After 22 years at NBC News, Saturday Today co-anchor Peter Alexander is saying goodbye. Alexander announced his NBC News departure during today’s edition of the morning show.
“I do have a little bit of news to share,” he told viewers. “This morning I am bursting with pride and with gratitude. I’ve had the most incredible experience over 22 years with NBC News, from Baghdad to Banda Aceh, Burbank to Beijing, always alongside the best, the most professional, the most dedicated journalists in the business. I could not be more grateful for every one of them and for the leaders and mentors here who have believed in me and given me more opportunities than I ever dreamed of.”
Alexander got his first NBC News job in 2004 and joined Saturday Today in 2018, TODAY.com notes. In addition to his weekend duties in Studio 1A, he also serves as NBC’s co-chief White House correspondent.
“I’m grateful to you for welcoming into your homes for all these years, almost 14 of those years from the north lawn at the White House or maybe from around the world,” he said today. “It’s hard to believe, but I have been a part of the NBC family for longer than I have had my own family. Studio 1A being right here with this team with all the folks that you don’t get to see on TV. This is literally my happy place. It is so fun. I mean, what a gig.”
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But as Alexander explained, he wants a better balance between his work life and his home life in Washington D.C. with his wife, Alison Starling, and their daughters, Ava, 12, and Emma, 10.
“I’ve been away from my home more than 80 nights in the last 7 months. More than 220 Friday nights. Two hundred twenty Friday nights away from my family in the last seven years,” he explained. “So, in this limited window before my daughters lose interest in hanging out with me. It’s already happened quick. … As I was taught, family first, the rest is details.”
He concluded, “Thank you for your trust and your confidence. And most of all, thank you to NBC News. What for what have been undoubtedly the most exciting years of my life.”
There may be another reason for the shake-up: Page Six reports Alexander was tired of being passed over for prestigious anchoring jobs on NBC Nightly News and the weekday Today. And Variety speculates Alexander may be headed to the open anchor slot at the 11 a.m. weekday hour at MS NOW, formerly the NBC sibling channel MSNBC.
In any case, Saturday Today co-anchor Laura Jarrett is already feeling the loss. “Peter, we love you,” she said on today’s broadcast. “We are going to miss you. We have laughed so hard we want to cry with you. We have learned from you. … Here’s what I know: You are a brilliant journalist, you are a good and decent man, and you are an extraordinary father. You only get one shot to be Ava and Emma’s dad. Two hundred nights is a long time. They are lucky to have you as their father.”
Alexander also got high praise from Chloe Arensberg, NBC News’ Washington Bureau chief, and Matt Carluccio, executive producer of weekend broadcasts of Today.
“Peter has been a trusted presence with great range across NBC News, and a friend to so many across the Washington Bureau, Today, and the broader NBC News team,” Arensberg and Carluccio said in a memo to staffers on Saturday, per Variety. “We are grateful for all his contributions and wish him the best.”
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