Even though the “Today Show” is filmed in New York City, it will come to Tampa for a day for a special broadcast. NBC’s Lester Holt will be on campus this Sunday,
Oct. 21, to co-anchor for “Today” from 8-9 a.m. He will also anchor the Nightly News on campus from 6:30-7 p.m. His co-anchor will be televised from NYC. Both events will take place at the Plant Hall East Verandah.
“The broadcasts will focus heavily on the upcoming presidential election. Both Barack Obama and Mitt Romney have concentrated on Florida for their campaigns so it seemed like a good idea to have this special broadcast here,” said NBC News producer, Kim Cornett.
“[The University of Tampa campus] is a central spot in Hillsborough County, it makes sense to have it here. It’s a beautiful campus and we’ve come here before,” she said.
Lester Holt will talk about some of the issues that are important in this election such as healthcare and housing. He’ll focus on how Florida, especially Hillsborough County, has been important in past presidential elections, and what its historic role has been. “Florida’s a key battleground state,” Cornett said.
She said they will have insiders, experts, voters of different ages and also a University of Tampa professor to talk to. There is also hope to get a Florida senator on the show but that has not been confirmed yet.
Cornett hopes that there will be a big turnout for the morning broadcast, “We’d love a lot of people. We want signs, cheering, just like the ‘Today Show’ in New York.”
The second half hour of the morning show will be “lighter,” she said. Holt will interact with the crowd, ask some people about their opinions and get some feedback from the public on what issues are important to them. Students are highly encouraged to attend the morning broadcast, but Cornett said they don’t need a crowd for the Nightly News segment.
Caroline Metell can be contacted at cmetell@spartans.ut.edu.