EXCLUSIVE: Kristen Welker 'Emerges as Savannah Guthrie's Today Rival'
There's a new pecking order taking shape inside NBC News – and Meet the Press moderator Kristen Welker is emerging as one of the network's most valuable players, RadarOnline.com can reveal.
Sources said Welker is increasingly being viewed as host Savannah Guthrie's go-to back-up on Today, a role once reserved for morning show alum Hoda Kotb.
"If Savannah was out, Hoda could slide into that chair without anyone thinking twice," an insider told RadarOnline.com. "But even though Hoda is still tied to the network, NBC is now investing heavily in Kristen.
"Kristen can do politics, breaking news, major interviews and morning television. That versatility makes her incredibly valuable. NBC sees a very big future for her."
Guthrie joined TODAY back in 2011 and became co-anchor in 2012, spending more than a decade covering major news events, interviewing some of the biggest stars in the industry and becoming a fixture of morning television.
She took a leave of absence after her mother, Nancy Guthrie, was abducted from her Arizona bedroom.
Guthrie has since returned to the show.