Craig Melvin has been named a weekday news anchor of NBC’s “Today,” a promotion that was announced on-air Tuesday morning.
“Before we start this whole new thing, I wanted to just thank my parents, who sacrificed so much for me to go to school and get here,” Melvin said after Guthrie shared the news with “Today” viewers.
He also tweeted his excitement, writing, “Dreams come true.” Here’s everything you need to know about “Today’s” newest anchor.
Dreams come true. So excited to join the @TODAYshow family. https://t.co/P1AXkAHI1k
— Craig Melvin (@craigmelvin) September 4, 2018
He’s a native of Columbia, S.C.
On Tuesday morning, Melvin’s promotion was the lead item on the website for South Carolina-based newspaper the State. His NBC connections go way back — while a junior at Columbia High School, he was a teen reporter for the local affiliate, WIS News 10, where he won an Associated Press award for a story about his favorite teacher.
WIS is also where he discovered his love of journalism. “I would not be where I am right now had it not been for that,” he told Columbia Metropolitan magazine last year.
Melvin majored in government at Wofford College in Spartanburg. As a junior, he interned in Washington, but the experience made him realize he “did not want to have anything to do with politics” when he graduated.
He returned to WIS after graduating college and in 2006 won an Emmy for his work as an anchor there.
He’s an MSNBC anchor.
Despite his aversion to entering politics, he hasn’t hesitated to cover the political arena. Melvin anchors MSNBC Live at 1 p.m. on weekdays.
He made headlines in June for a tense interview with Bill Clinton, during which Melvin asked the former president if he had apologized to Monica Lewinsky, and whether he viewed the sex scandal that led to his 1998 impeachment differently in the #Me Too era.
Last year, as President Trump toured the National Museum of African American History and Culture, Melvin pointedly asked Trump about his thoughts on a spate of anti-Semitic attacks across the country.
“Anti-Semitism is horrible, and it’s going to stop,” Trump replied.
“So you’re denouncing [anti-Semitism] now, once and for all?” Melvin asked.
“Oh, of course,” Trump said. “And I do it wherever I get a chance, I do it.”
He’s a former NBC4 anchor.
Melvin is likely familiar to Washingtonians — he spent three years at WRC-TV, where he anchored several weekend broadcasts. He left the station in 2011 to join MSNBC, but he hasn’t forgotten his time there. In a tweet pinned to his Twitter account, Melvin honors his late colleague, Jim Vance, the legendary news anchor who spent 45 years at WRC before his death in 2017.
Jim Vance was the coolest and realest in the business. He became a mentor and dear friend. We will miss you so much. pic.twitter.com/rb4dF99bwD
— Craig Melvin (@craigmelvin) July 22, 2017
He’s married to Lindsay Czarniak.
NBC4 is also where Melvin met his wife, a sports journalist who left ESPN last fall after six years. They met on-air in 2008 when Melvin introduced one of Czarniak’s sports segments.
“Craig’s the kind of guy that, when you’re talking to him, he has this gift of making you feel like you’re the only person in the world that matters,” Czarniak told The Washington Post ahead of their 2011 wedding.
After his “Today” promotion was announced, Melvin gave a shout-out to Czarniak and their two children.
“They give me life,” he said.
This post has been updated.
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