The NBC Experience

It was a good stroke of luck that Rich and his wife Cecilia ended up in my snowboarding group lesson that day in February. They were the only two students in my class that day, and we sure had a riot. I taught them all about knee steering, and then we spent the day practicing on groomers and hitting up freshies in the trees. We became good friends by the end of the day. Who would have thought that two years later, I'd be visiting them in New York City!

PART ONE: BEHIND THE SCENES
Rich had once offered to show me around his workplace at the Today Show, and after I booked my ticket to NYC, I was quick to take him up on his offer. Rich, a producer and editor / Preditor, cuts packages for the news segments anchored by Ann Curry on the Today Show. I was thrilled to follow him on a behind-the-scenes tour of 30 Rock.

We met in the GE building and had a look around the Peacock Network. Understandably, I was impressed by the overall size of the office and the numbers of monitors in the control rooms, perhaps double the amount used in the Denver market. We took the unconventional A through H elevators up and down the building, visiting the sets of the Today Show, Saturday Night Live, the Nightly News, Late Night with Conan O’Brien, and MSNBC and the control room.

(SNL set)

(3D green screen / Today show control room )
Rich, a former Page, still recalled some of the interesting facts he used to recite during his old days giving tours. He is one of the few people at the office who started as a Page and determinedly worked his way up without leaving the company. Although, Dave, one of Rich's coworkers and skiing buddy, also shares this traditional start and was hired as a Page. Dave now writes scripts for Meredith and Matt. The NBC Page program is well-known. It's apparently 10 times harder to get into as compared to admission to Harvard, according to a recent article in the New York Times.
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/10/14/nyregion/14page.html

The Today Show studio was surprisingly quite small, considering it fit at least three different sets inside. That explains why they have real camera operators working on set, compared to many other stations which use robotic cameras these days. This space was probably ideal when the building was used for radio. Though the Today Show had just wrapped up, there was still time for one last interview.

The best part of the tour, however, was Rich's office, marked by an impressive wall covered with snowboarding trail maps.

PART TWO: IN THE AUDIENCE
The NBC Experience was not over after the tour. Later that week, I made a point to wake up early and get to Rockefeller Center by 8:00am so I could stand in the crowd for the live taping of the Today Show. I came dressed in my warmest clothes to survive the chilly East Coast wind, but failed to bring along a Halloween costume or poster for guaranteed air time. So, I strategically planted myself right next to a chick wearing a festive hat and giant clown glasses, holding a big "Happy Birthday" sign...Hello America! This is national TV.

It was fun to cheerfully wave to the cameras as part of the audience in the background, though, I have to say, some of my fellow Today Show fans were a bit more excited about this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. They were on their phones screaming, "Do you see me? I'm right next to the girl with the Happy Birthday poster behind Matt Lauer. Oh, I gotta go, I can't be on the phone while I'm on the Today Show!!!" Oh, the magic of TV.

It was cool to see Matt Lauer, Meredith Viera, Ann Curry, and Al Roker live in person. They did a great job keeping their energy up and sharing their stories. I felt bad for Meredith who was probably wearing five inch heels in order to measure up next to Matt...that's totally me (Us shorties have got to find some shorter cohosts). I shook hands with Meredith Viera, as she came by for a quick meet and greet. But, soon after that, Meredith and I became good friends: she came over and asked if she could borrow my hat, the freebie blue Wizzard cap given to me by the free schwag crew. Of course, I said yes, and it was soon returned along with a big kiss on the cheek.

Up next, my thoughts about NYC, but first, this is Today on NBC.