NABJ Congratulates Craig Melvin For ‘Today’ promotion at NBC
WASHINGTON, D.C. (Sept. 6, 2018) – NABJ congratulates member Craig Melvin on being named weekday news anchor of NBC’s “Today” show. The promotion was announced on Monday during the morning telecast.
Currently, Melvin is the anchor of the 1 p.m. weekday show MSNBC Live and an NBC News correspondent who has made frequent appearances on “Today.” Through August 2018, he was the co-anchor of the “Today” weekend show.
“NABJ is proud of the excellence Craig Melvin brings to on-air reporting. He is a respected journalist who carries a wealth of news experience in this new post as an NBC news anchor on ‘Today,'” said NABJ President Sarah Glover. “Craig continues to set a high standard for broadcast journalism, and for that we are pleased his hard work is recognized.”
Prior to joining MSNBC in July 2011, Melvin was a weekend anchor for WRC, NBC’s owned-and-operated station in Washington, D.C. Before joining WRC, Melvin earned acclaim as an evening news anchor for WIS in Columbia, South Carolina. Melvin has covered a wide range of events, including the Republican and Democratic National Conventions, Election Night coverage for TVOne in partnership with NBC News, the Asiana Airlines 214 crash in July 2013, the George Zimmerman trial, the deadly tornado in Moore, Oklahoma, the Sandy Hook school shooting, and a series on the future of Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs). Melvin received two Emmy Awards for his reporting at WIS and was also named “Best Anchor” by the South Carolina Broadcaster’s Association.
According to his bio on MSNBC, Melvin’s journalism career began during high school, when he served as an “Our Generation” reporter for WIS. In that role, Melvin became one of the youngest recipients of an Associated Press award for a report on innovative teaching.
“Kudos to NBC for recognizing and rewarding Melvin’s outstanding work”, said NABJ Vice President-Broadcast Dorothy Tucker.
Melvin’s promotion is noteworthy as African-Americans lead newscasts in the morning and evening for a major network.
Lester Holt was named anchor of “NBC Nightly News” in 2015. Holt, the first solo African-American evening anchor on a weekday network newscast, accepted the NABJ Journalist of the Year Award in 2016.
The award recognizes a black journalist who has distinguished himself or herself with a body of work that has extraordinary depth, scope and significance to people in the African Diaspora.
Melvin received a Bachelor of Arts in Government from Wofford College in Spartanburg, South Carolina, his home state. In his spare time, he enjoys running, cooking and spending time with his family. Melvin lives in Connecticut with his wife and two children.
Melvin was mentored by the late Jim Vance, a 2007 NABJ Hall of Fame recipient and former WRC-TV anchor.
“I am extremely happy that Craig Melvin has been named an anchor on the ‘Today’ show. This is a big step in terms of on-air diversity, with the ‘Today’ show being one of the most watched morning shows in the nation,” said Kyra E. Azore, NABJ’s Student Representative, who once worked as an intern on MSNBC Live with Craig Melvin. “I also believe Craig’s perspective as a black man is also one that needs to be amplified, especially in this current social climate. From my time working him, I know that he is passionate about each and every story and is not afraid to ask the hard-hitting questions.”
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