Sam Champion, Michael Strahan, Robin Roberts, George Stephanopoulos and Lara Spencer on 'Good Morning America' last month. Paula Lobo/ABC Savannah Guthrie returned to the Today show on Monday, April 6 after more than two months off the air. Other than the hype — the media’s fault — and a few tears of joy, Guthrie’s comeback was pretty low-key. It was vintage Savannah, and a testament to her grace and professionalism.
At the top of the 7 a.m. ET hour, Guthrie briefly acknowledged the significance of the moment.
“It is good to be home,” Guthrie said after teasing the day’s top stories.
“Yes, it is good to have you back at home,” her co-anchor Melvin said.
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“OK, here we go. Ready or not, let’s do the news,” Guthrie said.
And the news, they did.
Each time a new member of the team — an Al Roker, a Carson Daly, a Jenna Bush Hager — joined the anchor desk, we were reminded of the importance and singular nature of the day. This was the most-anticipated return to TV in quite some time (if not ever). At 8:30 a.m., the group, including Guthrie, greeted their adoring public outside in Rockefeller Plaza. It was the most emotional we saw Savannah this morning, but even then her famous poise was on full display.
How Today‘s direct competition handled Guthrie’s return was a bit of a mixed bag. Some morning talk and news programs covered the homecoming more than others — and one didn’t cover it at all.
CBS Mornings included Guthrie’s Good Shepherd New York virtual Easter-gathering message in its “What to Watch” segment. Vladimir Duthiers called her prerecorded sermon (of sorts) “really beautiful.” An emotional Norah O’Donnell called it “so incredibly moving.” Nate Burleson took the moment to promote “emotional transparency.” Streamer CBS News 24/7 briefly mentioned Guthrie’s return, as did the local CBS New York station.
Good Morning America, the Today show’s closest competition, had no mention of Guthrie on Monday; TBD if GMA will roll a clip of her return on Tuesday. It is not a simple task to insert clips on the fly when the shows are simultaneously happening, which made it wise for many of the morning shows to get into the subject via Guthrie’s Easter message.
That’s what Fox News Channel did. The cable news leader’s Fox & Friends captured the TV-media news of the day with a pair of headlines: 1) “Savannah Guthrie Shares Emotional Easter Message Amid Mother’s Disappearance,” and 2) “Nancy Guthrie Now Missing for More Than Two Months.” The show did mention Savannah’s return to work. It wasn’t an especially long tribute but recognition of the anticipated re-arrival in the space.
Good Day LA on Fox’s local Los Angeles station Fox 11 covered the news, as did KTLA (The CW).
Morning Joe on MSNBC MS NOW gave Guthrie more time than Fox, and that makes sense. Until recently, they were under the same NBC News umbrella (itself under the NBCUniversal canopy beneath Comcast’s broad roof, if you will). MS NOW, the rebranded MSNBC, is a key piece of spinoff-company Versant, which adopted all of the NBCU cable assets save Bravo.
CNN‘s News Central gave Guthrie a nice amount of its own time this morning, with reporter Omar Jimenez recapping Savannah’s return (to anchor Sara Sidner) this way: “[Guthrie] was professional, as she always is, but it seemed like the show just wanted to get back to work.”
That it did, Omar.
Guthrie has been away from work since her mother Nancy, who is 84 and has a heart condition, was forcibly taken from her home in Tucson, Arizona in the early morning hours of Feb. 1. Monday marked the 65th day in the search for Nancy and her captor(s). There has been no proof of life, and local police and the feds do not have a suspect.
Savannah twice-returned to Today — once just to see friends and then again to grant her first interview to Hoda Kotb.
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