Savannah Guthrie said she was “devastated” when she lost a job, which she felt was her “big break” in journalism.
It was years before she worked as a co-anchor and chief legal correspondent on NBC News and NBC’s Today.
Her educational background includes a Bachelor of Arts in journalism from the University of Arizona and a Juris Doctor from Georgetown University Law Center.
Savannah’s jobs have included working as a litigation associate, a trial correspondent for CourtTV, and a correspondent for NBC News.
In addition, Guthrie is a bestselling author, having just released her latest book, Mostly What God Does.
She’s worked with NBC News since 2007, but she revealed a field reporter job she held 25 years before that left her worried about her career choice.
Guthrie experienced an early disappointment after getting her ‘big break’
While appearing as a guest on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, Guthrie detailed how she landed a job in Butte, Montana, after college, which she felt was her “big break.”
She said the gig was at one of the smallest television markets in the country and paid the “sum of $13,000 a year.”
“I was my own camera person. My own editor. I would lug that stuff around, but I was excited it was my big break. I was Butte, Montana’s Diane Sawyer,” Guthrie shared.
However, that didn’t last long. She revealed that after 10 days, they called a staff meeting with “about four people” in attendance to share disappointing news.
“They closed the station,” Guthrie said, adding, “I was devastated. As kind of crappy as that job was, I was so lucky to get it.”
According to an archived newspaper report about the station closing, Guthrie’s early job was at NBC affiliate KTVM-TV in Butte.
Despite losing that early job, Guthrie said she picked herself up, drove back home to Tucson, Arizona, and sent tapes around. Eventually, she got another job at a news station.
She said 25 years later, she’s now at NBC’s Today as one of the popular morning program’s co-anchors and an NBC chief legal correspondent.
Today co-anchor shared why she chose to write her latest book about religion
Guthrie also discussed the book she released several months ago: Mostly What God Does during her appearance on CBS’ Late Show.
“Why write a book about God? Why was this important for you to do?” Colbert asked, joking, “There is a book about God already. It’s very good.”
She revealed she didn’t necessarily want to write a book, to begin with, but her religion is something she is passionate about.
“When I was given the chance, I couldn’t say no right away because I felt like I had something good to say about God, and I just wanted to say it,” she told Colbert.
The book’s complete title is Mostly What God Does: Reflections on Seeking and Finding His Love Everywhere.
It’s a collection of personal essays from the NBC Today co-anchor, in which she answers questions that others might have about God.
She said those questions might include “Am I a good person?” “Have I made bad decisions?” and “Is God the scolding father figure, some taskmaster, or someone waiting to rain down calamity on me if I don’t do everything right?”
Guthrie said it’s her opinion that God loves us despite all our mistakes or flaws, and it can be hard to believe that at times.
“We live in a world that invites cynicism and despair. I tried really hard not to ignore those questions because they’ve been real in my life,” she shared.
Guthrie’s new book joins her bestselling children’s books
Guthrie was already a New York Times best-selling author with her previous works, including the 2017 children’s book Princesses Save the World and 2018’s follow-up, Princesses Wear Pants. The success of her books led to the creation of Netflix’s animated children’s series Princess Power.
Mostly What God Does, released in February, featured a promotional tour with Guthrie traveling to various states for meet-and-greet sessions. Several weeks ago, her newest book became a New York Times bestseller.
As of this writing, it is also ranked No. 1 on Amazon in the Journalist Biographies and Christian Family & Relationships categories.