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Season Episode Guide. Season Season Season Season Season , Episode 23 January 31, Season , Episode 22 January 30, Season , Episode 21 January 29, Season , Episode 20 January 28, Season , Episode 19 January 25, Season , Episode 18 January 24, Season , Episode 17 January 23, Season , Episode 16 January 22, Season , Episode 15 January 21, Season , Episode 14 January 18, Season , Episode 13 January 17, Season , Episode 12 January 16, Season , Episode 11 January 15, Season , Episode 10 January 14, Season , Episode 9 January 11, Season , Episode 8 January 10, Season , Episode 7 January 9, For the next 20 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 s, Studio 8G adjacent to Studio 8H, home to Saturday Night Live in the late s and early s, and finally Studio 3B from to Today moved to the new street-side studio on June 20, , providing a link to the show's s origin.
In , Studio 1A underwent a major renovation to prepare for the upgrade to high-definition broadcasts. After the departure of Katie Couric and while a new set was readied during the summer of , the program was broadcast from a temporary outdoor studio in Rockefeller Plaza, the same set that NBC used at the Olympic Games since A mock set was set up in Dateline ' s studio, which was also used during inclement weather. On September 13, , Today moved back into the revamped Studio 1A space. A gigantic Panasonic inch plasma monitor is often used for graphic display backgrounds.
A kitchen set is located upstairs from the main studio. The blue background that is seen in the opening of the show in home base moves up and down to allow a view of the outside from the home base. Some minor changes were implemented throughout the early and middle part of ; not only in the way that things are presented, but also with modified graphics and minor updates to the set. That year, a new, larger anchor desk was introduced with space to seat all four main anchors Guthrie, Lauer, Morales and Roker. The new desk brought an end to the "news desk," as the third "news reader" Morales now sits at the main anchor desk.
Other minor changes included a new larger desk for the third hour. After the August 16, , broadcast, the program vacated Studio 1A, while the space underwent a remodeling with a more modern look with as stated by executive producer Don Nash "a lot more bells and whistles to play with". On September 16, , Today debuted a new set and graphics package it was originally set to debut on September 9, but was delayed one week to complete final design details [11]. A new couch and background was added in the "sofa area" where the anchors sit and discuss topics.
A social media area known as the "Orange Room", was also added to Studio 1A, which contains screens that display Twitter comments or trending topics; [12] Carson Daly was hired to present segments from the room during the broadcast. During its first two days of use, the show transitioned away from its news and entertainment format to a format that emphasized the social interaction of the anchors, Roker and newsreader.
The graphics were also overhauled with introduction of the new set a slightly modified version of this package and the revised logo debuted on Early Today that November, further integrating the early-morning news program's branding with Today. The logo-to-peacock animation was moved from the left corner to the bottom right side corner of the screen. The logo that was first previewed on September 13, , pared down the number of circular arches from five to three with its coloring switching from different variations — generally shades of red, orange and yellow to depict a sunrise — to entirely orange.
In September Today updated the set once again, [14] the update included new floors, a new couch, and a new anchor desk. The new set retains the home base used in the previous design. The new set replaced much of the dark wood colors with lighter colors and removed the emphasis of orange in previous design in favor of orange accents. In February , while Guthrie and Kotb were at the Winter Olympics , the studio received minor changes including new screens and flooring in the former screen area. During the week, the flagship hours of Today a.
Sheinelle Jones Saturday Co-Anchor. Jones and Dreyer also appear on the weekday broadcasts as contributors during the main show and co-hosts of the third hour. 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. 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. Including Hoda Kotb and Savannah Guthrie, eight men and eight women have served as primary Today hosts since the program's inception: From the show's inception, the idea of providing the latest news headlines 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 , that person was called the "news editor" or informally "news chief. Under the two-hour format, four newscasts were delivered, once every half-hour. Presently, there are only two newscasts, delivered at the top of each of the first two hours. 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:. For the program's first 25 years, weather reports were delivered by the host or newsreader. Dave Garroway illustrated the day's forecast by drawing fronts and areas of precipitation on a big chalkboard map of the United States, based on information gathered earlier in the morning from the U.
Weather Bureau in Washington, D. Subsequent hosts John Chancellor and Hugh Downs dropped the chalkboard weather map concept, and instead read a prepared weather summary over a still image of a weather map. When the show converted to all-color broadcasts in , weather maps were prepared and projected on a screen behind Frank Blair, who delivered the forecast immediately after his news summaries. When Floyd Kalber was brought in as newsreader in , Wood was relegated to weather, sports, roving reporter assignments, and presenting live on-air commercials until his departure in The weather is reported every half-hour during the program's first two hours, though since Al Roker was named weather reporter on January 26, , an interview is conducted by him in place of the national weather forecast at least once during the show, leaving only the local weather inserts by NBC stations.
Until Ryan's hiring, no one on the show had practical experience or academic credentials in meteorology. Since NBC's purchase of The Weather Channel in , personnel from that network frequently participate in Today forecast segments, at the site of a weather event or from the cable channel's suburban Atlanta headquarters, or as a fill-in for Roker. NBC owned-and-operated stations and affiliates are given a second window to insert a local forecast segment into the program following the national weather report; Roker's outcue for the local break is "That's what's going on around the country, here's what's happening in your neck of the woods.
During the first half hour, Roker simply uses "your local forecast" which appears after a second commercial.
Those not watching on an affiliate which provides local weather segments following the outcue including international viewers, as well as NBC stations that do not have a news department see a national summary of temperatures on a weather map. The semi-retired Scott, who gained fame through his antics that included costumes and props, [20] still appeared on-air to continue his tradition of wishing "happy birthday" to centenarians. Scott's traditional local cue was "Here's what's happening in your world, even as we speak. The job of "panelist" has no set definition.
Panelist duties can range from conducting interviews to reporting on a number of topics in-studio and in the field. Regular panelists on the program include the following:. From to , a notable member of the cast was a woman, often an entertainer, the Today Girl. Usually, she discussed fashion and lifestyle, reported the weather, covered lighter-fare stories or engaged in verbal jousting with Garroway. Estelle Parsons was the first to hold the job, though her title at the time was "Women's Editor". Upon her departure in , the Today Girl name was adopted. The last to hold the position, Barbara Walters, discussed the job in her autobiography Audition: She wrote that the era was before the Women's Movement , and it was believed that nobody would take a woman seriously reporting " hard news "; Walters described the position as a "tea pourer".
Those who held the position were:. From to , the program featured J. Fred Muggs , a chimpanzee whose antics entertained viewers, but frustrated the program's staff, especially Dave Garroway. Also occasionally appearing was J. Fred's "girlfriend" Phoebe B.
Into The Blue 3. For the week of January 4, , the 8: This was largely buoyed by the April 29 coverage of the wedding of Prince William and Catherine Middleton, which earned 9. A new couch and background was added in the "sofa area" where the anchors sit and discuss topics. Jesus and Santa were white". Garroway and the on-air staff often walked through the newsroom set. By the week of September 11, , the program earned 6.
In , Deborah Norville then anchor of the network's early-morning news program at the time, NBC News at Sunrise replaced John Palmer at the Today newsdesk, at which point he assumed her previous role on Sunrise. Shortly after Norville's appointment as Today ' s news anchor, the decision was made to feature her as an unofficial third host. Whereas Palmer had read the news from a desk separate from where Gumbel and Pauley sat, Norville was seated alongside the program's hosts at the opening and closing of every show. Before long, gossip columns and media observers predicted that NBC would remove Jane Pauley from the program and replace her with Norville in an effort to improve the program's recently declining viewership among young women, the demographic most coveted by morning shows.
In October , it was announced that year veteran Pauley would leave Today at the end of the year. An emotional Norville hugged Pauley on the air after the announcement was made, and many at the network hoped the negative press generated by Norville's increased presence on the program would end. However, this turned out not to be the case.
Prior to the announcement of Pauley's departure, much of the criticism had focused on Norville's youth and beauty, with many branding her "the other woman" and a "home wrecker," in a reference to what some felt seemed like her intent on "breaking up" the television marriage of Gumbel and Pauley.
The negative press only heightened after the announcement of Pauley's resignation, and Norville was put under a gag order by NBC brass, which prevented her from defending herself from the widespread and erroneous reports that she somehow orchestrated her rise on Today. Ratings for the program began to plummet.
By the end of , Today , the longtime dominant program, was officially the second-place morning show behind GMA, and most of the blame was pinned on Norville.
By the outbreak of the Persian Gulf War in , Norville saw her role as co-host continually minimized. Today aired special editions of the program called " America at War ," with Gumbel anchoring most of the show alone. It was not uncommon for Norville not even to appear until the two-hour show's second half-hour. In addition, she was directed not to initiate conversation on the show and only speak when asked a question by Gumbel. Norville left the show for maternity leave in February It was announced that Katie Couric would substitute co-host during Norville's absence.
Ratings for the program rose immediately following Norville's departure and Couric's arrival. Midway though her maternity leave, Norville was interviewed by People. In the story, she avoided conversation about her recent trouble on Today , and instead focused on her newborn baby boy. She was photographed breastfeeding her son, a seemingly innocuous event, but NBC management was said to be greatly displeased by this, believing the photo to be "in poor taste".
By April , in light of improved ratings on Today and NBC's displeasure at the People photograph, it was announced that Norville would not return to Today and that Katie Couric had been named the program's co-host.
Norville, it was disclosed, would continue to be paid in accordance with her contract, although she would no longer appear on any NBC News programs. Couric's final broadcast on May 31, was dedicated to her 15 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 newsmagazine program 60 Minutes.
Couric said during the show, "It's been a pleasure hosting this program, and thank you for fifteen great years. Lauer and Vieira began co-hosting together on September 13, On June 1, the day after Couric's departure , NBC News announced that for the summer of , Today would move to a temporary outdoor studio as Studio 1A was going through renovations to prepare for its switch to high-definition.
That summer, Couric's anchor seat was filled by various hosts, consisting of Curry, Morales and Campbell Brown all of whom were considered candidates to replace Couric , until Vieira took over that fall. In March , Vieira signed a contract to keep her with the program until at least September After announcing her resignation, Meredith Vieira departed the program on June 8, Vieira's spot was filled by the program's longtime news anchor Ann Curry, appearing alongside Matt Lauer as co-host. Correspondent Natalie Morales replaced Curry as news anchor in turn, with Al Roker remaining as the weather anchor.
Savannah Guthrie joined Morales and Roker as co-host of the third 9: Almost a year after her departure, Vieira returned briefly to Today as a special correspondent for events relating to Queen Elizabeth II 's Diamond Jubilee Celebration. On June 5, , she co-presented the show with Lauer from London. The figures can be eyebrow raising: While the optics of the financial arrangement have spurred a very worthwhile and necessary discussion about compensation parity among men and women in the media business, the simple fact is that Kotb is being treated much like almost any other anchor or host who takes over a coveted and long-held post on a venerable TV program.
TV networks often see opportunity in such transitions, because it typically means a cutback in salary outlay. The economics of the business no longer support it. Viewers are getting their news from dozens of new outlets, and many broadcast-news mainstays have experienced viewer erosion of the last several years.
To be sure, there have been and always will be exceptions. Fox News is known to pay its top stars salaries well above some industry standards, however, and NBC had to cough up attractive terms at a time when Kelly was holding exploratory talks with several news organizations. Salaries grow the longer a person stays in a particular position.