South Carolina native Craig Melvin will be highlighting the Midlands in a segment on Thursday’s edition of the “Today” show.
Melvin previewed the piece in a segment on Wednesday, highlighted in a clip on the Facebook page of local station WIS.
“Welcome to my hometown, Columbia, S.C.,” Melvin says in the video, where he appears to be standing in the newly renovated Finlay Park downtown. “Join me for a little trip down memory lane. I’m going to bring you back here to my childhood with my kid brother, introduce you to some of my favorite people and places that really sort of shaped me, molded me. And of course, there will be food.”
Melvin speaks over clips of the local dining in restaurants, visiting a barber shop and speaking to Columbia Mayor Daniel Rickenmann, who sailed to re-election in Tuesday’s local election.
Melvin’s return to Columbia comes almost a year after he was named co-host of NBC’s “Today” show, replacing Hoda Kotb. He got the job after 13 years with NBC News. But the Columbia native is remembered by many for his time with WIS, the capital city’s NBC affiliate. Melvin started work at WIS when he was still a student at Columbia High School, and eventually became the nightly news anchor for the station.
Since taking a national media perch, Melvin has routinely highlighted his roots and his home state. But locals will be interested to see what he has to say about Columbia this week.
Bristow Marchant
The State
Bristow Marchant covers local government, schools and community in Lexington County for The State. He graduated from the College of Charleston in 2007. He has almost 20 years of experience covering South Carolina at the Clinton Chronicle, Sumter Item and Rock Hill Herald. He joined The State in 2016. Bristow has won numerous awards, most recently the S.C. Press Association’s 2023 faith reporting award for his coverage of the breakup of the United Methodist Church.
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