Kristen Welker Gets Ready for New Role at NBC’s ‘Today’
Kirsten Welker started out at NBC’s “Today,” and now she’s coming back.
The longtime NBC News Washington correspondent on Saturday starts a new job: co-anchor of the Saturday broadcast of “Today.” One of her first news roles came as an intern working at “Today”; in another, she served as a researcher for the weekend edition of the show.
More from Variety
“I feel like I’ve grown up, not only at NBC, but also at ‘Today’,” she said during a brief interview Friday outside the show’s famous Studio 1A before joining the “Today” weekday team to celebrate her new role on camera.
In doing so, Welker helps the network create a new offering on the weekends. Her co-anchor is Peter Alexander, with whom she also works to cover the White House.
“We have a teeny little workspace” at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, Welker said. “We have so much fun together, and we are really excited to show that to other people.”
Welker has been with NBC News since 2010, first serving as a correspondent in California and then moving to White House coverage in late 2011. She has also worked at stations in Philadelphia, Providence, and Redding, Calif.
Viewers shouldn’t expect a show based only on the ins and outs of the nation’s capital, she said. But they should anticipate more of what “Today” brings: “hard hitting news in the first 30 minutes and then we dive into what people are talking about.”
Like her co-host, she isn’t giving up her other job. She will continue to cover the White House during the week. “I’m going to squeeze in days off here and there to make it work,” she said.
Best of Variety
Sign up for Variety’s Newsletter. For the latest news, follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.
