As Bill Cosby heads to court today, compelled to testify about an alleged sexual assault at the Playboy Mansion 40 years ago, NBC’s Kate Snow talks to more than two dozen other Cosby accusers tonight on Dateline. The Cosby Accusers Speak airs at 9 p.m. ET.
The recently named anchor of NBC Nightly News on Sundays, as well as a two-hour block on MSNBC, will also continue to report for Dateline. We caught up with Snow to discuss her new roles, the network’s relationship with Cosby, why she isn’t “Kate Bro” and of course, her favorite meal.
TVNewser: Andy Lack obviously thinks you bring a lot to the table, as you’ve been named Nightly News Sunday anchor and MSNBC weekday anchor. I hear you raised your hand for the MSNBC anchor role. Why did you feel this was a good next step for you?
Snow: Honestly, I could not have been more flattered than when Andy Lack and Phil Griffin talked with me about this opportunity. I’ve been a journalist for better than 20 years and have been traveling as a national correspondent with NBC for years. I love news — hard news, breaking news, international news, politics, but also features that have an impact. So the idea of taking my love for news to MSNBC and also anchoring our Sunday Nightly News flagship on a night when people are tuning in to get ready for the week ahead was all very appealing to me. My kids would tell you that I was also very excited about the idea of being home for dinner most nights! This role is the best of all worlds. I’ll be covering every major story, interviewing newsmakers and helping to shape a new venue for my NBC News and MSNBC colleagues to come on and share their reporting.
TVNewser: Following the New York magazine cover with 35 Bill Cosby accusers, how long did it take for you and Dateline to bring together 29 of the accusers?
Snow: We had been talking about reporting a Dateline hour about Cosby for some time and began exploring the possibility of doing a large-scale interview before New York Magazine published. When we learned that Cosby would be giving a deposition [today] we started thinking about ways to tell this complicated story. We certainly saw the magazine cover and thought it had enormous impact. As a television broadcast, we also had the ability to see and hear the women interact. We reached out to every woman accusing Bill Cosby whose name had been public at that time and invited them all to participate in a group interview. We also invited a smaller group of women who had been involved in the Andrea Constand case (they were known as “Jane Does”) to talk with me. Twenty-nine women in total accepted our invitation and we brought them to Los Angeles in late August. Twenty-seven women were in the room on the day of the large group interview.
TVNewser: Was NBC News handcuffed from pursuing the Bill Cosby story earlier because of the since-terminated development deal NBC had with Cosby?
Snow: Absolutely not. I have been covering the Cosby story as a news story since last fall. The only time I have interacted with NBC’s entertainment division about this was when I’ve called them for comment. The NBC News editorial operation is completely independent of the entertainment division. We have pursued this story aggressively and without bias.
TVNewser: Your husband has an amazing last name, simply “Bro.” Kate Bro would be a great name for a broadcaster. Anyway, how will anchoring the Nightly News every Sunday impact your family life?
Snow: My husband not only has a cool name, he is way cooler than I will ever be. He hosts a new music show called NEXT. I was on TV for a few years before I got married and the rhyming hyphenated Kate Snow-Bro is kind of weird right? So as much as I love my husband, I stick with my maiden name on air!
The first people I talked with about these new jobs at NBC were my husband and our two kids—Zack is 12 and Abby is 10. They were 100 percent in favor because they understood what a big opportunity this was at work. Also it means I don’t have to travel as often as I was. Yes I will miss some Sunday soccer games, but I’m home for dinner every night now and there to help with homework, buy a dress for the dance, you name it. That’s a big deal.
TVNewser: OK, what’s your favorite meal? Specific restaurant and order, please.
Snow: That’s so hard! I like so many different kinds of food and it kind of depends on my mood—sushi, pizza, home-cooked salmon on the grill. I’m a huge fan of breakfast. LOVE the eggs and grits at the Flying Biscuit in Atlanta. But my go-to meal out with the family is Mexican or Tex-Mex. Here in New York, I’d order up some ceviche and then Enchiladas Borrachas at Toloache. Oh and a margarita with salt. Por supuesto.