Savannah Guthrie is thinking about quitting the Today Show, reports NewsNation.
Gurthrie, who has been with NBC News since 2007 and became a permanent Today Show co-host in 2011, is not only dealing with the apparent abduction of her 84-year-old mother Nancy but, according to the report, the fear that her public profile and, more specifically, a November Today Show segment might have made her mother a target.
About three months before Nancy disappeared, she appeared with her daughter in a Today Show segment about Savannah’s homecoming to Tucson.
“Following her disappearance, there is growing concern behind the scenes… that the feature might have inadvertently placed Nancy in danger,” reports the Daily Mail.
“There’s a lot of soul searching at NBC about whether their segment made Nancy a target,” one Today Show source told the outlet.
Nancy disappeared on February 1. After what must be two agonizing weeks for the family that has involved public pleas for her safe return, agreeing to pay any ransom, and the receipt of various ransom notes, the Tucson police and FBI seem no closer to finding anyone responsible.
Obviously, Guthrie and the Today Show did nothing wrong in airing that segment. Those gauzy homecomings are standard fare in media, and Nancy Guthrie’s home was never featured. Still, one can only imagine the horrible thoughts going through Savannah’s mind after two emotionally exhausting weeks.
Yesterday, Sunday, Savannah released another video pleading for help:
It’s been two weeks since our mom was taken, and I just wanted to come on and say that we still have hope and we still believe. And I wanted to say to whoever has her or knows where she is that it’s never too late, and you’re not lost or alone, and it is never too late to do the right thing. And we are here, and we believe in the essential goodness of every human being. It’s never too late.
What the Guthrie family is currently going through is unimaginable. That this might include misplaced guilt over the Today Show segment is understandable, as is rethinking everything, including your career, as emotions run hig, combined with exhaustion and stress.
Guthrie is likely looking into the future and trying to imagine that future without knowing what happened to her beloved mother. That would cause anyone to rethink everything.
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