Today insider insists that feelings were hurt' after Hoda return
Several Today show staffers felt slighted by executives' decision to bring in Hoda Kotb during Savannah Guthrie’s extended absence from the program earlier this year, a new report has revealed.
Showrunners framed the arrangement as 'an indefinite run,' leaving on-air talent who had seen Guthrie’s time away as a chance at the limelight with 'hurt feelings,' a senior Today source told Vulture.
The arrangement was floated to Kotb, 61, in early February, days after the disappearance of Nancy Guthrie.
Kotb’s arrival, at the end of the day, helped alleviate any image of the Today team 'be[ing] perceived as jockeying for position during such a tragedy,' an agent told the news site.
'You didn’t want to feed the speculation game,' they said.
Guthrie, 54, has since returned to the Today set, with her 84-year-old mother still missing.
The Vulture piece sought to provide insight into the Today team's struggle to reconcile 'the particular unexplained cruelty' of the event with the morning show's sunny, goes-down-well-with-cereal mission.
'[T]he unrelenting darkness, as the story reached on without resolution, stretched the credibility of what has become, in recent years, the show’s basic premise: that the world is good if you choose to see it,' a portion read.
Today show staffers felt slighted by showrunners' move to bring in Hoda Kotb during Savannah Guthrie's monthslong absence amid the ongoing search for her missing mother earlier this year
Nancy Guthrie, the anchor's 84-year-old mother, was last seen at her home in Tucson, Arizona, on January 31
'The Today Show Goes Dark,' its headline read.
The rest of the piece recounted the saga from Guthrie and the rest of the Today team's perspective, from the Guthrie family receiving the news that Nancy was missing on February 1 to Guthrie's emotional plea for help on-air last week following a troubling update about a ransom note the family received near the search's start.
Vulture spoke to a variety of 'senior' Today staff for the piece.
'I couldn’t imagine Savannah coming back and being happy and laughing ever again,' one such person said.
'There was a period of time where if you polled the newsroom, the majority would have told you they’d be stunned if she returned.'
Guthrie stepped away at the start of the search. She returned in April, with another senior staffer saying it was her 'idea' to acknowledge her absence as little as possible on-air.
The approach was to avoid unsettling viewers, a source close to the show said.
The piece also touched on Guthrie's mental state since then, and how it has been most marred by her 'not knowing' her mother's true fate.
Showrunners framed the arrangement to Kotb as 'an indefinite run' at the time, reportedly leaving other staffers who thought they may of had a shot at moving up in the lurch
'I have to know,' she told Kotb in a March interview, which was aired days before Guthrie's return to the anchor chair.
The feature ended with a disclaimer that Guthrie was not leaving the show.
It also acknowledged Guthrie's recent message to viewers on June 23, after a TMZ report revealed that a note the family received back in February claimed for the first time that Nancy was dead.
'We beg you now to return our mother to us, so that we can celebrate with her. This is the only way we will have peace. This is very valuable to us, and we will pay,' Guthrie said after receiving that note in a filmed message to Instagram at the time.
She later told Kotb she believed the letter was one of two that were likely 'real', amid a flood of fakes - details that were all reiterated by Today reporter Liz Kreutz during her June 23 report.
'I love you guys and I love this place,' she said after Kreutz's segment concluded and the camera returned to her and her costars in the Today studio.
'And this is unusual and unprecedented to say the least to be sitting here, but you know, I don't have any comment on this story, and I'm not involved in our coverage,' Guthrie acknowledged, visibly emotional.
'But I can't pretend I'm not here.
'So, since I am, I just want to take the opportunity to ask people, to really to beg people to come forward - somebody knows something,' she said.
Guthrie stepped away at the start of the search. She returned in April, with another senior staffer saying it was her 'idea' to acknowledge her absence as little as possible on-air
'This is the moment to tell you that we need your help.
'We're begging for your help. I'm not going to miss that opportunity.'
Nancy was last seen at her home in Tucson, Arizona, on January 31. There are no suspects in the case.
The Daily Mail has approached NBC News for comment.
Badenoch blasts 'moaning' female Labour MPs over Burnham jobs 'quota'
Kemi Badenoch has told Labour women to earn a job in Andy Burnham's Cabinet instead of demanding they are handed jobs because of their gender.
The Tory leader lashed out today amid reports that female MPs are demanding the de-facto new prime minister introduce a 50:50 gender split 'quota' in his government.
Amid reports that former foreign secretary David Miliband is being lined up to return to the role, possibly with his brother Ed as Chancellor, one female minister also complained that Burnham could not have 'more Milibands than women' in the top posts.
But in a scathing article in the Times today Mrs Badenoch told them to 'stop moaning' and get chosen on merit instead of retreating into 'more of the failed identity politics that is holding back our country'.
'There are many, many reasons why you shouldn't have any Milibands in the cabinet,' she said.
'But complaining that the boys haven't given them the right jobs or that the boys are taking all the jobs, just shows that Labour's women still don't get it.'
The idea of quotas was also attacked by Baroness Jacqui Smith, Labour's Skills Minister.
Asked by Times Radio if Mr Burnham should reserve jobs for women, she said: 'No, I think what Andy Burnham should be doing is building the very best team around him to change this country.'
A letter written by the Women's Parliamentary Labour Party has called on Mr Burnham to ensure a 50:50 split between men and women in government jobs
Amid reports that former foreign secretary David Miliband (above, right, in 2010) is being lined up to return to the role, possibly with his brother Ed as Chancellor, one female minister complained that Burnham could not have 'more Milibands than women' in the top posts
But Mrs Badenoch told them to pipe down and get chosen on merit instead of retreating into 'more of the failed identity politics that is holding back our country'
A letter written by the Women's Parliamentary Labour Party and seen by the BBC has called on Mr Burnham to ensure a 50:50 split between men and women in government jobs after he succeeds Sir Keir Starmer.
'We are asking you to demonstrate this change from day one and address the toxicity and misogyny within our own party and government,' it said.
Labour has never had a female leader, while the Conservatives have had three, and Mrs Badenoch urged the government to follow its meritocratic example.
'If you run a meritocracy, then you do not have to worry about jobs for the boys,' she wrote.
'Every woman who is a Conservative MP, every woman who has ever won the leadership, has had to fight to get where she is.
'By contrast, Labour women are demanding guarantees from Burnham. But the truth is he doesn't have to give any guarantees.
'If none of Labour's women are prepared to get their hands dirty and challenge him for the leadership, their demands are toothless.'
'In fact, it's quite revealing that the women's parliamentary Labour Party has written to Burnham asking him to commit himself to at least 50 per cent female ministers.
'This has nothing to do with meritocracy. It is yet more of the failed identity politics that is holding back our country.'
