For the second year in a row, NBC’s morning show “Today” has chosen to lead with a story other than co-anchor Savannah Guthrie’s search for her mother, a sign that the show’s producers are trying to juggle the show’s day-to-day operations alongside reporting on the heartbreaking plight of their colleagues.
Nancy Guthrie has been missing since January 31st, and since then, the search for her has been receiving a lot of attention from NBC News outlets, with the article featured prominently on Today, NBC Nightly News, and even the live streaming service NBC News Now. “Today” led the way in reporting on what appeared to be an abduction. How authorities are following up on leads. and how people across the country are supporting Savannah Guthrie and her family.
But on Thursday, “Today” led its newscast with a report on former Prince Andrew’s arrest in Britain before moving on to analyze the Nancy Guthrie case. And on Friday, co-anchors Craig Melvin and Hoda Kotb, who is filling in for Savannah Guthrie this week, cycled through stories about bad weather, the Olympics and the aftermath of the former royal’s arrest in Britain, before presenting a segment about the latest in the Guthrie case.
Today’s producers and staff have continued to operate as usual and focused on supporting their colleagues while dealing with the enormous national interest in the case, according to people familiar with the program. That support was evident on Friday’s screens, as it has been all week. Melvin, Kotb and Al Roker were all seen wearing yellow ribbons to support the Guthries, and the “Today” studio was decorated with yellow flowers and appeared on camera.
“This is an interesting case study that unfolds in real time, and there are no obvious answers,” said Ben Bogardus, dean of Quinnipiac University’s School of Journalism. “Today’s anchors and staff are naturally very close to their colleagues, so the show’s coverage of the incident will likely come under some scrutiny.” The best compromise, he suggested, would be to “get the Today Show anchors to acknowledge their feelings and their relationship with Guthrie and make it clear that they would treat the story differently.” than dealing with similar cases that don’t involve your own friends. Viewers can understand and accept this and watch NBC’s coverage with that knowledge in mind. ”
“Today” has seen a surge in viewership in recent days as viewers seek out the latest details, with some of the boost due to NBCUniversal’s recent coverage of the Milan Winter Olympics, a telecast that typically draws a wide audience to the company’s media properties.
In the five days ending Feb. 13, “Today” averaged 3.48 million viewers, up 30% from the same period last year, according to Nielsen. Advertisers’ most coveted audience group, 25- to 54-year-olds, grew 8% to an average of 697,000 viewers, according to Nielsen.
Good Morning America averaged about 2.91 million viewers during the same period, with 475,000 viewers in the 25-to-54 age group, according to Nielsen. “CBS Morning” averaged nearly 1.7 million viewers, with 238,000 viewers ages 25 to 54, according to Nielsen.
“Today” attracted about 43% of viewers across all three morning shows, compared to 36% for “GMA” and 21% for “CBS Mornings,” according to Nielsen data.
