Savannah Guthrie gave her first interview since her mom Nancy Guthrie went missing in the early morning hours of February 1. She sat down with her Today show colleague Hoda Kotb for a long-form conversation that is airing over two days.
There were a lot of revelations in the interview and Savannah provided some important new information about the case (learn more about them here), but there was also a lot that was not fully covered or explored for reasons I do not understand.
From a journalistic perspective, I think, with respect, Hoda Kotb fell down on the job. I don’t think she was the woman for this interview. I believe NBC put her out there because they wanted to use this as a promotional vehicle. They wanted to project that Hoda and Savannah are friends and the Today show is a big family. I have told you about this before.
If you notice, the producers kept Hoda’s mic turned up throughout the sit-down to catch her empathetic sounds and her active listening, which was actually a major distraction and very odd in the choice. Normally, the network would turn down the interviewer’s mic – especially in an interview this big in which Savannah is giving very compelling answers.
The reason I believe they left Hoda’s mic open is because NBC had an agenda here, which was to show you ‘one big, happy family’ and ‘look how empathetic she is.’ Journalistically, it was an inappropriate choice because it served only as a distraction. This interview was not about Hoda, it was about Savannah. And I’m sorry, but Hoda kept wiping away tears that weren’t there. This was acting on Hoda Kotb’s part. It was a distraction and an unnecessary one.
But my real complaint is about the way Hoda handled the questioning. There were no follow ups – none – and, therefore, it was not journalistically sound. She did not ask even the most basic questions. At one point, Savannah revealed her sister and brother-in-law found the back door of Nancy’s house “propped open” when they discovered she was missing.
The natural follow-up to that would be: “What do you mean by the back door was ‘propped open’?” That’s it. I am not talking about going for the jugular. Who, what, when, where, and why are the ABCs of journalism and reporting. And the sins only got worse as the interview went along.
I object to how it was handled. I am not trying to be petty. I am trying to be honest about what I saw there and what should have happened in an interview this big.
You can check out Megyn’s full analysis by tuning in to episode 1,282 on YouTube, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you like to listen. And don’t forget that you can catch The Megyn Kelly Show live on SiriusXM’s The Megyn Kelly Channel (channel 111) weekdays from 12pm to 2pm ET.