Hoda Kotb and Savannah Guthrie have already made history as the first all-female anchor team on Today, but their latest announcement may have surprised some viewers.
During a segment on the long-running talk show on Tuesday, June 18, the camera panned to a basket with phones inside of it. The cohosting pair have decided to attempt to make Today a phone-free zone.
“Now take a look at that,” Savannah, 52, told viewers at home. “That is a basket of our cellphones. We decided to toss them in that basket for the whole show this morning. We were talking about our conversation with the Surgeon General, who wants a warning label on social media.”
“Every parent knows their kids are dying for the smartphones and every parent knows we’re as addicted as anyone else,” the broadcaster added, with Hoda, 59, chiming in to say, “We’ve had 30 minutes so far. Usually in commercial breaks, we’re taking care of our kids’ logistics but we’re feeling good.”
As for the rest of the Today cast getting on board with the no-phone policy on set, some were more invested than others. Craig Melvin called costar Carson Daly a “cheater” after witnessing him using his phone backstage.
“Do you want Popstart today people?” Carson asked his colleagues. “How am I supposed to study my notes?” Savannah playfully replied, “There’s going to be a write-up in the file for Mr. Daly.”
Also during the broadcast, Al Roker asked, “Can I have the phone back?”
Whether or not this new cell phone policy will last long on the show remains to be seen.
You may remember just last month when Savannah used her phone to FaceTime her son, Charley, during a live segment of Today. After Hoda called her out for the gesture, Savannah explained that it was Fleet Week in New York City and her son wanted to hear the U.S. Navy band perform live.
“You know who else is enjoying this music? The plaza outside, the three of us and one little boy. Savannah’s son is on FaceTime,” Hoda told the audience. “He wanted to hear a little bit of it. Say hi Charley! Char having breakfast!”
Savannah, who also shares daughter Vale with husband Mike Feldman, previously explained that both of her kids were “begging” for phones.
“They’re only six and nine, they’re begging me for a phone already,” she told Today fans in October 2023, adding that she talked with other parents who were going through somethings similar. “They say, ‘We gave in. We gave them the phone and now my whole relationship with my kid has transformed. It’s only about that phone and their access to that phone.’”
Hoda made a confession about her policy on phones when it comes to raising her two daughters, Haley and Hope, whom she shares with ex-fiancé Joel Schiffman.
“I’ve given my kid the phone at the doctor’s office because they’re feeling stressed”, she said. “But then you don’t ever learn how to regulate your stress because the minute you need a break, the thing [phone] is slid right in front of you.”
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