NBC News NOW has a new dayside program, and Christine Romans is the driving force behind it. Her show, Current with Christine Romans, debuted on Monday, August 3rd.
Romans described the process of assembling her team.
“It’s really fun because we’ve hired a team — some people are brand new to NBC News, and others are from within the organization,” said Romans. “Everyone’s got a different strength and a different set of talents. It’s just been really fun to build a team, and the news flow is unrelenting, so every single day there’s so much to work with and so much to put into two hours of breaking news. It’s just been delightful.”
Romans also spoke about the unpredictability of live television.
“You have a rundown maybe an hour and a half before the show goes on, and you sit together and you’re like, okay, this is what we think the show is going to look like,” Romans said. “You’ve worked on it, you’ve fact-checked it, you’ve been painstaking about the verbs you’re using, and you’ve made it tight. And then something breaks — and that’s really fun. I love breaking news. I’ve anchored breaking news before, and that is one of my favorite things to do — when everything’s out the window and it’s just you in the control room, the 15 facts, and the one reporter in the field, just trying to make it all sing. I love doing that.”
A Show Built Around the Kitchen Table
Romans explained the editorial philosophy behind Current.
“I have a background in business news and the economy. But it’s not a business news show,” Romans said. “I have anchored breaking news and all kinds of news before. So I wanted to have a little bit more economy in a general news show than maybe you’re used to. But I want to do it in a way that is very kitchen table.
“I have a jargon jar that I keep on a little table next to the desk, and I tell everybody there’s going to be no jargon — no ‘earnings beat expectations’ or this or that about the economy,” she stated. “That’s jargon. That’s like the gate that keeps people from understanding what’s happening. I really want it to be a Main Street-focused show where we take the news of the day — the things that are happening in the halls of power, on Wall Street, and in Washington — and really tell the American family what it means at the kitchen table. That’s kind of our framing for everything.”
Romans pointed to one segment in particular as an example.
“I feel like our story selection has been very good today,” Romans said. “For example, we did an amazing piece, a segment with Gretchen Morgenson, who’s an award-winning financial journalist, about insiders and companies who are selling stock at almost record levels. What does that tell you when people inside the executive suite are selling their stocks so much? What does that mean for people like us who are just regular investors? I was really proud of that segment in particular.”
Finding the Right Moment at NBC News NOW
Romans reflected on her path to the network.
“I think the timing is amazing for me,” Romans said. “I was at another network for two decades, and I moved over here two-and-a-half years ago, and I have felt so welcome in the NBC family. Growing up, you have NBC families and CBS families and ABC families. I can remember being on my grandparents’ farm, watching the news while we were getting dinner ready — I just remember we were always an NBC family.
“So it feels like such a great next move for me to be here at a time when it’s so exciting — the changes that are happening, like the streaming side,” she continued. “NBC News NOW has been so successful, and we’re starting this new show with a blank slate, a blank page. A lot of times people who have cable — they maybe watch MSNBC or they watch Fox, but they want to watch NBC News for their other news content, maybe news content that’s right in the middle. So I love feeding that, and I love being a part of that right now.”
As part of the new show, Romans is introducing the 50 States in 50 Days series. She’ll dive into real topics and issues at the state-level to showcase the power of locality.
“Real change happens on the local level — it happens in towns, by mayors, by governors,” Romans said. “I just feel like it’s so empowering to tell those stories in each of those states, where people are figuring out how to fix a problem and they’re doing it. I think that gives hope to viewers who might feel overwhelmed by the news flow, or overwhelmed by the direction of the country, and they can remember that real change happens locally.”
With the launch of Current, Romans was asked how she’ll judge success for the program. She says that answer is a long-term play.
“Being on the air tomorrow is my gauge of success,” Romans said with a laugh. “I think if I step back and have the luxury of thinking longer-term, success for me will be if our viewers feel like they understand how it works — this interplay between Washington and Wall Street and their daily life — and learn something about how the news affects them. Good people have to always be informed — that’s so important in a healthy democracy. So I hope that people watch the show and feel like every day they’re part of a conversation about how this system that we live in works.”
The NBC News NOW platform — with the addition of Current with Christine Romans — has hours of live coverage throughout each day. It’s just another expansion of news content. And that’s something Romans is championing.
“I love that the medium has changed so much since I started,” she noted. “There are so many different ways to get news, in so many different forms, and it’s fun at a place like NBC News to be able to be a part of that in so many different ways — telling a story on so many different platforms.”
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Garrett Searight is Barrett Media’s News Editor, which includes writing daily news stories, features, and opinion columns. He joined Barrett Media in 2022 after a decade leading several radio brands in several formats, as well as a 5-year stint working in local television. In addition to his work with Barrett Media, he is a radio and TV play-by-play broadcaster. Reach out to him at Garrett@BarrettMedia.com.