‘We’re like sisters’
The Today show anchors on breaking news, sharing baby pix and helping each other be the best they can be.
In what other job do you start work before dawn and cover everything from school shootings to the announcement of a zoo giraffe’s pregnancy, then do a tasting of linguine with clams—all before most TV viewers have finished their first cup of coffee? That’s life for the Today show’s Savannah Guthrie and Hoda Kotb, who arrive at the NBC 30 Rock studios in New York City shortly after 5 a.m. for a whirlwind morning beginning with hair, makeup and last-minute segment prep. Once they take their places behind the anchor desk, the pair—who officially became co-hosts in January and made Time magazine’s 100 Most Influential list this year—are a team like no other.
COFFEE MATES
Until the two of them ended up “anchored” together, network morning shows had almost always gone with a male-female duo as hosts, says Guthrie, 46. “I’m so glad that NBC took a broader view and said, ‘Why couldn’t we have two female co-hosts?’ ” They trace their co-working connection back to their days sharing a tiny office over a decade ago, when they both were working their way up the NBC ladder.
“That’s when we discovered that we’re both messy and we both love powdered Coffee-mate in our coffee,” Guthrie says, as Kotb, 54, nods. “I also noticed Hoda’s purse is basically like mine: It’s like carrying a trash bag around everywhere. It was splayed open, and lying there was a bottle of Coffee-mate, and I was like, I understand this woman.”
The two moms—Guthrie and communications consultant Michael Feldman are parents to daughter Vale, 4, and son Charley, 1; Kotb and financier Joel Schiffman are parents of daughter Haley Joy, 1—both love words and are passionate about writing for kids. Guthrie’s children’s book Princesses
Wear Pants was published last fall, and she has a second one coming next month; Kotb is the author of several titles, including her most
recent, the children’s book I’ve Loved You Since Forever.
But it’s way more than coffee creamer and children’s books that bonds them.
“We’re interested in spirituality and people’s journeys,” Guthrie says. “We go deep in the makeup room. Maybe sometimes too deep. Sometimes there are tears—like, reapplication of mascara. It’s really like going to work with one of your closest friends.”
“There are certain things you can’t fake,” Kotb adds. “Have you ever gone to lunch with someone and the first few minutes you go, ‘Yes, yes, yes’? You don’t know why, you just know yes. That’s part of it. You can’t make it up.”
“We trust each other completely and we have each other’s back,” Guthrie says. “We want the best for one another, and it shows.
“Hoda is an awesome sounding board. She’s like a big sister saying, ‘You can do it, get in there, you know what to do.’ And then when it’s done, she’ll say, ‘That was great!’ They’re not throwaway words—she means it.”
“I’m a person of faith, so for me it’s love God and let God love you. Everything else flows from that.” —Savannah “I feel like you’re the sum total of the five people you spend the most time with. That’s why I always say, ‘Choose your five wisely.’ Make sure they’re the right ones. They’re like the army you go through life with.” —Hoda
“When you watch Savannah interview, it looks effortless,” Kotb says. “Her brain is very quick, so when she’s ready to run out of the gate, it’s like watching a symphony. One of my favorite traits in someone is a person who’s awesome but doesn’t all the way know it. I think that’s a big part of Savannah.”
“Hoda’s the most genuinely curious person I’ve ever met,” Guthrie says. “She asks questions and people spill their guts. That’s why she gets such great interviews. They instinctively know Hoda is good; she’s earnest, she comes in peace, she’s thoughtful, she’s smart, she’s sensitive. Who wouldn’t want to sit across from her and tell her something— even if it’s a really hard thing?”
When they’re not at work, they do what friends do—they text and swap photos of their little ones.
“All I want to do is send Hoda pictures of my kids, and all she wants to do is send me pictures of Haley, so it’s fair,” Guthrie says. “It’s a total safe zone.”
Their out-of-the-office chats often include giving each other advice about upcoming interviews, especially the tough ones—such as Guthrie’s newsmaking conversation with former FBI director James Comey in April and her exclusive sit-down with author Michael Wolff after the release of his explosive tell-all book about the Trump White House, Fire and Fury.
THE MORNING SHOW MIX
Oklahoma native Kotb began her career as a news assistant for CBS and learned the TV ropes as a reporter and anchor in local markets before joining NBC News in 1998 as a correspondent for Dateline. She began co-hosting Today’s fourth hour with Kathie Lee Gifford in 2008 and was a frequent substitute in the anchor chair over the years before joining Guthrie officially as co-host. Guthrie, born in Australia but raised in Arizona, began her career in law and reported for CourtTV before coming to NBC in 2007 and becoming the network’s White House correspondent. She joined Today in 2011.
Since linking up in January, the two have broken dozens of major stories. They’ve traveled to London to cover the royal wedding of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle and to Russia for the Sochi Olympics and have nabbed exclusive interviews with the biggest newsmakers of the day. They secured actress Mira Sorvino’s first interview after the Harvey Weinstein sexual assault and harassment allegations, and talked with Scot Peterson, the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School resource officer who revealed he never entered the school during the shooting. They pivot seamlessly from hard news to lighter stories. “I do that among friends,” says Kotb. “We talk about the most touching or difficult subjects and then laugh and talk about something lighter. It’s just the way normal people discuss life. You don’t stay in one lane the whole way.”
In fact, Guthrie believes the strength of Today, which premiered in 1952, is its versatility.
“We’re right on top of the news, and then there’s time to shift gears and talk about other things,” she says. “A two-hour show in the morning is a mini journey in someone’s day. You wake up, put the coffee on, you want to know what’s going on, and, once those essentials are taken care of, then you can indulge in a bit of lightness. Everyone wants to smile.”
“We’re giving you a feeling when you walk out the door,” Kotb says. “You want to feel ready to tackle the day; you don’t want to feel saddled and, ‘OMG, how am I going to make it through?’ We try to inform you but also give you something to
make you feel good throughout the day.”
With so much news, all the time, the challenges of the job are formidable.
“The 24-hour news cycle has become the 24-second news cycle, and that impacts all of us,” Guthrie says. “We have to be on our toes all the time in this high-wire act of a show. Ten years ago, when I was the White House correspondent, I would write my script, go to bed at 8:30 p.m. and the story would essentially stay the same the next morning at 7. Now everything changes overnight.”
What doesn’t change is the duo’s gratitude for loyal viewers and for being part of the Today team.
“If a viewer says, ‘We choose you,’ we’re over-the-moon happy,” Kotb says.
“I grew up watching Today,” Guthrie says. “I still have a moment every week when I walk into work and can’t believe I get to be the anchor. Are you kidding? Savannah from Tucson? How did this happen?”