Hey there. I'd normally say "happy Friday," but this week hasn't felt normal. Savannah Guthrie's many friends and fans across the media world are heavy-hearted as the search for her mom Nancy continues. The layoffs at The Washington Post are weighing heavily on everybody, too. Oftentimes, the news forces us to sit with loss and uncertainty. Perhaps we process it by writing... |
Unprecedented – and unbearable |
In the long and dramatic history of morning TV, a genre the "Today" show invented, there has never been a crisis like this.
One of the biggest stars on US TV is a victim of a terrifying crime, the apparent abduction of her mom. The country is transfixed – partly because so many people feel like they know Savannah – and because they feel like Nancy could be their mom.
The case has "conjured memories of the Lindbergh baby and Patty Hearst, crimes of a bygone era," as the NYT's Reis Thebault wrote from Tucson earlier this week.
And the "Today" show has been at its best this week — even though the circumstances are among the worst imaginable.
You might remember how NBC used to promote the cast of "Today" as "America's first family." Well, this agonizing week has shown why.
The family-like vibe on "Today" is not just for show. Craig Melvin, Jenna Bush Hager, and other stars of the four-hour-long show are genuine friends with Savannah outside of work. Savannah has been texting with them throughout the week.
And the morning show's coverage has reflected those close bonds — plus the fact that Nancy has been a frequent guest over the years.
As conservative media critic Curtis Houck put it earlier this week, "No offense to other shows, but you can really tell on that show they really do not just like each other, but love each other."
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It wasn't always this way... |
Television marketers often — sometimes very cynically — try to position morning shows as idealized families, even when the reality is far from warm and fuzzy.
When I wrote a book about "Today" show dysfunction back in 2013, I learned that morning shows are all about chemistry. At that time, ABC's "Good Morning America" had it, and "Today" did not. I revisited the history in this new CNN.com story.
When NBC hired a research firm to make recommendations at the end of 2012, one of the top items on the fix-it list was "our family needs to be fun again."
And you know what? Savannah helped fix it. She gradually became a centerpiece of "Today," and the show regained its lead in the key ratings demo of viewers ages 25 to 54. Last December, NBC trumpeted a ten-year winning streak for "Today."
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'Faith is a big uniting factor' |
The current condition of “Today” needs no marketing polish. I asked people who would normally gossip about backstage drama. They affirmed what viewers see on screen: The hosts actually get along well, socialize off-camera and spend time with each other's families.
"Faith is a big uniting factor" for the hosts, some of whom have been known to attend church together, a source pointed out.
The bonds have also been deepened by heartbreak. Sheinelle Jones' husband, Uche Ojeh, was diagnosed with an aggressive form of brain cancer in late 2023, and Jones was absent from the show for several months before he died in May 2025. Savannah was at the hospital for Ojeh’s first surgery, Jones recalled later: "She prayed with my family and his family."
The co-hosts brought that up during an emotional segment this morning. Hoda Kotb returned to Studio 1A for a segment about the nationwide outpouring of support for the Guthrie family, including from "Today" fans at vigils and local anchors at NBC affiliates. Kotb also read some heartfelt email messages from viewers, and said, "It's been another reminder that our 'Today' show viewers really are family." Here's the segment.
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NBC adds security measures |
One more note here: As you'd expect, security has been stepped up at NBC this week, two sources said on condition of anonymity. The additional security measures were implemented out of an abundance of caution, and may help to alleviate some of the stress that the show's hosts are feeling, as they have to talk on air every day about the unsolved mystery. |
Connecting with the 'figurative family' |
"Broadcast news as a medium is currently in an embattled moment," Variety's Alison Herman wrote. "Newly installed CBS News head Bari Weiss has been moving fast and breaking things in her short time on the job; earlier this week, 'Today' network NBC announced the end of 'The Kelly Clarkson Show' — not a news product, but a daytime talk series that exists along the same spectrum of lighter, personality-led digests as morning shows."
"But the 'Today' coverage of Guthrie’s plight underscores the strength of the connections, both internal and external, that have made morning shows a firmament of culture for so many years," she wrote. "Even the inevitable awkwardness of 'Today' as we await crucial updates is the magnified reflection of the universal, familiar process of having to press on at work while navigating the worst at home. A figurative family can still follow the contours of a literal one."
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ON A MUCH HAPPIER NOTE... |
Lindsey Vonn skiing during the women's downhill training session today. (Julian Finney/Getty Images) |
I love the Olympics. And "even if you don't yet, you could love the Olympics too," as CNN's Hannah Keyser wrote here: "There is a competition storyline or a human-interest angle or an obscure display of physicality for everyone." Keyser and CNN's team in Italy will send out a daily Milano Memo. Sign up here.
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"NBC and Peacock will air the events live in the United States," this NYT guide notes. (CNN's parent) Warner Bros. Discovery holds the TV rights in Europe in an arrangement with members of the European Broadcasting Union. The opening ceremony will be shown live at 2 p.m. ET and again in US prime time...
>> A tip I showed my kids this morning: If you have Xfinity or Spectrum, just say "Olympics" into the voice remote, and the full package of live and on-demand programming will pop up.
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While en route to the Olympics, WBD chief executive David Zaslav "held several meetings with European and U.K. regulators this week to discuss various topics, including its pending $83 billion deal with Netflix and cable network spinoff Discovery Global," TheWrap's Lucas Manfredi reports. He stopped in Berlin and Amsterdam...
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As a colleague pointed out this morning, "NBC is at the center of everything right now," for both terrific and terrible reasons.
This Sunday it is NBC's turn to televise the Super Bowl. The network's pregame coverage starts at 1 p.m. ET, with kickoff around 6:30. Big picture: Comcast “will spend more than $8 billion this year on sports rights, including the Olympics, NBA, Major League Baseball, World Cup soccer, professional wrestling and NFL” as the company “aims to keep up with competitors such as Netflix, Amazon and Disney,” Hannah Miller reports for Bloomberg...
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'Democracy dies without journalists' |
Former Post staffers and many supporters "gathered outside the paper's downtown DC headquarters to protest the cuts" yesterday, WTOP reported. Photos from the scene showed demonstrators holding signs with slogans like "Democracy Dies Without Journalists."
Meanwhile, media observers are on what we'll call "Jeff Bezos and Will Lewis Watch." The Post's staff hasn't heard from or seen their owner or publisher since the layoffs. But Lewis was spotted yesterday... walking the red carpet at the NFL Honors ceremony in SF.
"Will Lewis was too busy to join the call to tell his staff he’s destroying the Washington Post sports department... but he did have time to walk the red carpet," The Athletic's Nicki Jhabvala wrote on X with a candid photo of Lewis at the event.
>> Bezos still hasn't commented on the Post's future. In this widely shared piece, 404 Media's Jason Koebler argues that the Post "is no longer useful" to him: "In a kleptocracy, there is no reason for a billionaire to own an adversarial news outlet."
>> Post editor Matt Murray spiked a "pre-written story in anticipation of mass cuts," Oliver Darcy and Natalie Korach reported for Status last night. (The Post has had a "we don't cover ourselves" policy since the uproar over Bezos spiking the 2024 op-ed endorsing Kamala Harris.)
>> Jack Shafer is keeping a running tally of laid-off Post staffers fleeing to Substack. We'll add one to his list: Tatum Hunter, the Post's internet culture reporter, has also launched her own.
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DC news startups see opportunity |
Other news outlets in the DC area see the Post's decimation of the Metro desk as an opportunity to hire talent and attract audiences.
Here's an example: David Plotz, founder of the local news startup City Cast, owned by former Post publisher Don Graham's holding company, told me he intends to "expand fast and immediately to help fill the gaps in local coverage that the Post is leaving." He is looking to hire four journalists for specific beats right away, with an eventual goal to become "the largest and most essential local newsroom in the DMV."
>> Plus, The Baltimore Banner, which has already been knocking on the Post's door by expanding into my old backyard, Montgomery County, Maryland, said yesterday that it is expanding into neighboring Prince George’s County next.
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Trump shares openly racist video |
Andrew Kirell writes: Shortly after midnight, President Trump posted to his Truth Social account a crude video depicting Barack and Michelle Obama as apes. Suffice to say, it is both deeply racist and deeply shocking — even by Trump standards. CNN's Alejandra Jaramillo has a full report here.
The video was part of the president's apparent late-night posting spree — 60 "Truths" in three-or-so hours — that also included a video claiming the Democratic Party is "anti-Black" and a bunch of cable-news clips Trump seemed to find favorable to himself.
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'Heated Rivalry' heats up HarperCollins book sales |
The "Heated Rivalry" series on HBO Max "has propelled sales for the 'Game Changers' book series, from author Rachel Reid," THR's Alex Weprin writes.
"Heated Rivalry" came up on the News Corp earnings call yesterday because "HarperCollins holds the publishing rights, and... revenue at the book publisher soared 6% to a new record of $633 million." CEO Robert Thomson told Wall Street analysts that "ice hockey stereotypes are melting away as players pursue each other, and a puck..."
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>> "SiriusXM reported 31.3 million total paid subscribers in the fourth quarter of 2025," Caitlin Huston reports, down slightly over the calendar year. (THR)
>> "The Fort Bragg Cartel" author Seth Harp says the NYT spiked a 90-minute interview he taped with Ross Douthat, claiming Harp "defeated him so decisively that he refuses to air the footage." (X)
>> Nicole Cutrona, a CBS News producer who asked Bari Weiss about the network's use of "biological sex," is leaving the company, per Jeremy Barr. (X)
>> Lionsgate hired Kathleen Grace as its first-ever Chief AI Officer. (Variety)
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>> "One day after The Wall Street Journal published a blockbuster story about Meta's own dismal findings about teen girls’ mental health on Instagram, CEO Mark Zuckerberg wondered whether Meta should change how it studies its platforms' potential harms," Lauren Feiner reports. (The Verge)
>> "EU regulators have declared that TikTok’s ‘addictive design’ may put it in breach of the Digital Services Act, in the preliminary results of an ongoing investigation into the social media app," Dominic Preston writes. (The Verge)
>> Reddit posted "strong guidance" and announced a $1 billion share buyback plan yesterday, Jonathan Vanian writes. The stock tanked this morning anyway. (CNBC)
>> "The Last of Us" co-creator Craig Mazin "has found his next video game adaptation project in Larian Studios' 'Baldur's Gate 3,'" Tess Patton reports, noting "the series is in development at HBO." (TheWrap)
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