For those who watch the “Today” show each Morning while enjoying their first cup of coffee, Willie Geist is practically a household name.
This charismatic host leaving the show in 2016 was shocking to many people.
What is the status of Willie Geist’s departure from NBC’s “Today” show? First, describe Willie Geist’s exit from the “Today” show. Then, let’s find out what happened with Willie Geist on the Today Show?
Would you like to know who Willie Geist is?
William Geist is an American television personality and journalist known for his work on the NBC show “Today,” one of the most popular Morning shows in the country.
After graduation with a bachelor’s degree from Vanderbilt University, Willie began his career as an editor and producer for CNN Sports Illustrated and a part-time sports reporter and producer.
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Willie’s job as a CNN Sports Illustrated photographer included coverage of the Super Bowl, the NCAA Final Four, and the Masters.
In the wake of the Don Imus scandal and following his dismissal from MSNBC’s 6 a.m. to 9 a.m. radio show, Willie took advantage of the situation and started co-hosting the show instead of Don.
In his role at NBC News, Geist has no shortage of responsibilities. Today’s Sunday show is now anchored by him while he continues to serve as one of the three hosts on MSNBC’s morning show, Morning Joe. In 2016, thanks to the election-year elections, the latter has seen a rise in ratings and has generated more buzz than usual.
In recent months, Bush joined the Today family only after a long and poorly guarded courtship. Then, in May, he officially joined the show, and with that, he got his first big platform at the Rio Games.
How many times a day do your children watch you on television?
No day goes by that they don’t watch me on TV! When my wife wakes up with the kids, she says, “Let’s say good morning to Daddy!”. She tells me that it only lasts for about ten seconds before they say, “Change the channel!” She has to turn on Nickelodeon, or whatever the cartoon of choice is on that day. So there’s a vague awareness of what I do, but they’re not even interested in my work. And that’s one of the things that I like about it.
How has it been adjusting to life in the country and moving into a new house?
As newcomers to the area, and after being cooped up in the city for a decade, we’re letting all our pent-up frustrations about outside going. Every mealtime, I’m on the grill making way too much food for four people, saying, “I have steak, chicken, and burgers!” My wife replies, “Who is eating all this food?”? So instead, we enjoy the outdoors and the backyard, having BBQs or watching the kids jump in the pool. As a family, we’re doing what I think many families do during the summer – swimming, fishing, and making memories together. City living makes that problematic. We found a perfect location in Westchester for that.
Is there one significant way you think the show has changed over the years? For example, what do you remember about the first Sunday in 2016?
We were thrilled when Leslie Odom Jr. was the first guest. Hamiltonmania was at its height at the time, and we could spend some time with him during that period. Our first show received an extensive “get” for a completely untested concept.
When we started, the show was different from what it is now. My original thought was to combine my two lives – I was hosting the 9 o’clock hour of the Today show and Morning Joe at the time, and I took on the Sunday show as a third job. So I immediately thought, “What if it were like Morning Joe, but essentially Today.”
The news was discussed immediately in our roundtable. Discussions were more analytical. As time went on, we still had to tell our audience, “here’s what’s going on…” at the top of the show; “here’s the news,” which we weren’t doing. You have a political audience on Morning Joe, so everyone knows what’s going on. Nevertheless, we were making some assumptions about this show. For the first 10 or 12 minutes of the play, we went back to more conventional, like the Today show … “Good morning, here’s what’s going on in the world, here’s what you need to know…” before transitioning to more of a magazine format. It evolved over the first couple of months, but we hit a form that we say works after one year.
Nevertheless, it is now what it was. Since then, we have tweaked it a bit. That was about a year ago.
Leaving the third hour of the ‘Today’ Show is hard for me, but I pass the hat on to another big-headed guy – Billy Bush.”
As he had previously done in the previous years, Willie continued hosting and co-hosting “Today” on Sundays.
He still does pretty much the same thing he always has!
Although Willie leads a busy life, he has recently reported spending as much time as possible with his family.
William also has a variety of interests outside of his primary one. For example, he is a board member of the Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson’s Research and Operation Mend, both dedicated to Parkinson’s research.
UCLA Medical Center’s Operation Mend organization provides free surgery and medical care to severely injured soldiers.
How’s the new house coming along? Have you been tinkering with it?
Cities and rural areas differ in many ways. I once lost my kids at Stop & Shop. There are two grocery store aisles in the town, and everyone has to shuffle past each other. There are aisle dancers in this grocery store.
My experience at the hardware store is similar. It’s incredible what you could do with a hardware store. I’ll have to use the drill when I prepare the barn, or maybe I’ll do something else I’ll never do.
