Often, people who work in the media are pressured to look, act, and even sound a certain way. During a recent episode of Today, host Jenna Bush Hager opened up about being told to change her “voice” early in her career. During the discussion, one of her co-stars also shared having to lose their accent early in their own career.
Jenna Bush Hager Talked About A Recent Trend Among Journalists Across The Country With Her Co-Stars On Today
Jenna is originally from Dallas, Texas, and the daughter of George W. Bush, the 43rd U.S. president. However, she has also established herself as a broadcast journalist.
Jenna previously joined Today in 2009 as a correspondent. Notably, she became a co-host on the show’s fourth hour in 2019, going on to work alongside co-hosts like Hoda Kotb and Sheinelle Jones.
During a recent segment on Today, Jenna, Savannah Guthrie, Craig Melvin, and journalist Joe Fryer spoke about “The Comeback of Local Accents.” This piece focused on reporters who reportedly went viral for using distinctive regional accents on the air.
At one point, Craig teased Jenna, sharing, “You’ve got a pretty pronounced accent.” This caused Jenna to quip, “Says the guy from South Carolina.” In turn, Craig responded, “Fair. Fair, but I love it. I think that’s one of my favorite parts about you.”
The Co-Hosts Had A Few Questions About Another Cast Member’s Accent
Jenna then opened up about the way she was once perceived on the NBC show when she first joined. She shared, “Somebody told me early on to get rid of the ‘y’alls.’ Somebody here – who works here, and I was like ‘no thank you,’” even making a disgusted face.
Guthrie noted, “Clearly you did not listen to that, and actually now we all say ‘y’all,’ and I’m from Arizona – where did that come from?” The hosts continued to discuss accents from around the country. Jenna noted that, for her, it can come and go, noting, “We were talking about this – one margarita and a little bit of queso and all of a sudden…”
As the segment was set to end and started to segue into Al Roker’s weather report, Melvin started to ask about the Queens accent. Roker, a New York native, shared, “For those of us of a certain age, when you went to college and [are] in broadcasting, they wanted you to have a general American accent.”
After some prodding from Guthrie, Roker continued, “I can’t anymore. They’ve beaten it out of me.” Melvin was surprised at this, sharing that Roker was good with impressions. Roker joked, “I lost it. I lost it…Get me over to St. Albans. I’ll get back there.”
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John Witiw has been a writer since at least 2015. He’s covered a variety of topics, especially when it comes to film and television.
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