Part of a journalist’s duty is to never become the news, but this week, Savannah Guthrie and the Today show have not had much of a choice in the matter. And as the hunt for Savannah Guthrie’s missing mom crosses hour 80, continuously feeding the news cycle is the best offense Guthrie and her employer NBC News have at their disposal. Frenemie news networks are doing the same.
Guthrie’s mother Nancy Guthrie, 84, was allegedly taken from her Tuscon, Arizona home against her will at some point between Saturday evening and Sunday morning. The family was first contacted when Nancy did not show up for Sunday morning church as expected. Nancy was not at home, but her cell phone was there. Nancy Guthrie does not have cognitive deficiencies, the family says, but has serious mobility issues and would not be able to get far alone.
The suspected kidnapping has taken Savannah Guthrie off the air; Sheinelle Jones has filled her seat at Today. The developing situation will keep the Today show co-anchor in Tuscon while her colleagues jet-set to Milan for NBC’s Winter Olympics coverage. Mary Carillo will replace Guthrie in Italy; the opening ceremony is set for Friday.
“Savannah will not be joining us at the Olympics as she focuses on being with her family during this difficult time,” an NBC News spokesperson said in a statement shared with The Hollywood Reporter. “Our hearts are with her and the entire Guthrie family as the search continues for their mother. We will share additional information about our Opening Ceremony coverage plans soon.”
The Today show has covered the news somewhat extensively — but not been wall to wall. The NBC weekday mornings talk show covered Nancy’s disappearance in a breaking news capacity on Monday, and opened Tuesday’s and Wednesday’s show with the latest developments. Both of the past two days has also featured a second segment on the Guthrie’s. Tuesday’s was about the bond Savannah and Nancy share, and included mom’s many appearances on Today; Wednesday’s secondary segment was about the importance of faith in the Guthrie family. The four-hour morning show has otherwise gone about its normal course of business. The Nancy Guthrie story has been pinned atop the show’s website (pictured above).
Guthrie’s NBC News team has kept the candle lit in the evenings as well: NBC Nightly News also opened this week’s broadcasts to-date on the Nancy Guthrie disappearance. And on Wednesday afternoon, Nightly News anchor Tom Llamas concluded his televised interview with Donald Trump by asking the president about the Guthrie situation. In response, Trump said he called Savannah Guthrie and has spoken with her, pledging his support. Trump said he will send additional federal agents to assist local law enforcement in the search for Nancy.
The disappearance of Nancy Guthrie has been covered far beyond the Today show. Direct competitors CBS Mornings and Good Morning America have covered the story nearly as much as Savannah Guthrie’s own show. The Nancy Guthrie news opened GMA and CBS Mornings both yesterday and today, and like Today, GMA also had a secondary segment on the news each of the past two days. CBS Mornings has had just the one segment per day this week, but also on Monday, Gayle King began her Grammys recap by sending condolences on the situation to Savannah and her family. CBS Mornings is a two-hour program, half as long as Today; GMA is three hours. The three shows go head to head 7 a.m. to 9 a.m.
Since the news of Nancy’s disappearance first broke, each of the broadcast networks’ evening news programs have also opened on the apparent abduction — with one exception. Wednesday’s Nightly News telecast, the one that airs on Savannah Guthrie’s longtime NBC home, opened with Llamas’ exclusive interview of Trump. The Trump/Guthrie phone call was again included at the end of the segment.
Each of the broadcast news organizations have each sent a correspondent to Arizona: NBC News has Liz Kreutz on the ground, ABC News has Trevor Ault there and CBS sent Jonathan Vigliotti. Cable news orgs, each of which have far more hours to fill than the broadcast news programs combined, have presented a lot of coverage of the Nancy Guthrie case.
“On behalf of our family, I want to thank everyone for the thoughts, prayers and messages of support. Right now, our focus remains on the safe return of our dear mom,” Savannah Guthrie said in a statement. “We thank law enforcement for their hard work on this case and encourage anyone with information to contact the Pima County Sheriff’s Department at (520) 351-4900.”
Nancy Guthrie is without her daily medications that she needs urgently for survival, a knowledgable source told THR.
