A Historic Week at NBC

What a week it has been! I have to admit, my new assignment in news publicity was going pretty slow for the first three weeks or so, but all that changed this week! In case for some reason you haven't heard (which I don't think is possible) Katie Couric announced on Wednesday that she would be leaving TODAY after 15 years in the anchor seat. After her contract expires in May she will join the CBS Evening News as the first solo female news anchor in history. Not a bad gig, Ms. Couric! The buzz surrounding the announcement was huge and made our office very busy as you can imagine. Lot's of people calling, lots of press releases and meetings to arrange and things like that. It was all pretty exiciting!

Just when I thought things couldn't get busier, they did. The day after Katie announced she was leaving NBC held a press conference to announce that Meredith Vieira would be joining the TODAY family. Very exciting again! Meredith comes from a long news background with local news, 60 Minutes and eventually cohosting The View on ABC for the past 9 years. We had to contact all of the press for the event and make sure everyone important was attending. I also go to personally make all of the press kits for everyone in attendence, so that was fun. I'm saving one for myself if you ever want to see it!

It was such a great experience to be a part of this historic day at NBC. There hasn't been a major anchor change since Bryant Gumbel left in the late 90s so it was definitely a big day for NBC News and especially news publicity. I'm really lucky to have been a part of the change, and it was exciting to know all the info weeks before everyone else!

Everything else is pretty good. SNL has been on a three week break but it's back again tomorrow night with Antonio Banderas and Mary J. Blige. Should be an awesome show. Next week is Lindsay Lohan with Pearl Jam which is going to rock in a major way. My work hours are nuts (I'm going to clock around 75 this week) but I'm hanging in there. It will all be over soon.

It's Officially Spring

It's hard to believe that it's almost April already. Where has this year gone?! Crazy stuff. The past few weeks have been fine. I had a quick visit from the one and only Liz Farry a few weeks ago! It was great to see Liz and here about how things are going back at Westminster. I'm planning a trip home the weekend of April 22nd so I can go see Sing & Swing. Look out, WC! I also had a visit from my mom last week! She was in town for business so we had lunch and dinner while she was here. Love you, mom!

The news publicity assignment is going well. I'm working 60+ hours a week, which is leaving me with a big paycheck but I'm pretty tired at the end of the week. This assignment is only 10 weeks long, so I'm almost halfway finished already. Things are fairly quiet right now, but as soon as Katie Couric decides what she is doing after her contract expires I'm sure the phones will be ringing off the hook. I don't know what she's going to do, so don't ask!

I only have until July to stay in the page program, so I'm starting to look for some potential jobs in the area. Of course I'd love to stay at NBC, but I'm also looking elsewhere to see what my options are. As soon as I hear anything. I DID hear from MTVU and unfortunately I didn't get the news anchor position. The good news is that I got some really great feedback from 2 casting directors there, so I know how to improve in the future. I was just glad to hear something back at all, so that definitely made my day.

I'm on fire!

The Page Program is like a rollercoaster, I swear! Just when I started to kinda doubt everything and wonder about my future I get like 10 new assignments. Well not, 10... only 2. As you can see from previous posts my SNL assignment rocks. I actually wasn't the first person chosen for this new assignment, but the person who just got it got a real job so I stepped up to take over.

The new assignment is with NBC News Media. Basically that is all the PR for all of our news programs and talent ranging from the Today Show to Dateline and Hardball. My main job is to keep and eye on all of the days publications like newspapers, magazines and websites and flag the individual publicists when their client comes up. I have to look everywhere from the New York Times (to find articles about GE executives and takeovers) to the tabloids (in case people want to know who Katie Couric's dating!)

It's a big change from my position at Late Night, but it's definitely good experience and an excellent assignment to have on my resume. In my first two days I've already spoken to some big-name producers, Al Roker and David Gregory (who said, "have her call me at the White House.) Not bad... It's a little slower moving than my last gig, and the hours are a lot longer (7am to 7pm, YIKES!) but at least the pay will make it all worth it. Ahh, greed. Makes my uncle Jim proud.

Speaking of the family, I have to give a quick shout out to my cousins Corey and Luke as they welcomed a new baby boy into the family this weekend. My second cousin Grissom Matthew Sager was born on Sunday! Welcome to the family. *end mushy family section*

Live from New York

Here's a quick photo spread from my first night as escort on Saturday Night Live. Everyone went very well. There were several moments when I thought to myself, "...is this really my job?" I'm not gonna lie, it's fairly sweet.

March comes in like a lion

The weather in New York has been pretty wild these past few weeks. Some days have been unseasonably warm with temperatures in the high 40s, and today was in the low 20s and really windy. I guess you can never predict how to dress around this town. Luckily, the Pages are resourceful and we took advantage of the cold weather. On Tuesday we all went ice skating on the Rockefeller Center rink after work. It was a pretty ridiculous time but so much fun! Believe it or not, it was my first time skating there. I'm not in the photo (because I took it) but it's pretty picturesque, right?


NBC is going well. My reign as Late Night TOC has come to and end, unfortunately. Today was actually my last day there. I have been training my replacement all week, so on Monday I'm back in the blues. (UPDATE: Here's a pic of me and Lisa, the audience coordinator.) I've been doing some planning to figure out my future in the program. I'm almost 8 months in (can you believe it?!) which means I only have 4 months left. There's actually only 1 or 2 more assignments left that I am interested in, so looks like I will have to start the job hunt again.

I did get a new mini-assignment though! I am now a talent escort for Saturday Night Live! That means I will work every new show for the rest of the season. I will be escorting VIP guests upstairs to the studio or dressing rooms before the show, then after the show I head to the after party to help with seating and things like that. Pretty cool, right?

Check back for new updates in the future.