Savannah Guthrie to Today Show's Third Hour

They're celebrating it as a promotion, but I don't understand the decisions some network execs make.

Not that Savannah Guthrie is the greatest political reporter of all time, but it's hard for a political reporter to gain trust & credibility with both their audience and the people they cover.

Guthrie had that & now they're moving her from the White House beat and co-hosting a show on MSNBC to the third hour of the Today Show.

I've got to think that it's easier to groom someone for soft news like that than it is to find someone who can cover the White House. And, I doubt anyone who watches the third hour of Today has any idea who she is.

Like when George Stephanopoulos went from This Week to Good Morning America, it's a job with higher visibility, but (in my mind) less credibility.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/05/09/meredith-vieira-leaving-today-ann-curry-morales-guthrie_n_859267.html

 

Too bad she is moving to fluff. I liked the show she did with Chuck Todd after Morning Joe.

 

I agree completely on what you think, YankeeFan - having the respect and dignity and appreciation necessary to cover the White House is tough to gain.

Part of me has to think she wanted the job, though, perhaps for the regularity or what have you. It does seem a bit odd otherwise.

 

It could lead to bigger things -- see Brokaw, Couric, etc. -- but she got the third hour.

Covering the WH would be a dream job for many reporters and now she'll be background noise as people take care of their kids and update their citizen reporting on Patch.com.

 

Graduated from Georgetown law school magna cum laude.

It's a major life choice to stick with the White House, it pretty much consumes your entire existence, whether you're in the media or the government. I can see why someone would make a move to something different, just like WH press secretaries rarely last more than two years.

That third Today hour is an apprenticeship; if you throw the wrong person into the chemistry, viewers can't handle it.

 

I also wonder if this is why International Superstar Erin Burnett packed up for an as-yet undecided job with CNN. She probably saw Meredith's departure as her opportunity to move up from CNBC, but unlike other people who get passed over for a promotion, she had somebody else to money-whip her. CNN pounced.

 

But the history of the Today Show is that it promotes from within; it operates like a Republican Party presidential primary. Look at Ann Curry -- she went from news fill-in/weekend person to newsreader to co-host. Matt Lauer went from bit player to newsreader to co-host. Couric took a similar route going from correspondent to fill-in anchor to co-host. Meredith Veira is the exception, but her time on The View proved she could be a morning host.

If Guthrie wants the career path of a network star, the best way to do that is pay her dues in a ton of different venues. If she proves that she can cover the White House and that she can keep housewives interested in a segment on how to make healthier omelets, her value will increase exponentially. Being the host of one of the morning news shows is one of the hardest jobs in television broadcasting. You have to be ready to interview a presidential candidate at 7 am, interview a movie star on their new flick at 8 and interview someone about the best way to arrange your closets to reduce clutter at 9 am and be credible in all three roles. You generally aren't reading a teleprompter and you have to be someone that people enjoy seeing on their TV in the morning. There is a reason why Matt Lauer makes 16 million/yr while Brian Williams makes $8 million.

 

This is true, and it's probably why NBC basically split up the job between her & Chuck Todd.

I suppose I understand why she would welcome the new job, even if it's not as big a challenge.

What I don't get is NBC's decision. Unless she was demanding a change, why would they move a top reporter into a fluff job? They could have hired away any number of FOX hostesses for a job like the Today Show's third hour.

 

'Today' isn't really a fluff job, especially if she's being groomed for a bigger role (which as someone noted above, is how it usually goes). Other than the horrible drunken Kathie Lee and Hoda (and Hoda was pretty normal until they stunk her up with KL), it's not a very fluffy group, lots of good reporters. I doubt anyone misses Tiki very much.

 

I think third hour means she doesn't have to be up at 4 in the morning and I suspect that anchoring Today is better coin than hanging out with Chuck Todd.

Just a guess but I suspect more money and a better lifestyle, plus living in NYC instead of DC might have all been significant factors.

 

And to be fair, how many newspapers cycle baseball reporters off their beats after three or so years because of burnout? I see this as a similar move.