Savannah Guthrie, a University of Arizona grad and former KVOA-TV anchor and reporter, is in Hawaii for the holidays this year.
She's working. It's President-elect Barack Obama who's on holiday.
Guthrie was recently named a White House correspondent, alongside chief White House correspondent Chuck Todd, for NBC News.
Aside from covering the Obama family vacation, Guthrie has attended most, if not all of Obama's recent press conferences. Before the election, she followed Alaskan Gov. Sarah Palin on the campaign trail.
"It has been really busy," Guthrie said in a recent phone interview. "Obama has moved very quickly to name members of his Cabinet. This week, we had five news conferences in five days. There has been no space between how hectic the campaign was and now the transition."
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Guthrie grew up in Tucson. Before attending the UA, she went to Amphitheater High School. Her mother and sister still live in town.
Guthrie, who now resides in D.C., spoke to the Star from NBC's Chicago bureau, where she has been stationed since the election.
How did it feel to be named a White House correspondent for NBC News?
"I am really honored that they would trust me with this assignment, particularly at this historic time. It is something I am sure I dreamed of when I was back in Tucson. It is an amazing opportunity. NBC has been an amazing place to work and has given me so many opportunities in such a short time."
You were assigned to Sarah Palin before Obama's win. What was that experience like?
"I covered Sarah Palin pretty much since the time of her nomination. I was in Chicago when I got the call to go to Alaska by primetime the next night. We arranged to pick up the Palin story, and then I was with her from that time forward.
"It is an amazing experience to cover a presidential campaign just to see how hard the candidates work, to be on the front lines especially for this historic election. Sarah Palin is such a fascinating figure. There was so much interest in her.
"We had her kids on the plane. That was a fun aspect. We really enjoyed getting to know them. She was a great candidate to follow. We didn't have a lot of interaction with her, considering we were on the same plane following her around the country. But to some degree, that is pretty typical. I think by the end, reporters weren't getting much access to any of the candidates."
Was covering the election exhausting?
"It was. I only did it for a couple months. I had colleagues on the trail for the better part of a year. It is an alternate existence. Every night, you stay at a different hotel. The campaign tells you when to get up, when to show up. People say it is like being in a bubble. It is exhausting and exhilarating as a reporter."
What do you hope you get out of your new assignment?
"I really hope that I rise to the occasion and cover it well and that I think about who I am representing. I was at a conference today, and the president-elect called on me. I tried to ask a question that I thought regular Americans would want answered. I really hope to be a good steward in this position. It is a position of honor to get to cover the president."
Is it more nerve-racking asking the president-elect a question or having to relay his answer to millions of viewers across the country?
"I think it is a little more nerve-racking to ask the president-elect a question. It is not only that he is looking at you and assessing you, but so are all of your colleagues. You want to ask a good question. It is not an opportunity you get every day. I give a lot of thought to what I ask."
Every president has his own style when giving press conferences. What is Obama's, and has he given anyone nicknames yet?
"I haven't heard any nicknames, but he does joke with some of the reporters, particularly those who have been with him from the beginning.
"He can be friendly, which everyone likes. And he has held a lot of conferences, which is great. In that way, there has been a lot of press access. On the other hand, he doesn't answer a lot of questions, but he'll take three or four per news conference. I don't think we are in a position to complain at this point."
