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 Not just the kind of person who can get up at 3 or 4 a.m. every day,
but someone with a personality that the rest of America doesn't mind
seeing when they are tired, grumpy and have not yet had a first cup
of coffee.
It is easy to forget the nation's morning-show mainstays were
regular folks once. As the latest installment of Reuters' monthly
First Jobs series, we asked a few top morning hosts about how they
started their glittering careers.
Savannah Guthrie, Today Show
First job: Busing tables
"It was at a Greek restaurant in Tucson called Acropolis Gyro, and I
was only 14 years old. I got paid $1 an hour to bus tables, and
since I didn't even have a driver's license at the time, my dad had
to drop me off in his truck.
"I learned a lot about Greek food, like spanakopita and moussaka. I
always had to explain what a gyro was to people: 'A 60/40
combination of beef and lamb, roasted and served on a pita with
tzatziki.' See, I still remember.
"Once I started gossiping with my dad about what was happening at
work, and he said, 'Savannah, that is called office politics, and if
you are smart, you will stay out of it.' At the time I didn't know
what he was talking about. Now I know exactly what he meant.
"That job catapulted me into another one three doors down at Cookie
Incredible, where I gained 20 pounds eating raw cookie dough. But it
all started in that little Greek restaurant."
Rosanna Scotto, Good Day NY
First job: Chyron operator
"My first job out of college was working for WTBS Superstation,
which was at the same location as CNN. We used to call it the 'Ted
Turner School of Broadcasting'.
"When you see words scrolling across a TV screen, that is being run
by someone called the 'chyron operator,' and that is what I was
doing. I was okay with names, but with sports scores, I had a real
problem. I couldn't decipher the different teams, I was doing it on
the fly while the show was in progress, and I was screwing up left
and right. I felt so bad for the sportscaster. Whenever I see him, I
still apologize profusely.
"This was in Atlanta in 1980, and at that time and in that place,
blond-haired and blue-eyed people ruled the world. There I was with
dark hair and dark eyes, coming from Brooklyn, and I stuck out like
a sore thumb. I even tried to pick up a southern drawl, just to fit
in."
Matt Lauer, Today Show
First job: Clothing salesman
"My first real job was working for a men's clothing store in
Greenwich, Connecticut, called Richard's Men's Store. It's still
there today. I first went in to ask them to sponsor our rec-league
basketball team, and eventually they gave me a job as a stockboy and
junior clothing salesman.
"It was fabulous. First, because I liked clothing, so that was cool.
Second, because as a salesman, it forces you to make an instant
connection with the people walking through the door. You have to
strike up a conversation, not be overbearing, and figure out how to
forge chemistry with a complete stranger. Honestly that skill has
helped me my whole life, and with my career.
"They paid me $2.50 an hour, which I probably spent on old 45
records, because I was really into music at the time. I also used it
to try to go on dates with girls who didn't want to go out with me."
Steve Edwards, Good Day LA
[to top of second column] |
First job: Drummer
"I was in high school, playing drums in a band, and got hired by a
small hotel in the Catskill Mountains. We were supposed to be their
house band for the summer.
"We had a fantasy of what it would be like: Seeing lots of beautiful
young girls, eating wonderful food, hanging out and just being cool
musicians. It lasted three weeks. I don't remember if they fired us,
or if we quit.
"In those days there were some famous hotels in the Catskills, but
this one was really third-tier. We slept in the same tiny room with
all our instruments. We ate leftovers or rejected food from the
dining room.
"We wanted to meet girls, but it turned out the average age of our
audience was about 87. At 7:30 we would play waltzes and other slow
songs, by 8:15 we would switch to rock-and-roll, and by 8:30 the
place emptied out. Each night we went to bed earlier."
Katie Couric, former host, Today Show; currently Global News Anchor,
Yahoo
First job: Camp counselor
"My first paid job, after my senior year of high school, was as a
summer camp counselor at Columbia Lighthouse for the Blind near
Washington, D.C. My sister, brother and I were all counselors at
this camp. We came from a pretty 'Leave It To Beaver' upbringing,
and my mom wanted us to be socially conscious and help people who
were less fortunate.
"It was a real cross-section of kids, from real affluent backgrounds
in Maryland and Virginia, to the poorest neighborhoods of D.C. It
taught me a lot about responsibility, and how to make a fun summer
for those kids. We did all sorts of things you might not think of
for the visually impaired, like bowling, swimming - even forming a
band. I played piano.
"I remember going to see a production of Peter Pan that my sister
produced, with an all-blind cast. I was so moved by it. That camp
was an extraordinary experience for me, which still has a special
place in my heart. It was also a lot of hard work."
(Story refiled to add Katie Couric's current position in the last
section.)
(Editing by Lauren Young and Dan Grebler)
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