The The Today Show reference article from the English Wikipedia on 24-Apr-2004
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The Today Show

The Today Show (more commonly called Today) is a long-running morning news show airing on the NBC television network in the United States. It first aired on January 14, 1952.

Today was the first of its genre when it first signed on with host Dave Garroway. The show successfully blends national news headlines, in-depth interviews with newsmakers, lifestyle features, other light news and gimmicks, and local news updates. It has spawned several other shows of a similar type, including ABC's Good Morning America and CBS's The Early Show.

The show is filmed and produced at studio 1A of the GE Building in Rockefeller Center, New York. The studio is located right next to the street and many times the hosts do the weather or other events from outside.

Today was the brainchild of Pat Weaver, who was then vice-president of NBC. Later, he became president of the company from 1953 to 1955, and then served as chairman of the board for another year.

The show is currently hosted by Katie Couric and Matt Lauer. Al Roker does weather updates and Ann Curry reads news headlines.

Previous hosts have included Bryant Gumbel, Jane Pauley, Deborah Norville, Tom Brokaw, Barbara Walters, and Hugh Downs. Popular former weathercaster Willard Scott still appears on the show daily doing the 100th birthday announcements he first became famous for in the 1980s.