June, 1997 Hartford Courant
Honors |
Students Meet with Today Show Hosts
By Yesenia Lecca
Senior Biliana Dimitrova, Juniors Alexia Clarke and Tamir Muhammad, and
sophomore Len B. Taing were invited to tour the set of a live broadcast
of NBC's Today Show. The students were picked up by a limousine
at their homes at five in the morning and sped to Rockefeller Plaza.
Arriving early, the group visited St. Patrick's Cathedral, St. Thomas Church,
and Trump Tower. The trip was chaperoned by Mr. Frank Alagno. The trip was
arranged by the publisher of The Connecticut Post , a fan of The
Criterion.. The Post ran a front page story recounting
the students' experience.
The students began the tour of The Today Show in the Green room, munching on bagels, smoked salmon, and grapes with guests waiting to be interviewed by hosts Katie Couric and Matt Lauer. Marcia Clarke passed through, not pausing for a snack. The Central group watched as Couric conducted a tense interview with the O.J. prosecutor. "Now in your book, you referred to Johnny Cochrane as a two faced bastard."
"Yes, I did," responded Clarke.
The Central contingent were guests of Lauer, and were led around the set and control room by his assistant, Jackie Agnolet. Ms. Agnolet was gracious fielding all questions from the students.
Al Roker visited with the Central group and asked Alexia Clarke, "What brings you here?"
"We're touring the facilities," replied Clarke.
"Oh well, don't forget to stop upstairs for the free milk and cookies!" retorted Al.
Muhammad, alone, was greeted by Couric, who rushed off to shoot two more segments with Marcia Clarke.
Finally Lauer, who replaced Bryant Gumbel, met with the students. "Thanks for visiting us. What brings you here?" he asked Muhammad.
"Well, a lot of us are interested in media and came to see how the show is produced," replied Muhammad, a budding filmmaker who was a bit shy about presenting Lauer with a videotape of work he had directed.
"Is there anything I can do for any of you?" asked Lauer.
"He has a tape," chimed Clarke.
"I'll look at it!," said Lauer. "And then I'll call you at home and we can talk about it."
On the ride back to Connecticut, Muhammad's classmates watched a copy of the tape he had given Lauer on the limo's VCR as they snacked on New York deli sandwiches.
