Savannah Guthrie, Craig Melvin and Hoda Kotb were in Italy on Monday to help bring NBC’s Winter Olympics to “Today” viewers. Instead, the trio tackles an unfathomable crime case that hits close to home.
Guthrie, who has anchored the Today family network since 2012, is in Arizona instead of on the air, praying for the return of her mother, Nancy, whose Jan. 31 kidnapping by an unknown suspect has become a national concern. The FBI’s release Thursday of surveillance photos showing a potential target on Nancy’s doorstep marks a new twist in this cycle, and may even offer new hope for a possible resolution. This is something that can surprise even the most jaded of viewers. A respected name in broadcast news covering family abductions in real time. Every day since Nancy was taken, Today has provided updates on the search for her.
“We know this is far from normal and we ask for everyone’s patience as we continue to do this,” Melvin said on Monday’s television broadcast.
Journalism experts and industry insiders say the situation unfolding for the Today team on both sides of the camera is complicated at best. Today, Good Morning America, CBS Mornings and local morning news teams are treated like family and friends by viewers. However, they must be mindful of the fact that they are struggling with intense emotions on air and the subject of the story is closer to them than usual.
Today maintains its family feel by using Kotb as a fill-in (she was already expected to work on the show during the Olympics). Two people familiar with the show said the storyline is so fluid that producers have stalled long-term plans to address Guthrie’s absence and other issues.
The “Today” team has endured a number of difficult episodes in recent years, including Matt Lauer’s surprising exit from the show in 2017 amid allegations of sexual assault and misconduct, which were exposed in Variety in 2017, claims that Matt Lauer vehemently denies. The story also mentions that Kotb’s daughter became ill. Al Roker has been ill for several weeks. And co-host Sheinelle Jones’ husband passed away from brain cancer. “That show went through a lot,” says a source familiar with “Today.” “That’s really insane.”
Nowadays, we must balance empathy and objectivity. Gasly is well known in media circles, which means top journalists have offered to interview acquaintances and team-mates, something they would normally avoid.
“Ethically speaking, the Today Show anchors who know her best shouldn’t be reporting on this. They’re too close to her to be objective,” said Ben Bogardus, dean of Quinnipiac University’s School of Journalism. But “Today” relies on NBC News correspondents Tom Winter and Liz Kreutz to deliver updates, with the anchors tasked with “providing context and real human emotion to the stories more than anyone else in the media.”
The relationship with Guthrie will help give viewers a perspective not available on other networks covering the case. ”
Viewers have seen candid moments from Today’s co-workers like Carson Daly, who said how much he had prayed for Nancy Guthrie’s return, and Jones, who got visibly emotional as he concluded a segment about his co-workers.
“It’s true that the journalists at Today are close,” said Jane Hall, an associate professor at American University’s School of Communication. “It’s going to be very difficult for the Today people to cover this and report it in a way that they think is appropriate.”
Kate West, an assistant professor at the University of Texas School of Journalism and Media who studies the impact of journalism on mental health, said such scenes illustrate the trauma that reporters must process when covering difficult cycles.
“If a journalist says on air that this story is emotionally difficult to report because of his relationship with Savannah Guthrie, why should it be downplayed?” she says. “Some of the most memorable moments on television come from emotion, like network anchors crying on 9/11.”
Keeping that spirit on screen might help “Today” and its staff. Still, “this may be a difficult thread to thread,” said Mark Feldstein, dean of broadcast journalism at the Philip Merrill College of Journalism. “NBC wants to satisfy the concerns and curiosities of its viewers while supporting traumatized television stars, but it doesn’t want to appear to be exploiting a tragedy to boost viewership or ratings.”
The Today team will have to find the right balance until Savannah Guthrie’s ordeal is over.
