for more than 30 years, focused on human suffering in war zones and natural disasters. Curry has reported from the wars in Kosovo, Iraq, S ...
(June 9, 2011 – June 28, 2012)
* Savannah Guthrie
Savannah Clark Guthrie (born December 27, 1971) is an American broadcast journalist and attorney. She is a main co-anchor of the NBC News, morning show ''Today'', a position she has held since July 2012.
Guthrie joined NBC News in September 2 ...
(July 9, 2012 – present)
* Hoda Kotb
Hoda Kotb ( ; arz, هدى قطب, ''Hudā Quṭb''; ; born August 9, 1964) is an American broadcast journalist, television personality, and author. She is a main co-anchor of the NBC News morning show ''Today'' and co-host of its entertainment ...
(January 2, 2018 – present)
Notes:
* Walters was hired as a ''Today'' writer and researcher in 1961, making her first appearance that August with a segment on the Paris fashion show. She was appointed as a "''Today'' Girl" and reporter in October 1964; a ''Today'' panelist in September 1966, and became the program's first female co-anchor upon Frank McGee's death in April 1974.
* Pauley was hired as a ''Today'' panelist in 1976, and was promoted to co-anchor when Bryant Gumbel joined the program in 1982.
* Curry served as the show's Anchor at Large from 2012 to 2015, after her time as a primary host.
*Guthrie first joined ''Today'' as co-host of the third hour, in 2012 she was promoted as co-anchor replacing Ann Curry.
News anchors
From the show's inception, the idea of providing the latest news headlines has been critical to the function of the program. In that vein, there has always been at least one person on set whose job it is to prepare and deliver newscasts. In 1952, that person was called the "news editor" or (informally) "news chief". In modern parlance, the term "newsreader" or "news anchor" is preferred. Under the two-hour format, four newscasts were delivered, once every half-hour. Presently, there are only two newscasts, delivered at the top of each of the first two hours. Some anchors, including Jim Fleming, Lew Wood, Floyd Kalber and John Palmer, were seasoned journalists before joining the program. Others, including Ann Curry, have used the position to increase their journalistic acumen, at times leaving the newsdesk behind to venture into the field. News anchors have included the following:
Weather anchors
For the program's first 25 years, weather reports were delivered by the host or newsreader. Dave Garroway illustrated the day's forecast by drawing fronts and areas of precipitation on a big chalkboard map of the United States, based on information gathered earlier in the morning from theNational Weather Service
The National Weather Service (NWS) is an Government agency, agency of the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government that is tasked with providing weather forecasts, warnings of hazardous weather, and other weathe ...
in Washington, D.C.
)
, image_skyline =
, image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...
Subsequent hosts John Chancellor and Hugh Downs dropped the chalkboard weather map concept, and instead read a prepared weather summary over a still image of a weather map. When the show converted to all-color broadcasts in 1965, weather maps were prepared and projected on a screen behind Frank Blair, who delivered the forecast immediately after his news summaries. Following Blair's retirement on March 14, 1975, Lew Wood took over the newsreader and weather reporting duties (using Blair's format). When Floyd Kalber became newsreader in 1976, Wood was relegated to weather, sports, roving reporter assignments, and presenting live on-air commercials until his departure in 1978.
The weather is reported every half-hour during the program's first two hours, though since Al Roker was named weather reporter on January 26, 1996, an interview is conducted by him in place of the national weather forecast at least once during the show, leaving only the local weather inserts by NBC stations.
Prior to Roker, ''Today'' weather reporters were Bob Ryan
Robert P. Ryan (born February 21, 1946) is an American sportswriter, formerly with ''The Boston Globe'', and author. He has been described as "the quintessential American sportswriter" and a basketball guru, and is well known for his coverage of ...
(1978–1980) and Willard Scott
Willard Herman Scott Jr. (March 7, 1934 – September 4, 2021) was an American weather presenter, radio and television personality, actor, narrator, clown, comedian, and author, whose broadcast career spanned 68 years, 65 years with the NBC br ...
(1980–1996). Until Ryan's hiring, no one on the show had practical experience or academic credentials in meteorology
Meteorology is a branch of the atmospheric sciences (which include atmospheric chemistry and physics) with a major focus on weather forecasting. The study of meteorology dates back millennia, though significant progress in meteorology did not ...
. With NBC's purchase of The Weather Channel
The Weather Channel (TWC) is an American pay television channel owned by Weather Group, LLC, a subsidiary of Allen Media Group. The channel's headquarters are in Atlanta, Georgia. Launched on May 2, 1982, the channel broadcasts weather forecas ...
in 2008, personnel from that network frequently participate in ''Today'' forecast segments, at the site of a weather event or from the cable channel's suburban Atlanta
Atlanta ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is the seat of Fulton County, the most populous county in Georgia, but its territory falls in both Fulton and DeKalb counties. With a population of 498,715 ...
headquarters, or as a fill-in for Roker. This lasted until ten years later when TWC was later acquired by Entertainment Studios
Entertainment Studios, Inc., also known as Allen Media Group, is an American media and entertainment company based in Los Angeles. Owned and founded in 1993 by businessman Byron Allen, the company was initially involved in the production and d ...
.
NBC owned-and-operated station
In the broadcasting industry, an owned-and-operated station (frequently abbreviated as an O&O) usually refers to a television or radio station owned by the network with which it is associated. This distinguishes such a station from an affiliate ...
s and network affiliate
In the broadcasting industry (particularly in North America, and even more in the United States), a network affiliate or affiliated station is a local broadcaster, owned by a company other than the owner of the network, which carries some or a ...
s are given a 30-second window to insert a local forecast segment into the program following the national weather report; Roker's outcue for the local break is "That's what's going on around the country, here's what's happening in your neck of the woods," although in recent years, this outcue was used during only starting the second half-hour. During the first half hour, Roker simply uses "your local forecast" which appears after a 30-second commercial. Those not watching on an affiliate which provides local weather segments following the outcue (including international viewers, as well as NBC stations that do not have a news department) see a national summary of temperatures on a weather map.
The semi-retired Scott, who gained fame through his antics that included costumes and props, still appeared on-air to continue his tradition of wishing "happy birthday" to centenarian
A centenarian is a person who has reached the age of 100 years. Because life expectancies worldwide are below 100 years, the term is invariably associated with longevity. In 2012, the United Nations estimated that there were 316,600 living cente ...
s. Scott's traditional local cue was "Here's what's happening in your world, even as we speak." He retired completely from television on December 15, 2015.
Regular panelists
The job of "panelist" has no set definition. Panelist duties can range from conducting interviews to reporting on a number of topics in-studio and in the field. Regular panelists on the program include the following:
* Jack Lescoulie
Jack Lescoulie (November 17, 1912 – July 22, 1987) was a radio and television announcer and host, notably on NBC's ''Today'' during the 1950s and 1960s; a newspaper source lists his date of birth as May 17, 1912. Lescoulie was also known for h ...
(1952–1965)
* Edwin Newman
Edwin Harold Newman (January 25, 1919 – August 13, 2010) was an American newscaster, journalist, and author. After beginning his career with the wire services and serving in the U.S. Navy during World War II, Newman worked in radio for CBS News ...
(1952–1984)
* Barbara Walters
Barbara Jill Walters (born September 25, 1929) is an American broadcast journalist and television personality. Known for her interviewing ability and popularity with viewers, Walters appeared as a host of numerous television programs, including ...
(1966–1974, officially titled "co-host" in 1974)
* Judith Crist
Judith Crist (; May 22, 1922 – August 7, 2012) was an American film critic and academic.
She appeared regularly on the ''Today'' show from 1964 to 1973 Martin, Douglas (August 8, 2012)"Judith Crist, Zinging and Influential Film Critic, ...
(1964–1973)
* Joe Garagiola Sr. (1967–1973 and 1990–1992)
* Gene Shalit
Eugene Shalit (born March 25, 1926) is an American retired journalist, television personality, Film criticism, film and Literary criticism, book critic and author. After starting to work part-time on NBC's ''Today (American TV program), The Toda ...
(1973–2010)
''Today'' Girls
From 1952 to 1964, a notable member of the cast was a woman, often an entertainer, the ''Today'' Girl. Usually, she discussed fashion and lifestyle, reported the weather, covered lighter-fare stories or engaged in verbal jousting with Garroway. Estelle Parsons was the first to hold the job, though her title at the time was "Women's Editor". Upon her departure in 1955, the ''Today'' Girl name was adopted. The last to hold the position, Barbara Walters, discussed the job in her autobiography '' Audition: A Memoir''. She wrote that the era was before thefeminism
Feminism is a range of socio-political movements and ideologies that aim to define and establish the political, economic, personal, and social equality of the sexes. Feminism incorporates the position that society prioritizes the male po ...
, and it was believed that nobody would take a woman seriously reporting "infotainment
Infotainment (a portmanteau of ''information'' and ''entertainment''), also called soft news as a way to distinguish it from serious journalism or hard news, is a type of media, usually television or online, that provides a combination of infor ...
", Walters described the position as a "tea pourer". In 1966, Walters was promoted to co-anchor alongside Hugh Downs, and the ''Today'' Girl position was eliminated. Those who held the position were:
J. Fred Muggs
From 1953 to 1957, the program featuredJ. Fred Muggs
J. Fred Muggs (born March 14, 1952) is a Common chimpanzee, chimpanzee born in the African colony of French Cameroon that forms part of modern-day Cameroon. Brought to New York City before his first birthday, he was bought by two former NBC pages ...
, a chimpanzee whose antics entertained viewers, but frustrated the program's staff, especially Dave Garroway. Also occasionally appearing was J. Fred's "girlfriend" Phoebe B. Beebe.
Transitions
Pauley to Norville
In 1989,Deborah Norville
Deborah Anne Norville (born August 8, 1958) is an American television journalist and businesswoman. Norville is the anchor of ''Inside Edition'', a syndicated television news magazine, a position she has held since March 6, 1995. She markets and ...
(then anchor of the network's early-morning news program at the time, ''NBC News at Sunrise
''NBC News at Sunrise'' is an American early morning television news program that aired on NBC from August 1, 1983 to September 6, 1999. The program featured the top news headlines of the morning, sports and weather reports, and business segment ...
'') replaced John Palmer John Palmer may refer to:
People
Politicians
* John Palmer (fl. 1377–1394), English politician
* Sir John Palmer, 5th Baronet (1735–1817), British politician
* John Palmer (1785–1840), U.S. congressman from New York
* John Palmer (1842–19 ...
at the ''Today'' newsdesk, at which point he assumed her previous role on ''Sunrise''. She also began substituting for Tom Brokaw
Thomas John Brokaw (; born February 6, 1940) is an American retired network television journalist and author. He first served as the co-anchor of ''The Today Show'' from 1976 to 1981 with Jane Pauley, then as the anchor and managing editor of '' ...
on ''NBC Nightly News
''NBC Nightly News'' (titled as ''NBC Nightly News with Lester Holt'' for its weeknight broadcasts since June 22, 2015) is the flagship daily evening News broadcasting#Television, television news program for NBC News, the news division of the NB ...
''. Shortly after Norville's appointment as ''Today''s news anchor, the decision was made to feature her as an unofficial third host. Whereas Palmer had read the news from a desk separate from where Gumbel and Pauley sat, Norville was seated alongside the program's hosts at the opening and closing of every show. Before long, gossip columns and media observers predicted that NBC would remove Jane Pauley from the program and replace her with Norville in an effort to improve the program's recently declining viewership among young women, the demographic most coveted by morning shows. During this period, ''Saturday Night Live
''Saturday Night Live'' (often abbreviated to ''SNL'') is an American late-night live television sketch comedy and variety show created by Lorne Michaels and developed by Dick Ebersol that airs on NBC and Peacock. Michaels currently serves a ...
'' featured a sketch titled "All About Deborah Norville" (a takeoff on the classic film ''All About Eve
''All About Eve'' is a 1950 American Drama (film and television), drama film written and directed by Joseph L. Mankiewicz, and produced by Darryl F. Zanuck. It is based on the 1946 short story "The Wisdom of Eve" by Mary Orr, although Orr does ...
''), which depicted Norville as ruthlessly scheming to take Pauley's place as ''Today'' co-host.
In October 1989, it was announced that 13-year veteran Pauley would leave ''Today'' at the end of the year. NBC, as expected, announced that Norville would become co-host. An emotional Norville hugged Pauley on the air after the announcement was made, and many at the network hoped the negative press generated by Norville's increased presence on the program would end. However, this turned out not to be the case. Prior to the announcement of Pauley's departure, much of the criticism had focused on Norville's youth and beauty, with many branding her "the other woman" and a "home wrecker", in a reference to what some felt seemed like her intent on "breaking up" the television marriage of Gumbel and Pauley.
The negative press only heightened after the announcement of Pauley's resignation, and Norville was put under a gag order
A gag order (also known as a gagging order or suppression order) is an order, typically a legal order by a court or government, restricting information or comment from being made public or passed onto any unauthorized third party. The phrase may ...
by NBC brass, which prevented her from defending herself from the widespread and erroneous reports that she somehow orchestrated her rise on ''Today''. In January 1990, the new anchor team of Bryant Gumbel and Deborah Norville, minus Jane Pauley, debuted with disastrous results. Nielsen ratings
Nielsen Media Research (NMR) is an American firm that measures media audiences, including television, radio, theatre, films (via the AMC Theatres MAP program), and newspapers. Headquartered in New York City, it is best known for the Nielsen rat ...
for the program began to plummet. Critics felt that Gumbel and Norville lacked chemistry and many loyal viewers began turning to rival ABC's ''Good Morning America'' (''GMA'').
Norville to Couric
By the end of 1990, ''Today'', the longtime dominant program, was officially the second-place morning show behind ''GMA,'' and most of the blame was pinned on Norville. By the outbreak of theGulf War
The Gulf War was a 1990–1991 armed campaign waged by a 35-country military coalition in response to the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait. Spearheaded by the United States, the coalition's efforts against Iraq were carried out in two key phases: ...
in 1991, Norville saw her role as co-host continually minimized. ''Today'' aired special editions of the program called "''America at War''", with Gumbel anchoring most of the show alone. It was not uncommon for Norville not even to appear until the two-hour show's second half-hour. In addition, she was directed not to initiate conversation on the show and only speak when asked a question by Gumbel. Norville left the show for parental leave
Parental leave, or family leave, is an employee benefit available in almost all countries. The term "parental leave" may include maternity, Paternity (law), paternity, and adoption leave; or may be used distinctively from "maternity leave" an ...
in February 1991. It was announced that Katie Couric would substitute co-host during Norville's absence. Ratings for the program rose immediately following Norville's departure and Couric's arrival.
Midway though her maternity leave, Norville was interviewed by ''People
A person (plural, : people) is a being that has certain capacities or attributes such as reason, morality, consciousness or self-consciousness, and being a part of a culturally established form of social relations such as kinship, ownership of pr ...
''. In the story, she avoided conversation about her recent trouble on ''Today'', and instead focused on her newborn baby boy. She was photographed breastfeeding
Breastfeeding, or nursing, is the process by which human breast milk is fed to a child. Breast milk may be from the breast, or may be expressed by hand or pumped and fed to the infant. The World Health Organization (WHO) recommends that br ...
her son, a seemingly innocuous event, but NBC management was said to be greatly displeased by this, believing the photo to be "in poor taste". By April 1991, in light of improved ratings on ''Today'' and NBC's displeasure at the ''People'' photograph, it was announced that Norville would not return to ''Today'' and that Katie Couric had been named the program's co-host. Norville, it was disclosed, would continue to be paid in accordance with her contract, although she would no longer appear on any NBC News programs.
Couric to Vieira
On April 5, 2006, Katie Couric announced on her 15th anniversary as co-host of ''Today'' that she would leave the program and NBC News at the end of May to become the new anchor and managing editor of the ''CBS Evening News
The ''CBS Evening News'' is the flagship evening television news program of CBS News, the news division of the CBS television network in the United States. The ''CBS Evening News'' is a daily evening broadcast featuring news reports, feature s ...
''. Couric's final broadcast, on May 31, 2006, was dedicated to her 15 years as one of the show's co-hosts, and celebrated her move to the anchor chair at CBS, where she also became a correspondent for the network's Sunday night newsmagazine
A news magazine is a typed, printed, and published magazine, radio or television program, usually published weekly, consisting of articles about current events. News magazines generally discuss stories, in greater depth than do newspapers or new ...
program ''60 Minutes
''60 Minutes'' is an American television news magazine broadcast on the CBS television network. Debuting in 1968, the program was created by Don Hewitt and Bill Leonard, who chose to set it apart from other news programs by using a unique styl ...
''. Couric said during the show, "It's been a pleasure hosting this program, and thank you for fifteen great years." A special video presentation was broadcast, recapping her best moments and news stories on ''Today'' during her 15 years with the show.
The day after Couric's announcement, Meredith Vieira
Meredith Louise Vieira (born December 30, 1953) is an American broadcast journalist and television personality. She is best known as the original moderator of the daytime talk show '' The View'' (1997–2006), the original host of the syndicated ...
, then a host of ABC's '' The View'' announced on that show that she would take over as Lauer's co-anchor in September. Lauer and Vieira began co-hosting together on September 13, 2006.
On June 1, 2006 (the day after Couric's departure), NBC News announced that for the summer of 2006, ''Today'' would move to a temporary outdoor studio as Studio 1A was going through renovations to prepare for its switch to high-definition. On that same day, NBC News launched a new advertisement promoting Vieira's arrival. That summer, Couric's anchor seat was filled by various hosts, consisting of Curry, Morales and Campbell Brown (all of whom were considered candidates to replace Couric), until Vieira took over that fall.
In March 2010, Vieira signed a contract to keep her with the program until at least September 2011. However, she announced on May 9, 2011, that she would depart as co-host in the following month, but would remain at NBC News as a special correspondent.
Vieira to Curry
After announcing her resignation, Meredith Vieira departed the program on June 8, 2011. Vieira's spot was filled by the program's longtime news anchor Ann Curry, appearing alongside Matt Lauer as co-host. Correspondent Natalie Morales replaced Curry as news anchor in turn, with Al Roker remaining as the weather anchor. Savannah Guthrie joined Morales and Roker as co-host of the third (9:00 a.m.) hour. Almost a year after her departure, Vieira returned briefly to ''Today'' as a special correspondent for events relating toElizabeth II
Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary; 21 April 1926 – 8 September 2022) was Queen of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms from 6 February 1952 until her death in 2022. She was queen regnant of 32 sovereign states during ...
's Diamond Jubilee Celebration. On June 5, 2012, she co-presented the show with Lauer from London
London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...
.
Curry to Guthrie
NBC revealed on June 28, 2012, thatAnn Curry
Ann Curry (born November 19, 1956) is an American journalist and photojournalist, who has been a reporter for more than 30 years, focused on human suffering in war zones and natural disasters. Curry has reported from the wars in Kosovo, Iraq, S ...
would no longer co-host ''Today'', and would continue to work for NBC News (where she remained until her departure in January 2015), including continuing to appear on ''Today''. Curry's title was changed to "Today Anchor at Large and NBC News National & International Correspondent," with responsibilities including leading a seven-person unit producing content for ''NBC Nightly News'', ''Dateline NBC
''Dateline NBC'' is a weekly American television news magazine/reality legal show that is broadcast on NBC. It was previously the network's flagship general interest news magazine, but now focuses mainly on true crime stories with only occasion ...
'', ''Rock Center with Brian Williams
''Rock Center with Brian Williams'' was an American weekly television newsmagazine that was broadcast on NBC from October 31, 2011 to June 21, 2013 and hosted by former ''NBC Nightly News'' anchor Brian Williams. It aired on Mondays until January ...
'' and ''Today'', with occasional anchor duties for ''Nightly News''. Curry also reported for NBC's coverage of the 2012 Summer Olympics
The 2012 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXX Olympiad and also known as London 2012) was an international multi-sport event held from 27 July to 12 August 2012 in London, England, United Kingdom. The first event, the ...
in London. On July 9, 2012, Savannah Guthrie
Savannah Clark Guthrie (born December 27, 1971) is an American broadcast journalist and attorney. She is a main co-anchor of the NBC News, morning show ''Today'', a position she has held since July 2012.
Guthrie joined NBC News in September 2 ...
succeeded Curry as co-anchor alongside Lauer, Roker and Morales.
Ann Curry's final show as co-anchor was subdued compared to the earlier departures of Katie Couric and Meredith Vieira, as it did not include retrospectives of Curry's 15-year run on the program or goodbye to messages from colleagues and celebrities, although Curry – seated alongside Lauer, Natalie Morales and Al Roker in the couch area of the Studio 1A set – gave a tear-filled farewell message to viewers. Rumors of Curry's departure from ''Today'' began weeks before NBC formally announced that she would no longer be co-host, spurring negative press similar to that resulting from the departure of Jane Pauley and her replacement by Deborah Norville 23 years earlier, as early reports suggested that Matt Lauer had a hand in the program's decision to let Curry go. Viewership declines for the program that began in the months following Curry becoming co-host precipitated in part due to public criticism over Lauer's alleged involvement in Curry's departure; loyal viewers once again began turning to the competing ''Good Morning America'', which toppled ''Today''s 16-year consecutive run as the top-rated morning news program during the week of April 9, 2012. The public relations problems for Lauer that resulted from the accusations, led then-executive producer Jim Bell to admit responsibility for the negative press, in defense of Lauer, in a series of interviews with ''The New York Times
''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...
'', ''The Hollywood Reporter
''The Hollywood Reporter'' (''THR'') is an American digital and print magazine which focuses on the Cinema of the United States, Hollywood film industry, film, television, and entertainment industries. It was founded in 1930 as a daily trade pap ...
'' and the Associated Press
The Associated Press (AP) is an American non-profit news agency headquartered in New York City. Founded in 1846, it operates as a cooperative, unincorporated association. It produces news reports that are distributed to its members, U.S. newspa ...
.
Lauer to Kotb
On November 29, 2017,Hoda Kotb
Hoda Kotb ( ; arz, هدى قطب, ''Hudā Quṭb''; ; born August 9, 1964) is an American broadcast journalist, television personality, and author. She is a main co-anchor of the NBC News morning show ''Today'' and co-host of its entertainment ...
became the interim co-anchor after Matt Lauer
Matthew Todd Lauer (; born December 30, 1957) is an American former television news personality, best known for his work with NBC News. After serving as a local news personality in New York City on WNBC, his first national exposure was as the ne ...
was terminated. Prior to that, she has been a featured co-anchor of ''Today'', sitting alongside Lauer and Guthrie at the beginning of the second half-hour. She held that position on April 17, 2017, after her return from maternity leave until Lauer's termination on November 29, 2017. On January 2, 2018, her interim status became permanent, making her and Savannah Guthrie
Savannah Clark Guthrie (born December 27, 1971) is an American broadcast journalist and attorney. She is a main co-anchor of the NBC News, morning show ''Today'', a position she has held since July 2012.
Guthrie joined NBC News in September 2 ...
the first all-female anchor duo in ''Today's'' history and the second all-female anchor duo overall.
NBC News Chairman Andrew Lack said in an email that Kotb has "seamlessly stepped" into the position, and with Guthrie, "quickly hit the ground running". "They have an undeniable connection with each other and most importantly, with viewers, a hallmark of Today," Lack added.
Just before the holidays, NBC executives offered the job to Kotb. She also continued to co-host the fourth hour of the show, a role she has held since 2007.
Controversies
Gumbel's memo
In 1989,Bryant Gumbel
Bryant Charles Gumbel (born September 29, 1948) is an American television journalist and sportscaster, best known for his 15 years as co-host of NBC's ''Today''. He is the younger brother of sportscaster Greg Gumbel. Since 1995, he has hosted H ...
wrote a memo to the program's then-executive producer Marty Ryan, which was critical of other ''Today'' personalities, and was leaked to the press. In the memo, Gumbel commented that Willard Scott
Willard Herman Scott Jr. (March 7, 1934 – September 4, 2021) was an American weather presenter, radio and television personality, actor, narrator, clown, comedian, and author, whose broadcast career spanned 68 years, 65 years with the NBC br ...
"holds the show hostage to his assortment of whims, wishes, birthdays and bad taste... This guy is killing us and no one's even trying to rein him in." He commented that Gene Shalit
Eugene Shalit (born March 25, 1926) is an American retired journalist, television personality, Film criticism, film and Literary criticism, book critic and author. After starting to work part-time on NBC's ''Today (American TV program), The Toda ...
's movie reviews "are often late and his interviews aren't very good".
There was enough negative backlash in regard to Gumbel's comments toward Scott that Gumbel was shown reconciling with Scott on ''Today''.
Selective editing of George Zimmerman 9-1-1 call
After thekilling of Trayvon Martin
On the night of February 26, 2012, in Sanford, Florida, United States, George Zimmerman fatally shot Trayvon Martin, a 17-year-old African-American boy. Zimmerman, a 28-year-old man of mixed race, was the neighborhood watch coordinator for his ...
, ''Today'' ran a selectively edited version of the 9-1-1
, usually written 911, is an emergency telephone number for the United States, Canada, Mexico, Panama, Palau, Argentina, Philippines, Jordan, as well as the North American Numbering Plan (NANP), one of eight N11 codes. Like other emergency nu ...
call that George Zimmerman made prior to shooting and killing Martin (which he defended as being committed in self-defense
Self-defense (self-defence primarily in Commonwealth English) is a countermeasure that involves defending the health and well-being of oneself from harm. The use of the right of self-defense as a legal justification for the use of force in ...
while standing trial for the shooting, for which he was acquitted on charges of murder in July 2013), which had the effect of making Zimmerman appear racist
Racism is the belief that groups of humans possess different behavioral traits corresponding to inherited attributes and can be divided based on the superiority of one race over another. It may also mean prejudice, discrimination, or antagonism ...
. In a March 2012 edition of the program, ''Today'' played a recording of Zimmerman saying, "This guy looks like he's up to no good. He looks black." However, several seconds of the call were cut from the 911 tape, removing Zimmerman's description of Martin, and a question asked to him about the teenager by the 911 operator. In the original, unedited tape, Zimmerman said, "This guy looks like he's up to no good. Or he's on drugs or something. It's raining and he's just walking around, looking about." The operator then asked, "OK, and this guy – is he black, white or Hispanic?", to which Zimmerman answered, "He looks black."
''The Washington Post
''The Washington Post'' (also known as the ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'') is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C. It is the most widely circulated newspaper within the Washington metropolitan area and has a large nati ...
'' wrote that ''Today''s alteration "would more readily paint Zimmerman as a racial profiing. In reality's version, Zimmerman simply answered a question about the race of the person whom he was reporting to the police. Nothing prejudicial at all in responding to such an inquiry... it's a falsehood with repercussions. Much of the public discussion over the past week has settled on how conflicting facts and interpretations call into question whether Zimmerman acted justifiably or criminally... To portray that exchange in a way that wrongs Zimmerman is high editorial malpractice..."
Following an internal investigation into the production of the segment, NBC News fired two employees who were involved in the piece, including a producer based at the division's Miami bureau, in April 2012. In December 2012, George Zimmerman filed a defamation lawsuit against NBC for the editing of the 911 call. Florida Circuit Court Judge Debra Nelson dismissed the suit on June 30, 2014, citing that there were "no genuine issues of material fact upon which a reasonable jury could find that the Defendants BCUniversalacted with actual malice," but although Zimmerman could not prove that he was the victim of "actual malice", stated that the malice standard was appropriate since Zimmerman is a public figure.
9/11 Moment of Silence omission
On September 11, 2012, ''Today'' sparked outrage after the program neglected to interrupt an interview with ''Keeping Up with the Kardashians
''Keeping Up with the Kardashians'' (often abbreviated ''KUWTK'') is an American reality television series which focused on the personal and professional lives of the Kardashian family, Kardashian–Jenner Stepfamily, blended family, airing b ...
'' co-star Kris Jenner
Kristen Mary Jenner ( Houghton , formerly Kardashian; born November 5, 1955) is an American media personality, socialite, and businesswoman. She rose to fame starring in the reality television series ''Keeping Up with the Kardashians'' (2007 ...
to broadcast the 11th anniversary remembrance ceremonies of the September 11 attacks
The September 11 attacks, commonly known as 9/11, were four coordinated suicide terrorist attacks carried out by al-Qaeda against the United States on Tuesday, September 11, 2001. That morning, nineteen terrorists hijacked four commercia ...
at 8:46 a.m. Eastern. NBC was the only national television news outlet in the United States that did not interrupt regular programming to broadcast the moment of silence live. While the coverage of the ceremonies was not seen on the NBC network feed in most of the country, the network's New York City
New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...
flagship
A flagship is a vessel used by the commanding officer of a group of naval ships, characteristically a flag officer entitled by custom to fly a distinguishing flag. Used more loosely, it is the lead ship in a fleet of vessels, typically the fi ...
owned-and-operated station WNBC
WNBC (channel 4) is a television station in New York City, serving as the flagship of the NBC network. It is owned and operated by the network's NBC Owned Television Stations division alongside Linden, New Jersey–licensed Telemundo station WN ...
interrupted the ''Today'' broadcast to run locally produced special coverage of the entire ceremony.
Matt Lauer termination
On November 29, 2017, NBC terminated Lauer following allegations of "inappropriate sexual behavior". NBC News chairman Andrew Lack announced Lauer's termination, stating: "It represented, after serious review, a clear violation of our company's standards. As a result, we've decided to terminate his employment. While it is the first complaint about his behavior in the over twenty years he's been at NBC News, we were also presented with reason to believe this may not have been an isolated incident. Our highest priority is to create a workplace environment where everyone feels safe and protected, and to ensure that any actions that run counter to our core values are met with consequences, no matter who the offender." Lauer would eventually be replaced by the long-time anchor of Today's 4th Hour,Hoda Kotb
Hoda Kotb ( ; arz, هدى قطب, ''Hudā Quṭb''; ; born August 9, 1964) is an American broadcast journalist, television personality, and author. She is a main co-anchor of the NBC News morning show ''Today'' and co-host of its entertainment ...
.
Although NBC did not publicly report or comment on the specifics of the allegations, the entertainment industry publication ''Variety'' ran a two-month long investigation involving interviews with Lauer's former NBC colleagues on his behavior towards them, which included lurid accusations of making verbal and typed lewd comments, as well as making suggestive references to a colleague's sexual performance.
Megyn Kelly blackface controversy
During the episode of October 23, 2018,Megyn Kelly
Megyn Marie Kelly (; born November 18, 1970) is an American journalist and media personality. She currently hosts a talk show and podcast, ''The Megyn Kelly Show'', that airs live daily on SiriusXM. She was a talk show host at Fox News from 200 ...
participated in a panel discussion on the appropriateness of blackface
Blackface is a form of theatrical makeup used predominantly by non-Black people to portray a caricature of a Black person.
In the United States, the practice became common during the 19th century and contributed to the spread of racial stereo ...
in Halloween costume
Halloween costumes are costumes worn on Halloween, a festival which falls on October 31. An early reference to wearing costumes at Halloween comes from Scotland in 1585, but they may pre-date this. There are many references to the custom during ...
on her morning show ''Megyn Kelly Today''. During the segment, Kelly recollected that "when I was a kid, that was okay as long as you were dressing up as like a character", and added that " nowiki/>Luann_de_Lesseps.html" ;"title="Luann_de_Lesseps.html" ;"title="nowiki/>Luann de Lesseps">nowiki/>Luann de Lesseps">Luann_de_Lesseps.html" ;"title="nowiki/>Luann de Lesseps">nowiki/>Luann de Lessepswants to look like Diana Ross for one day, and I don't know how that got racist on Halloween." Her comments were widely criticized for being interpreted as defense of the practice, which is generally considered to be a derogatory caricature of African-Americans. Critics likened Kelly's remarks to a previous incident during her tenure at Fox News Channel, where Kelly asserted that Jesus
Jesus, likely from he, יֵשׁוּעַ, translit=Yēšūaʿ, label=Hebrew/Aramaic ( AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ or Jesus of Nazareth (among other names and titles), was a first-century Jewish preacher and religious ...
and Santa Claus
Santa Claus, also known as Father Christmas, Saint Nicholas, Saint Nick, Kris Kringle, or simply Santa, is a Legend, legendary figure originating in Western Christianity, Western Christian culture who is said to Christmas gift-bringer, bring ...
were white.
Later that day, Kelly issued an internal email apologizing for the remarks, stating that "I realize now that such behavior is indeed wrong, and I am sorry", and that "I've never been a ' pc' kind of person — but I understand that we do need to be more sensitive in this day and age. Particularly on race and ethnicity issues which, far from being healed, have been exacerbated in our politics over the past year. This is a time for more understanding, love, sensitivity and honor, and I want to be part of that. I look forward to continuing that discussion."
Kelly opened the October 24 episode with a public apology, as well as a follow-up discussion with African-American commentators Amy Holmes
Amy Mulenga Holmes (born July 25, 1973) is a Zambian-born American journalist and political commentator. Holmes co-hosts, with fellow commentator Michael Gerson, a politically conservative-oriented talk show on PBS titled ''In Principle.'' She is ...
and Roland Martin on why blackface is considered controversial. The same day, ''The Hollywood Reporter
''The Hollywood Reporter'' (''THR'') is an American digital and print magazine which focuses on the Cinema of the United States, Hollywood film industry, film, television, and entertainment industries. It was founded in 1930 as a daily trade pap ...
'' reported that Kelly had left the Creative Artists Agency
Creative Artists Agency LLC (CAA) is an American talent and sports agency based in Los Angeles, California. It is regarded as an influential company in the talent agency business and manages numerous clients. In March 2016, CAA had 1,800 emplo ...
, and had hired an attorney. It was also reported that, prior to the incident, Kelly and NBC had been discussing cancelling the program so she could focus more on serving as a correspondent, but that the comments may have an impact on her future at the network. The week's remaining episodes were replaced by encores.
On October 26, 2018, NBC News confirmed the cancellation of ''Megyn Kelly Today'' and announced that the show's existing anchors would temporarily fill the third hour.
Expansion
Current
''Weekend Today''
''Today'' first expanded to weekends on September 20, 1987, with the debut of the Sunday edition. Five years later on August 1, 1992, the Saturday edition made its debut, expanding the program to seven days a week. The Sunday broadcast was originally 90 minutes in length, until the third half-hour being dropped with the expansion of ''Meet the Press
''Meet the Press'' is a weekly American television news/interview program broadcast on NBC. It is the longest-running program on American television, though the current format bears little resemblance to the debut episode on November 6, 1947. ' ...
'' to an hour-long broadcast in 1992; it now airs for one hour, while the Saturday broadcast airs for two hours.
The weekend broadcasts continue the ''Today'' format of covering breaking news, interviews with newsmakers, reports on a variety of popular-culture and human-interest stories, covering health and finance issues, and national weather reports. NBC feeds the Saturday edition from 7:00 a.m. – 9:00 a.m. (although it is often shortened to air the network's kids' block in full when there is an early start to sports) and the Sunday edition from 8:00 a.m. to 9:00 a.m. (both in the Eastern Time Zone), although many of the network's affiliates air local newscasts in those time slots and carry the network broadcast earlier or later in the morning; many NBC affiliates also bookend the Sunday edition with local morning newscasts that immediately precede and follow the program. NBC's New York City
New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...
, Chicago
(''City in a Garden''); I Will
, image_map =
, map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago
, coordinates =
, coordinates_footnotes =
, subdivision_type = Country
, subdivision_name ...
, San Francisco
San Francisco (; Spanish language, Spanish for "Francis of Assisi, Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the List of Ca ...
and Los Angeles
Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...
owned-and-operated stations air ''Weekend Today'' simultaneously (but not live) at 9:00 a.m Eastern, 8:00 a.m. Central and 6:00 a.m. Pacific Time.
Weekend editions are tailored to the priorities and interests of weekend viewers – offering special series such as "''Saturday Today'' on the Plaza", featuring live performances by major music acts and Broadway
Broadway may refer to:
Theatre
* Broadway Theatre (disambiguation)
* Broadway theatre, theatrical productions in professional theatres near Broadway, Manhattan, New York City, U.S.
** Broadway (Manhattan), the street
**Broadway Theatre (53rd Stree ...
theatrical productions outside the studio throughout the summer.
During NBC Olympic broadcasts
The broadcasts of ''Summer'' and ''Winter Olympic Games'' produced by ''NBC Sports'' are shown on the various platforms of NBCUniversal in the United States, including the NBC broadcast network, NBC Sports app, NBCOlympics.com, Peacock, Spanish l ...
, the weekday anchors and staff present the majority of the program on both Saturday and Sunday throughout the two weeks to maintain promotional momentum, with limited contributions from the weekend team from New York.
''Early Today''
The firstbrand extension
Brand extension or brand stretching is a marketing strategy in which a firm marketing a product with a well-developed image uses the same brand name in a different product category. The new product is called a spin-off.
Organizations use this ...
of ''Today'' was created in 1982. The early morning news program ''Early Today'' was conceived as a lead-in for ''Today'', featuring the same anchors as the main program at the time, Bryant Gumbel and Jane Pauley. The half-hour program was fed twice to allow affiliates to carry one or both broadcasts. NBC canceled the program after a year, and replaced it with ''NBC News at Sunrise
''NBC News at Sunrise'' is an American early morning television news program that aired on NBC from August 1, 1983 to September 6, 1999. The program featured the top news headlines of the morning, sports and weather reports, and business segment ...
'', originally anchored by Connie Chung
Constance Yu-Hwa Chung (born August 20, 1946) is an American journalist. She has been an anchor and reporter for the U.S. television news networks NBC, CBS, ABC, CNN, and MSNBC. Some of her more famous interview subjects include Claus von Bülow ...
.
In April 1999, NBC canceled ''Sunrise'' for two brand extensions of ''Today''. One was ''Early Today'' which was revived September 7, 1999; the revived program originally was produced by CNBC and focused on business and financial news before switching to general news under the same production staff as ''MSNBC First Look'' in 2004. ''Early Today'' continues to air on the network, airing live each weekday morning at 3:00 a.m. Eastern Time (with an updated telecast for viewers in the Pacific Time Zone), and on tape delay until 10:00 a.m. Eastern – corresponding with the start time of ''Today'' in the Pacific Time Zone – to allow for adjustment in airtimes for other time zones and for certain NBC stations without a local morning newscast to air ''Early Today'' in lieu of one.
''Today 3rd Hour''
''Today 3rd Hour'' (sometimes called ''The 3rd''), the current name for the third hour of ''Today'', features anchors who appear in the first two hours of the program. After ''Megyn Kelly Today
''Megyn Kelly Today'' is an American daytime talk show that was broadcast by NBC. Premiering on September 25, 2017, it replaced ''Today's Take'' as the third hour of NBC's national morning show ''Today''. The program was hosted by Megyn Kelly, ...
'' was cancelled on October 26, 2018, NBC announced that ''Today'' anchors would host the third hour. The new third hour premiered on October 29, 2018, with Hoda Kotb
Hoda Kotb ( ; arz, هدى قطب, ''Hudā Quṭb''; ; born August 9, 1964) is an American broadcast journalist, television personality, and author. She is a main co-anchor of the NBC News morning show ''Today'' and co-host of its entertainment ...
, Craig Melvin
Craig Delano Melvin (born May 20, 1979) is an American broadcast journalist and anchor at NBC News and MSNBC. In August 2018, he became a news anchor on NBC's ''Today'' and, in October 2018, a co-host of ''Today Third Hour'' before being made ...
and Al Roker
Albert Lincoln Roker Jr. (born August 20, 1954) is an American weather presenter, journalist, television personality, and author. He is the current weather anchor on NBC's ''Today'', and occasionally co-hosts '' 3rd Hour Today''. He has an ina ...
anchoring for the first 20 minutes from Studio 1A, reporting on the Pittsburgh synagogue shooting
The Pittsburgh synagogue shooting was an antisemitic terrorist attack which took place at the Tree of Life – Or L'Simcha Congregation synagogue in the Squirrel Hill neighborhood of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States. The congregation, alo ...
, with Savannah Guthrie
Savannah Clark Guthrie (born December 27, 1971) is an American broadcast journalist and attorney. She is a main co-anchor of the NBC News, morning show ''Today'', a position she has held since July 2012.
Guthrie joined NBC News in September 2 ...
anchoring live from Pittsburgh. At the top of the program, Kotb said:
After 20 minutes, the program continued with Jenna Bush Hager
Jenna Welch Bush Hager (born November 25, 1981) is an American news personality, author, and journalist. She is the co-host of ''Today with Hoda & Jenna'', the fourth hour of NBC's morning news program ''Today (U.S. TV program), Today.'' Hager an ...
from Studio 6A, the former home of ''Megyn Kelly Today'', where broadcasts of the third hour would begin to be based. Since its debut, the third hour has used a modified nameless opening title sequence compared to the other editions of ''Today''. Various other ''Today'' and NBC News personalities filled in until January, when it was announced that the official hosts would be Al Roker, Sheinelle Jones
Sheinelle Marie Jones (born April 19, 1978) is an American journalist and a news anchor and correspondent for NBC News. She is one of the hosts of the third hour of ''Today'' on weekdays.
She is also the host of the educational nature program '' ...
, Dylan Dreyer
Dylan Marie Dreyer (born August 2, 1981) is an American television meteorologist working for NBC News. She is also an anchor on Today's 3rd Hour. Dreyer frequently appears on ''Today'' on weekdays as a weather correspondent and as a fill-in for ...
and Craig Melvin. On December 4, 2018, an NBC News spokesperson confirmed that the third hour would move to Studio 1A to streamline the production process and create a more seamless broadcast. The last day at Studio 6A was January 4, 2019, with new broadcasts in Studio 1A beginning on January 7.
''Today with Hoda & Jenna''
''Today with Hoda & Jenna'' premiered on April 8, 2019, as the fourth hour of ''Today'', succeeding ''Kathie Lee & Hoda''. The program is hosted byHoda Kotb
Hoda Kotb ( ; arz, هدى قطب, ''Hudā Quṭb''; ; born August 9, 1964) is an American broadcast journalist, television personality, and author. She is a main co-anchor of the NBC News morning show ''Today'' and co-host of its entertainment ...
and Jenna Bush Hager
Jenna Welch Bush Hager (born November 25, 1981) is an American news personality, author, and journalist. She is the co-host of ''Today with Hoda & Jenna'', the fourth hour of NBC's morning news program ''Today (U.S. TV program), Today.'' Hager an ...
, and continues to follow a similar format as its predecessor as its own distinct entity.
''Today'' All Day
On July 15, 2020, NBC launched ''Today'' All Day, a digital extension of ''Today'' which is a streaming video channel on the program's website andPeacock
Peafowl is a common name for three bird species in the genera ''Pavo (genus), Pavo'' and ''Afropavo'' within the tribe Pavonini of the family Phasianidae, the pheasants and their allies. Male peafowl are referred to as peacocks, and female pea ...
. It features blocks of soft news and lifestyle segments drawn from the program, as well as original content hosted by the program's personalities. NBC plans to eventually widen its distribution via third-party internet TV services in addition to its own.
Former
''Later Today''
On September 7, 1999, NBC launched ''Later Today'', a talk show that was intended to air immediately following the then two-hour ''Today''. Replacing ''Leeza
''Leeza'' is an NBC and syndicated daytime television talk show. It premiered on June 14, 1993 as ''John & Leeza from Hollywood'', hosted by John Tesh and Leeza Gibbons. Tesh left the show after seven months, and on January 17, 1994, the pro ...
'' (which would continue in first-run syndication for one more year) on the network's morning schedule, ''Later Today'' was hosted by , Florence Henderson
Florence Agnes Henderson (February 14, 1934 – November 24, 2016) was an American actress. With a career spanning six decades, she is best known for her starring role as Carol Brady on the ABC sitcom ''The Brady Bunch''. Henderson also appeare ...
and Asha Blake
Asha Blake is a five-time Emmy Award-winning television news journalist. Her US-based career has spanned anchoring ABC and NBC network newscasts, daytime- and entertainment-based talk shows, and local news anchoring at flagship news stations KNBC ...
. The program was cancelled on August 11, 2000, due to lackluster ratings; it was replaced two months later by the third hour of ''Today'', later known as ''Today's Take''.
''Today's Take''
''Today's Take'' (sometimes called ''The Take'') was the third-hour segment of ''Today''. This "show-within-a-show" had its own anchors (although featuring on-air staff that appears during the first two hours of the program), openingtitle sequence
A title sequence (also called an opening sequence or intro) is the method by which films or television programmes present their title and key production and cast members, utilizing conceptual visuals and sound (often a opening theme song with visu ...
and theme music.
On October 2, 2000, NBC expanded ''Today'' to three hours, with the addition of an hour from 9:00 a.m. to 10:00 a.m. For its first twelve years, the format of the third hour was originally structured similarly to ''Today''s first two hours, using the same anchors as that portion of the broadcast; separate anchors began to be used for the third hour over time, with only the news anchor (Ann Curry until 2011, then Natalie Morales) and the weather anchor (Al Roker) being shared with the main 7:00 a.m. – 9:00 a.m. block – this was particularly the case during instances where Matt Lauer or his co-host (Katie Couric, then Meredith Vieira from 2006 to 2011, Ann Curry from 2011 to 2012, and finally Savannah Guthrie during the final months of the original format) could not be present for the entire hour due to reporting assignments or personal commitments. Vieira, outside of breaking news situations, was specifically disallowed by contract from any duties in the third hour due to her hosting commitments to the syndicated version of ''Who Wants to Be a Millionaire
''Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?'' (often informally called ''Millionaire'') is an international television game show franchise of British origin, created by David Briggs, Mike Whitehill and Steven Knight. In its format, currently owned and ...
'' by Disney–ABC Domestic Television
Disney–ABC Domestic Television (doing business as Disney–ABC Home Entertainment and Television Distribution, and formerly named Buena Vista Television) is the in-home sales and content distribution firm of Disney Platform Distribution, a su ...
.
The network revamped the format of the third hour on November 12, 2012, and gave it the in-program title ''Today's Take''. Roker was joined during the revamped third hour by Natalie Morales and Willie Geist (who had recently joined ''Today'' after ending his run as the original anchor of MSNBC's ''Way Too Early
''Way Too Early with Jonathan Lemire'' is an American morning news show that airs weekday mornings on MSNBC. The network has had shows with the title ''Way Too Early'', both with and without the name of the host at the time, during two differen ...
''); MSNBC anchor and ''Today'' correspondent Tamron Hall
Tamron Hall (born September 16, 1970) is an American broadcast journalist and television talk show host. In September 2019, Hall debuted her self-titled syndicated daytime talk show, which earned her a Daytime Emmy Award. Hall was formerly a n ...
was added as a co-host for that hour of the program on February 24, 2014, and Ellie Kemper
Elizabeth Claire Kemper (born May 2, 1980) is an American actress and comedian. She has been nominated for a Critics' Choice Movie Award, two Critics' Choice Television Awards, two Primetime Emmy Awards, three Satellite Awards, and seven Scre ...
joined the program on June 29, 2015, as a temporary co-host (until July 17, 2015).
With the change, traditional news segments at the beginning of the hour were abandoned in favor of a topical "host chat" format similar to the opening segment of the succeeding fourth hour of the program (with the only difference being that top general news events are discussed somewhat more often, in addition to featuring topical discussions on offbeat and pop culture-related stories and periodic clips from television programs aired the previous night and viral video
A viral video is a video that becomes popular through a viral process of Internet sharing, typically through video sharing websites such as YouTube as well as social media and email.Lu Jiang, Yajie Miao, Yi Yang, ZhenZhong Lan, Alexander Haupt ...
). Instead, the news segment (titled ''News with Natalie'', anchored by Morales, and alternately titled ''Today's News'' on days when Morales is off) is featured prior to the local update cutaways near the end of the first half-hour; national weather segments are also retained following the host chat segments in both half-hours. Beginning in May 2015, the ''News with Natalie''/''Today's News'' segment moved to 9:30 a.m. and the national weather segment to follow and the host chat at 9:30 a.m. was discontinued.
On August 22, 2016, both Morales and Geist left ''Today's Take'' and former ''Access Hollywood
''Access Hollywood'', formerly known as ''Access'' from 2017 to 2019, is an American weekday television entertainment news program that premiered on September 9, 1996. It covers events and celebrities in the entertainment industry. It was created ...
'' host Billy Bush
William Hall Bush (born October 13, 1971) is an American radio and television host. He is a member of the Bush family, a nephew of President George H. W. Bush and cousin of President George W. Bush and Florida governor Jeb Bush.
After appearin ...
officially joined the set. Bush was later suspended and eventually fired from the segment as well as the program following Donald Trump Access Hollywood tape during U.S. Republican and presidential candidate Donald Trump
Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who served as the 45th president of the United States from 2017 to 2021.
Trump graduated from the Wharton School of the University of Pe ...
's campaign in October 2016.
On February 1, 2017, Hall left ''Today's Take''. Weekend co-anchor Sheinelle Jones and weekend meteorologist Dylan Dreyer filled in as co-hosts alongside Roker until a new morning lineup began in the fall.
''Today's Take'' aired its final episode on September 22, 2017, and ''Megyn Kelly Today'' replaced it on September 25, 2017.
''Megyn Kelly Today''
''Megyn Kelly Today'' premiered on September 25, 2017, as a replacement for ''Today's Take''. It was hosted by formerFox News
The Fox News Channel, abbreviated FNC, commonly known as Fox News, and stylized in all caps, is an American multinational conservative cable news television channel based in New York City. It is owned by Fox News Media, which itself is owne ...
anchor Megyn Kelly
Megyn Marie Kelly (; born November 18, 1970) is an American journalist and media personality. She currently hosts a talk show and podcast, ''The Megyn Kelly Show'', that airs live daily on SiriusXM. She was a talk show host at Fox News from 200 ...
, and was structured as a daytime talk show
A talk show (or chat show in British English) is a television programming or radio programming genre structured around the act of spontaneous conversation.Bernard M. Timberg, Robert J. Erler'' (2010Television Talk: A History of the TV Talk Show ...
.
In the wake of stable but lower viewership in comparison to the timeslot's predecessor, a desire by Kelly to focus more on her overall role at NBC News, and in the wake of controversy over a recent segment discussing blackface
Blackface is a form of theatrical makeup used predominantly by non-Black people to portray a caricature of a Black person.
In the United States, the practice became common during the 19th century and contributed to the spread of racial stereo ...
, the show was officially cancelled on October 26, 2018. Kelly never again appeared on NBC and departed the network three months later.
''Today with Kathie Lee and Hoda''
''Today with Kathie Lee and Hoda'' was the fourth-hour segment of ''Today'' hosted byKathie Lee Gifford
Kathryn Lee Gifford (née Epstein; born August 16, 1953) is an American television presenter, singer, songwriter, actress and author. From 1985 to 2000, she and Regis Philbin hosted the talk show ''Live! with Regis and Kathie Lee''. Gifford is a ...
and Hoda Kotb
Hoda Kotb ( ; arz, هدى قطب, ''Hudā Quṭb''; ; born August 9, 1964) is an American broadcast journalist, television personality, and author. She is a main co-anchor of the NBC News morning show ''Today'' and co-host of its entertainment ...
, which aired from April 7, 2008, to April 5, 2019. It replaced the original fourth hour that debuted earlier that fall on September 10, 2007, originally hosted by Ann Curry, Natalie Morales, and Hoda Kotb. The program was its own distinct entity, with its own website and social media presence. The fourth hour does not have news or weather segments or input from the earlier hosts and is structured virtually as a standalone talk show, with an opening "host chat" segment reminiscent of the one popularized by Gifford and Regis Philbin
Regis Francis Xavier Philbin (; August 25, 1931 – July 25, 2020)Archived aGhostarchiveand thWayback Machine was an American television presenter, talk show host, game show host, comedian, actor, and singer. Once called "the hardest working ma ...
on ''Live! with Regis and Kathie Lee
''Live with Kelly and Ryan'' (or simply ''Live'') is an American syndicated morning talk show hosted by Kelly Ripa and Ryan Seacrest. Executive produced by Michael Gelman, the ''Live with...'' show formula has aired under various hosts since ...
'' (which aired on ABC
ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script known as the alphabet.
ABC or abc may also refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media Broadcasting
* American Broadcasting Company, a commercial U.S. TV broadcaster
** Disney–ABC Television ...
between 1987 and 2000), as well as interviews and features focusing on entertainment, fashion and other topics aimed at female viewers.
On December 11, 2018, NBC and Gifford announced that she will be retiring from her position of anchoring the fourth hour in April 2019, her 11th anniversary since joining ''Today''. Kotb continues co-anchoring the fourth hour. On February 26, 2019, NBC announced that Jenna Bush Hager
Jenna Welch Bush Hager (born November 25, 1981) is an American news personality, author, and journalist. She is the co-host of ''Today with Hoda & Jenna'', the fourth hour of NBC's morning news program ''Today (U.S. TV program), Today.'' Hager an ...
, the daughter of former U.S. President George W. Bush
George Walker Bush (born July 6, 1946) is an American politician who served as the 43rd president of the United States from 2001 to 2009. A member of the Republican Party, Bush family, and son of the 41st president George H. W. Bush, he ...
would replace Gifford.
Music
''Today'' host Dave Garroway selected Les Brown's " Sentimental Journey" as the program's original theme music, which was used during Garroway's entire run from 1952 to 1961. In 1962, when Hugh Downs became host,Django Reinhardt
Jean Reinhardt (23 January 1910 – 16 May 1953), known by his Romani nickname Django ( or ), was a Romani-French jazz guitarist and composer. He was one of the first major jazz talents to emerge in Europe and has been hailed as one of its most ...
's "Melodie au Crepuscule" was chosen as the new theme; it was replaced in 1963 by "Misty
Misty may refer to:
Music
* ''Misty'' (Ray Stevens album), an album by Ray Stevens featuring the above song
* ''Misty'' (Richard "Groove" Holmes album), an album by Richard "Groove" Holmes featuring the above song
* ''Misty'' (Eddie "Lockjaw" ...
", an instrumental ballad composed by Erroll Garner and performed by Bobby Hackett
Robert Leo Hackett (January 31, 1915 – June 7, 1976) was an American jazz musician who played trumpet, cornet, and guitar with the bands of Glenn Miller and Benny Goodman in the late 1930s and early 1940s. Hackett was a featured soloist o ...
and John B. Seng.
"Misty" served as ''Today''s theme until 1971, when NBC News correspondent Frank McGee joined the show. Composer Ray Ellis
Ray Ellis (July 28, 1923 – October 27, 2008) was an American record producer, arranger, conductor, and saxophonist. He was responsible for the orchestration in Billie Holiday's ''Lady in Satin'' (1958).
Biography
Raymond Spencer Ellis wa ...
penned an instrumental theme entitled "This is ''Today''", a jazzy, up-tempo piece that served as the program's main theme until 1978. Because ''This is Today'' closely resembled Stephen Schwartz
Stephen Lawrence Schwartz (born March 6, 1948) is an American musical theatre lyricist and composer. In a career spanning over five decades, Schwartz has written such hit musicals as ''Godspell'' (1971), ''Pippin'' (1972), and ''Wicked'' (20 ...
's song " Day by Day" from the musical ''Godspell
''Godspell'' is a musical composed by Stephen Schwartz with book by John-Michael Tebelak. The show is structured as a series of parables, primarily based on the Gospel of Matthew, interspersed with music mostly set to lyrics from traditional hymn ...
'', Schwartz successfully sued for copyright infringement
Copyright infringement (at times referred to as piracy) is the use of works protected by copyright without permission for a usage where such permission is required, thereby infringing certain exclusive rights granted to the copyright holder, s ...
. "This is ''Today''" was revised as a result, with the second version of the piece incorporating the familiar NBC chimes
The NBC chimes are a sequence of three tones played on National Broadcasting Company (NBC) broadcasts. Originally developed in 1927 as seven notes, they were standardized to the current three-note version by the early 1930s, and possibly as early ...
was used until 1981, at the close of the Tom Brokaw
Thomas John Brokaw (; born February 6, 1940) is an American retired network television journalist and author. He first served as the co-anchor of ''The Today Show'' from 1976 to 1981 with Jane Pauley, then as the anchor and managing editor of '' ...
–Jane Pauley
Margaret Jane Pauley (born October 31, 1950) is an American television host, and author, active in news reporting since 1972. Pauley first became widely known as Barbara Walters's successor on the NBC morning show ''Today'', beginning at the age ...
era. The chimes were also used throughout the program to introduce and conclude segments, usually in combination with the familiar ''Today'' sunburst logo.
By the time Bryant Gumbel was appointed co-anchor of the program in 1982, a new version of Ellis' "This is ''Today''" theme was introduced, using a looser, more relaxed arrangement that continued to feature the NBC chimes in its melody. A shorter arrangement of "This is ''Today''" was used for the show open (featuring a rotating globe and the ''Today'' sunburst) from 1983 to 1985. The main theme was used until 1985, and due to its popularity with viewers was resurrected as the show's secondary theme in January 1993. The 1982 theme later served as the program's official "anniversary" music, used to open and close retrospective segments in the leadup to ''Todays 60th anniversary in 2012.
1985 saw the end of the synthesizer era at NBC as composer John Williams
John Towner Williams (born February 8, 1932)Nylund, Rob (15 November 2022)Classic Connection review ''WBOI'' ("For the second time this year, the Fort Wayne Philharmonic honored American composer, conductor, and arranger John Williams, who wa ...
wrote a series of themes for all NBC News programs, with a cut entitled " The Mission", serving as the principal theme for ''NBC Nightly News with Tom Brokaw''. Williams also composed two themes for ''Today'': an opening fanfare for the program that was derived from the opening of "The Mission", and a two-minute closing theme for the show entitled "Scherzo for Today
"The Mission" is an orchestral suite composed by John Williams in 1985 as a television news music package for NBC News. It consists of four movements: ''The Mission'', used for ''NBC Nightly News'', with variations used for some other NBC programs, ...
", a dramatic arrangement that made heavy use of strings and flutes. In the late 1980s, "Scherzo" was played in its entirety multiple times daily during the weather scrolls that ran during local commercial breaks; however, most NBC affiliates preempted these segments with locally slotted advertising. The new ''Today'' themes – used in tandem with the show's new opening sequence featuring the Statue of Liberty
The Statue of Liberty (''Liberty Enlightening the World''; French: ''La Liberté éclairant le monde'') is a List of colossal sculpture in situ, colossal neoclassical sculpture on Liberty Island in New York Harbor in New York City, in the U ...
and a new living room studio set – gave the program a distinctly modern look and sound beginning in September 1985. A series of Williams-penned bumpers featuring "The Mission" signature were also used to open and close segments. "Scherzo for Today" was used as the program's closing theme until 1990, and "The Mission" bumpers were used until 1993 (one of them could be heard as a station break lead-in on NBC's ''Meet The Press
''Meet the Press'' is a weekly American television news/interview program broadcast on NBC. It is the longest-running program on American television, though the current format bears little resemblance to the debut episode on November 6, 1947. ' ...
'' until 2004).
Meanwhile, Williams' opening fanfare had opened the program ever since its 1985 introduction, with two brief interruptions; new opening themes were briefly introduced and quickly discarded in the summer of 1994 (to mark the debut of Studio 1A) and in 2004. The fanfare was iconically accompanied by Fred Facey
Ferdinand A. Facey (October 19, 1930 – April 13, 2003), known as Fred Facey, was an American radio and television announcer.
Career
Facey joined the announcing staff of NBC in New York City in 1967, and remained with the network for the res ...
announcing "From NBC News, this is ''Today''… with (anchor) and (anchor)" (with "Live from Studio 1A in Rockefeller Plaza" being added to the introduction on June 20, 1994, when the show moved to its new studio). Although Facey died in April 2003, his introduction of the Couric–Lauer team was used for the duration of Couric's era (except for special editions requiring special introductions). ''Weekend Today'' announcer Les Marshak became the new voice of the weekday program on September 13, 2006. A lighter theme employing the NBC chimes was used to open the show's 7:30 a.m. through 9:30 a.m. half-hour segments, and was also used as a closing theme.
In March 2013, "The Mission" was replaced with a theme composed by Adam Gubman
Adam Gubman (born April 7, 1979) is an American songwriter, arranger, and composer.
Gubman's work varies from music from video games to pop and to television program's soundtrack, and it has been featured on dozens of television shows and comm ...
for Non-Stop Music. Along with Non-Stop Music, Gubman's rebranding could be heard dating back to ''Today''s coverage of the wedding of Prince William and Catherine Middleton
The wedding of Prince William and Catherine Middleton took place on Friday, 29 April 2011 at Westminster Abbey in London, England. The groom was second in the line of succession to the British throne. The couple had been in a relationship since ...
in April 2011. Gubman went on to write music for the network's 2012 election coverage, and continues to provide audio content for ''Today''.
Ratings
From 1995 to 2012, ''Today'' generally beat ABC rival ''Good Morning America'' in theNielsen ratings
Nielsen Media Research (NMR) is an American firm that measures media audiences, including television, radio, theatre, films (via the AMC Theatres MAP program), and newspapers. Headquartered in New York City, it is best known for the Nielsen rat ...
among all network morning programs. By the week of September 11, 2006, the program earned 6.320 million total viewers, 1.6 million more than the 4.73 million viewers earned by ''Good Morning America''. This gap eventually decreased, as by the week of June 30, 2008, ''Today'' was watched by an average of 4.9 million viewers, compared to ''Good Morning America''s 3.8 million.
Furthermore, by the week of October 12, 2008, ''Today''s total viewership had gone up to 4.910 million viewers, compared to second place ''Good Morning America''s total viewership of 4.25 million (and significantly above the 2.66 million viewers earned by CBS' ''The Early Show''). For the week above, the third hour (referred as "Today II" by NBC exclusively for Nielsen ratings counts) drew 2.9 million viewers and the fourth hour (referred in Nielsen ratings as "Today III"), delivered 1.7 million.
For the week of January 4, 2009, the 8:00 a.m. hour of ''Today'' averaged 5.998 million viewers; the 9:00& a.m. hour, meanwhile, averaged 4.447 million total viewers and a 1.4 rating among adults aged 25–54, marking that hour's best ratings since the week of August 11, 2008. The 10:00 a.m. hour averaged 2.412 million total viewers and a .8 rating in the demographic, the highest total viewership for that portion of the program since the week of December 31, 2007.
For the week of April 11, 2011, the program passed its 800th consecutive week as the No. 1 rated network morning news program, with 5.662 million total viewers (ahead of ''Good Morning America'' by approximately 1.2 million viewers).
During the week of April 25, 2011, ''Today'' averaged 6.424 million viewers, marking its best weekly total viewership since August 11, 2008, during the 2008 Summer Olympics
The 2008 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXIX Olympiad () and also known as Beijing 2008 (), were an international multisport event held from 8 to 24 August 2008, in Beijing, China. A total of 10,942 athletes from 204 Na ...
. This was largely buoyed by the April 29 coverage of the wedding of Prince William and Catherine Middleton, which earned 9.628 million viewers (beating ''Good Morning America''s coverage by more than 1.6 million viewers), and was also the best single day rating since November 8, 2000, the day after the 2000 presidential election.
International broadcasts
* NBC News programs, including the live broadcast of ''Today'', are shown daily on the 24-hour news networkOSN News
OSN News is a 24-hour satellite channel offering exclusively American news programming from NBC, and MSNBC to U.S. expatriates, primarily geared towards an audience in the Arab countries. The channel is available on OSN Network in Middle East ...
in MENA
MENA, an acronym in the English language, refers to a grouping of countries situated in and around the Middle East and North Africa. It is also known as WANA, SWANA, or NAWA, which alternatively refers to the Middle East as Western Asia (or a ...
Region.
* In Australia, ''NBC Today'' (the title used in that country to avoid confusion with the local Nine Network
The Nine Network (stylised 9Network, commonly known as Channel Nine or simply Nine) is an Australian commercial free-to-air television network. It is owned by parent company Nine Entertainment and is one of five main free-to-air television netw ...
program ''Today
Today (archaically to-day) may refer to:
* Day of the present, the time that is perceived directly, often called ''now''
* Current era, present
* The current calendar date
Arts, entertainment, and media Films
* ''Today'' (1930 film), a 1930 A ...
'') airs an edited 42-minute version of the first two hours from 4:00 a.m. Tuesday to Saturday on the Seven Network
The Seven Network (commonly known as Channel Seven or simply Seven) is a major Australian commercial free-to-air Television broadcasting in Australia, television network. It is owned by Seven West Media, Seven West Media Limited, and is one of ...
(rerun at 9:00 a.m. on sister network 7two). The ''Today's Take'' hour (which is abbreviated to the same runtime) only airs Saturdays on the primary channel and Tuesday to Saturday on 7two; while Seven broadcasts the Sunday edition at 5:00 a.m. on Mondays, following ''Meet The Press
''Meet the Press'' is a weekly American television news/interview program broadcast on NBC. It is the longest-running program on American television, though the current format bears little resemblance to the debut episode on November 6, 1947. ' ...
''. The program was originally trimmed to 63 minutes, with the local news cutaway removed. However, a news ticker appears at the bottom of the screen, containing national headlines, as well as information on the next edition of Seven's morning program ''Sunrise
Sunrise (or sunup) is the moment when the upper rim of the Sun appears on the horizon in the morning. The term can also refer to the entire process of the solar disk crossing the horizon and its accompanying atmospheric effects.
Terminology
Al ...
''. A national weather map of Australia is inserted during local affiliate cutaways during the weather segment. ''Today'' does not air on the primary regional affiliates Prime7
Prime7, formerly Prime Television and other names, was an Australian television network. Prime Television launched on 17 March 1962 as '' CBN-8'' in Orange, and later expanded to cover regional New South Wales, Victoria and the Australian Capi ...
and GWN7
GWN7 was an Australian television network serving all of Western Australia outside metropolitan Perth. It launched on 10 March 1967 as ''BTW-3'' in Bunbury. It was an affiliate of the Seven Network and served one of the largest geographic tel ...
, which instead air infomercial
An infomercial is a form of television commercial that resembles regular TV programming yet is intended to promote or sell a product, service or idea. It generally includes a toll-free telephone number or website. Most often used as a form of dire ...
. The show has aired on Seven since the mid-1980s, when clips from the show often aired as part of Seven's ''News Overnight'' program.
* In the Philippines, ''Today'' aired on 9TV
9TV (formerly branded as Solar News Channel) was a major commercial television network in the Philippines. It was owned by Nine Media Corporation, Nine Media had an airtime agreement as the main content provider of Radio Philippines Network. 9 ...
(formerly called as Talk TV and Solar News Channel
Solar News Channel (SNC) was a major commercial television network in the Philippines, owned by Solar Entertainment Corporation's arm television subsidiary of Solar Television Network lease with its owner by Radio Philippines Network. Its flag ...
) from 2011 to August 2014; an edited 90-minute version of the weekday editions aired Tuesdays through Saturdays at 5:30 a.m., with a two-hour abbreviated broadcast of the Friday editions airing at 10:00 a.m. local time on Saturdays. ''Weekend Today'' airs Saturdays for two hours at 10:00 p.m. and Sundays at 11:00 p.m. local time. The local affiliate cutaways during the weather segment were removed only from the weekday editions. ''Today with Kathie Lee and Hoda'' (titled ''Today's Talk'' for the TalkTV/SNC/9TV broadcasts) aired Tuesdays to Saturdays at 3:00 a.m. Both shows were removed from the schedule since then, particularly with the relaunch of 9TV as CNN Philippines
CNN Philippines (abbreviated as CNN PH) is a commercial broadcast, cable and satellite television network in the Philippines. It is owned and operated by Nine Media Corporation, together with Radio Philippines Network (RPN) as the main content ...
. Starting November 2, 2020, The show returns to Philippine TV and airs live on TAP TV
TAP TV (stylized as tap TV) is a 24-hour Philippine pay television channel owned by TAP Digital Media Ventures Corporation. It is launched on April 14, 2019. A former sports channel, it currently broadcasts as a general entertainment channel ...
.
* In the United Kingdom and Europe, ''Today'' aired on Sky News
Sky News is a British free-to-air television news channel and organisation. Sky News is distributed via an English-language radio news service, and through online channels. It is owned by Sky Group, a division of Comcast. John Ryley is the hea ...
from 1989 to 1993, and on NBC Europe
NBC Europe (formerly Super Channel, and later NBC Channel) was a satellite television network based in the United Kingdom that broadcast across Europe, and it was picked up by various European cable systems where available.
The network was base ...
from 1993 to 1998. The show was initially aired live in the afternoon until 1995, when NBC Europe began airing it on a one-day delay the morning after the original U.S. broadcast.
* In Indonesia, ''NBC Today'' is aired on NBC-US at 5:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. WIB (6:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. WIB from March to November) with WNBC
WNBC (channel 4) is a television station in New York City, serving as the flagship of the NBC network. It is owned and operated by the network's NBC Owned Television Stations division alongside Linden, New Jersey–licensed Telemundo station WN ...
local weather exclusively for SVICLOUD TV Box. Aimed for U.S. expatriates in Indonesia.
See also
* List of special editions of ''Today'' (American TV program), for editions of the program marking major news events or breaking news coverageReferences
Notes
:1.Walters was women's editor and contributor from 1961 through 1964. In 1964, her role was titled "''Today'' Girl" and panelist. In 1966, she began regularly co-anchoring alongside Downs. In 1974, following the death of McGee, she was titled "co-host".Citations
External links
* *''Today'' music history page
{{DEFAULTSORT:Today 1952 American television series debuts 1950s American television news shows 1960s American television series 1960s American television news shows 1970s American television series 1970s American television news shows 1980s American television news shows 1990s American television news shows 2000s American television news shows 2010s American television news shows 2020s American television news shows Television morning shows in the United States Black-and-white American television shows English-language television shows American live television series NBC original programming Sirius XM Radio channels Television shows filmed in New York City