Savannah Guthrie was offered a contract extension on the Today show earlier this month that will see her working alongside Matt Lauer for another three years, and on Sunday she’ll take on a huge assignment: an interview with President Obama for NBC’s pre-game coverage of the Super Bowl.
The big day comes with a lot of pressure, especially since Guthrie’s co-anchor Matt Lauer has had the job for the past several years. Savannah says she just wants to “leave a good impression” and seems excited rather than nervous about the task. Their conversation will likely touch on ISIS and the president’s State Of The Union address, among other things.
Guthrie has been a relatively low-key–though successful–addition to the show, rising to fame during a time when Ann Curry was on her way out. Curry’s departure was fraught with drama, caught up in rumors that Matt Lauer had ordered her gone due to a lack of chemistry between the two of them. Savannah Guthrie says she knew better than to go into the job with a certain attitude.
“It required a delicate touch. My own approach was not to go in there with guns blazing, saying, ‘Pay attention to me.’ It called for someone to come in, put their head down and do the work. I tried to be a credit to the show and not another problem,” Guthrie said.
Though Today trails behind Good Morning America in ratings, Savannah Guthrie says she feels good about the direction in which her show is going.
“Once people make a switch, it’s probably hard to get them to switch back. I feel good about our trajectory. You have to give them a compelling reason to come back, and maybe you have to give them time,” she told the L.A. Times.
Savannah Guthrie and President Obama will sit down for their talk before this year’s Super Bowl begins on Sunday, February 1.
