Today Show

The Today Show, is an American morning news and talk show airing every morning on NBC. Debuting on January 14, 1952, it was the first of its genre on American television. The show is also the fourth-longest running American television series. Originally a two-hour program on weekdays, it expanded to Sundays (currently one hour) in 1987 and Saturdays (two hours) in 1992. The weekday broadcast expanded to three hours in 2000, and a fourth hour launched in 2007.

Today's dominance was virtually unchallenged by the other networks until the late 1980s, when it was overtaken by ABC's Good Morning America. Today retook the Nielsen ratings lead the week of December 11, 1995, and has held onto that position every week since.

Current on-air staff

Anchors

Hugh Downs and Barbara Walters, as seen on an August 1967 cover of TV Guide.

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. Today, 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. The principal anchors/hosts of the show have included:

Matt Lauer, anchor (1994–present)

Ann Curry, anchor (1997–present)

Natalie Morales, news anchor (2006–present)

Al Roker, weather anchor (1996–present)

Savannah Guthrie, anchor (2011–present)

Hoda Kotb, anchor (2007–present)

Kathie Lee Gifford, anchor (2008–present)

Willard Scott, other (1980–present)

Former on-air staff

Anchors

Dave Garroway, anchor (1952–1961)

John Chancellor, anchor (1961–1962)

Hugh Downs, anchor (1962–1971)

Barbara Walters, anchor (1966–1976)

Frank McGee, anchor (1971–1974)

Jim Hartz, anchor (1974–1976)

Tom Brokaw, anchor (1976–1982)

Jane Pauley, anchor(1976–1989)

Bryant Gumbel, anchor (1982–1997)

Deborah Norville, anchor (1990–1991)

Katie Couric, anchor (1991–2006)

Meredith Vieira, anchor (2006–2011)

News anchors

From the show's inception, the idea of providing the latest news 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 Today's "news editor" or (informally) "news chief." In modern parlance, the term "newsreader" or "news anchor" is preferred. Under the two-hour format, four newscasts would be delivered, once every half-hour. Now there are only three newscasts, delivered at the top of each of the first three 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:

Jim Fleming, news anchor (1952–1953)

Merrill Mueller, news anchor (1953)

Frank Blair, news anchor (1953–1975)

Lew Wood, news anchor (1975–1976)

Floyd Kalber, news anchor (1976–1979)

Tony Guida, news anchor (1979)

None (1979–1981; Brokaw and Pauley read headlines during this period.)

Chris Wallace, news anchor (1982)

John Palmer, news anchor (1982–1989)

Deborah Norville, news anchor (1989)

Steven Frazier, news anchor (1990)

Faith Daniels, news anchor (1990–1992)

Margaret Larson, news anchor (1992–1994)

Matt Lauer, news anchor (1994–1997)

Ann Curry, news anchor (1997–2011)

History

The show's first broadcast aired on January 14, 1952. It was the brainchild of Sylvester L. Weaver, Jr., who was then vice-president of NBC. Weaver was president of the company from 1953 to 1955, during which time Today's late-night companion The Tonight Show premiered. In pre-production, the show's proposed title was The Rise and Shine Revue.

Today was the first show of its genre when it signed on with original host Dave Garroway. The show blended national news headlines, interviews with newsmakers, lifestyle features, other light news and gimmicks (including the presence of the chimpanzee J. Fred Muggs as the show's mascot during the early years), and local station news updates. It has spawned several other shows of a similar type, including ABC's Good Morning America, and CBS' The Early Show. In other countries the format was copied – most notably in the United Kingdom with the BBC's Breakfast and ITV's Good Morning Britain. In Canada with Canada AM on CTV and in Australia with the Sunrise (TV program) on the Seven Network.

When Today started, it was seen live only in the Eastern and Central time zones, broadcasting three hours per morning but seen for only two hours in each time zone. Since 1958, Today is tape-delayed for the different time zones. Partly to accommodate host Dave Garroway's declining health, the program ceased live broadcasts in the summer of 1958, opting instead to broadcast an edition taped the prior afternoon. The experiment, which drew criticism from many sides, ended when John Chancellor replaced Garroway in July 1961.

Current cast

The first two hours of the show are anchored by Matt Lauer and Ann Curry, with weather reporter Al Roker, news anchor Natalie Morales, and correspondent Savannah Guthrie. Roker, Morales and Guthrie also serve as co-hosts of the third hour, while Hoda Kotb and Kathie Lee Gifford co-host the fourth hour. The weekend version is anchored by Lester Holt, Amy Robach (Saturday) and Jenna Wolfe (Sunday), all three of whom frequently contribute to the weekday show.

Holt, Morales, Guthrie and Willie Geist cover for the main anchors during the week. CNBC anchor Carl Quintanilla, Meet the Press moderator David Gregory, MSNBC anchor Tamron Hall and Robach are all occasional substitutes.

Hall regularly fills-in for Morales, while Kotb, Holt, Robach and Wolfe also occasionally substitute at the news desk. Various NBC News correspondents appear as news anchor at weekends.

Regular correspondents include Chief White House correspondent and NBC Political Director Chuck Todd, Mike Leonard, Capitol Hill correspondent Kelly O'Donnell, Bob Dotson, Jamie Gangel, Peter Alexander and Tiki Barber. Dr. Nancy Snyderman is the network's chief medical correspondent. Jean Chatzky, editor-at-large for Money Magazine, provides weekly financial segments. Sarah Haines is the online correspondent. CNBC correspondents, including Burnett, Amanda Drury, Melissa Francis and Melissa Lee, regularly report from the New York Stock Exchange, while MSNBC and Weather Channel correspondents are frequent contributors. Jenna Bush Hager is a special correspondent for the program.

Lauer typically departs after participating in the third hour introductory segment, but may remain later if news events warrant.

Studio

The Today program first originated from the RCA Exhibition Hall on 49th Street in a space now occupied by the Christie's auction house, just down the block from the current 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 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. In 1958, the show moved across the street to Studio 3K in the RCA Building, where it remained through the early 1960s.

On July 9, 1962, the show returned to a streetside studio in the space then occupied by the Florida Showcase. On September 13, 1965, Today moved back to the RCA Building. The network's news programming went 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 twenty 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) in the late 1970s and early 1980s, and finally Studio 3B from 1983 to 1994. Today moved to the current streetside studio on June 13, 1994, providing a link to the show's 1950s origins.

Since the premiere of the 1990s set, the morning shows of each of the major broadcast and cable-news networks has moved streetside—including two of Today's Rockefeller Center neighbors, Fox News' Fox & Friends (at Avenue of the Americas) and CNN's American Morning. (In summer 2005, CNN reversed the trend, abandoning its street-level studio and moving upstairs in the Time Warner Center at Columbus Circle.) ABC's Good Morning America broadcasts from Times Square Studios.

Rumored Couric-Lauer feud

Beginning in 2003 there were rumors that Katie Couric and Matt Lauer were in the midst of a feud. Reports say that this was due to Katie Couric's prominence, that she was generally perceived as handling the news program, and that she was the only person who could guarantee high ratings for a morning news program.

Couric leaves, Vieira enters

On Wednesday April 5, 2006, Katie Couric announced on her fifteenth anniversary as co-host of Today that she would leave Today and NBC News at the end of May to become the new anchor and managing editor of the CBS Evening News. Katie Couric's final broadcast was aired on May 31, 2006. The day's show was dedicated to Couric's fifteen 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 program 60 Minutes. 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 fifteen years.

The day after Couric's announcement, Meredith Vieira, 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 high-definition. On that same day, NBC News launched a new advertisement promoting Vieira's arrival. For the summer of 2006, Couric's anchor seat was filled with various hosts, consisting of Curry, Morales and Campbell Brown (all of whom were considered candidates to replace Couric), until Vieira took over that fall.

Lauer's contract has been secured for the future years. He has signed through 2012 and has received a sizable salary increase.

In March 2010, Vieira signed a contract that would keep her with the program until at least September 2011, though reports state that she will not renew her contract when it expires at that time. Vieira announced on May 9, 2011 that she would depart as co-host in the following month, but would remain at NBC News in an as-yet undetermined role.

Vieira exits, Curry takes over

After announcing her resignation, Vieira departed the program on June 8th, 2011. Former news anchor Ann Curry replaced her, appearing alongside Matt Lauer as co-host. Correspondent Natalie Morales replaced Curry as news anchor, with Al Roker remaining as the weather anchor. Savannah Guthrie joins Morales and Roker as co-host of the third, 9am hour.

Expansion

Early Today and Later Today

The first brand extension was created in 1982. Early Today was conceived as a lead-in for Today. It even had the same anchors, Bryant Gumbel and Jane Pauley. The program was conceived so local stations could carry the full hour or one of the two half-hours. After a year NBC replaced it with NBC News at Sunrise, anchored by Connie Chung.

In 1999, NBC cancelled Sunrise and created two brand extensions for Today. One was Early Today (not to be confused with the earlier incarnation); the 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; it continues to air on many NBC affiliates. Also in the of fall 1999, Later Today, a talk show that was intended to air immediately following the then two-hour Today, was launched with hosts Jodi Applegate, Florence Henderson and Asha Blake. Sagging ratings for that show caused its cancellation in August 2000; it was replaced two months later by the current third hour of Today.