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Craig Melvin chokes up live on ‘Today’ over death of legendary NBC colleague

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Cite

Herz, J. (2026, November 12). Craig Melvin chokes up live on ‘Today’ over death of legendary NBC colleague. New York Post. https://pagesix.com/2026/11/12/entertainment/craig-melvin-chokes-up-live-on-today-over-death-of-legendary-nbc-colleague/

Dated from the outlet's own feed. Check the original for its byline.

New York Post · collected 2026-11-12 · by Jane Herz

Quick Summary

Craig Melvin became emotional during the Thursday episode of "Today" as he honored the sudden death of NBC colleague Dan Hicks, who died at 64 after an acute illness. Melvin choked up while remembering Hicks as a devoted family man and recalling their recent dinner together. Hicks, known for his work in sports broadcasting including 16 Olympic Games and coverage of Notre Dame football, was a long-time NBC figure and a frequent collaborator with Melvin.
Written by AI on 2026-11-12, from this article's own text only (the story summary below draws on all the coverage).

AI analysis

Why this leaning score
This article does not take a side on a contested political question, so it has no leaning score. That is an answer rather than a gap: a match report or a rescue can be warmly or critically written without being left or right, and scoring it anyway is how approval of a subject gets recorded as a political position.
No political leaning scored for article 149027 · logged 2026-11-12

Compared with similar articles

This article reads unscored and hedges 0% of its claims. Each row says how that neighbour differs.
The Daily Wire
Hedges 2 of 35 claims Outlet record 59/100
“The articles describe different aspects of the same death but do not report on the same specific incident; one focuses on Michael Phelps's reaction, and the other on Craig Melvin's tribute on 'Today'.”
Just The News
Hedges 1 of 5 claims Outlet record 94/100
“While both articles report on the death of Dan Hicks, they describe different aspects of the event: one is about the announcement of his death, and the other is about a tribute given to him on a TV show.”
Toronto Sun
Hedges 1 of 22 claims Outlet record 96/100
“While both articles refer to the same person, Dan Hicks, and his sudden death, they describe different specific events: one is about tributes in general, and the other is specifically about Craig Melvin's emotional tribute on 'Today'.”
CBS News
Hedges 1 of 33 claims Outlet record 68/100
“While both articles report on the death of Dan Hicks, Article A describes his death and immediate aftermath, while Article B describes a tribute to him on the 'Today' show on the same day, which is a related but different event.”

Story

Craig Melvin Chokes Up On Today Show
Entertainment · 1 article(s) covering the same event.
How this article was measured signals, leaning charts, publisher record, byline, topics and claims

Signals How these are calculated →

Claims extracted
19
sentences that state something as happening or true
Uncertain
0%
0 of 19 hedged ("reportedly", "may", "according to")
Leaning
not political
takes no side on a contested political question
Publisher signals
66/100
New York Post's corrections and hedging, across everything collected from it. Not a measure of accuracy.
Outlets on this story
1
Entertainment
Same framing elsewhere
1
articles that frame the event the way this one does
Analyzed 2026-11-12 · how these are computed

How this is being covered How these are calculated →

Article leaning vs. publisher reliability
Source leaning vs. consistency

Publisher

New York Post · 19323 article(s) · 39 correction(s) detected
Running correction rate · 39 correction(s)

Who wrote this

Jane Herz
30 article(s) here · 1 carrying a prediction
“In a statement this morning, Hannah called her husband endlessly kind, thoughtful, funny, said there are simply no words to express how much he will be missed,” Melvin said.
“This was a runaway train, and there was nothing I could do to stop it.
English actor Josh O’Connor might be the next James Bond, according to some loose-lipped London pub chatter.
“Something happened to my house in Malibu so I’m just sort of living in hotels, so I don’t have normal trick-or-treaters I would like to enjoy tonight.”
“I know there is, and will be lots of love and shock that we have lost this incredible human being.
“I will take his last name for my personal life.
Last week, Dewan danced with Alan Bersten in place of Chmerkovskiy, scoring a 37/40 for their Viennese waltz to “Unchained Melody” by The Righteous Brothers during an emotional “Dedication Night” performance On Oct. 17, Chmerkovskiy was suspended from “DWTS” after sharing a controversial social media post in which he referenced Will Smith’s famous Oscars slap. The dancer made the post in an attempt to defend his wife, fellow “DWTS” pro Jenna Johnson, from harsh criticism given to her by Inaba the previous week.
News broke on Oct. 13 that Posey was set to star in “Sleepover” by Blumhouse Atomic Monster and Universal Pictures next year. After Posey’s denial, Melvin said the interview had taken an “even more awkward than usual” turn.
“I never could have imagined it to be as helpful as it has been to know that we’re not alone in our grief and our sadness, and that the rest of the world loved him as much as we did,” Kelly, who was also there for the interview, told the outlet.
Information regarding a memorial will be shared at a later date.
Also by Jane Herz
Nothing else under this byline is closely related to this article, so these are simply their most recent.
All 30 articles by Jane Herz →

Topics

NBC NBC Sports’ Notre Dame Olympic Games the PGA Tour

Subjects

Hicks PERSON · 5× Melvin PERSON · 4× NBC ORG · 3× Dan PERSON · 2× Hannah PERSON · 2× Al Roker PERSON · 1× Craig Melvin PERSON · 1× Dan Hicks PERSON · 1× Dylan Dreyer PERSON · 1× Hannah Storm PERSON · 1×

Narrative

Hicks died following an “acute illness,” his wife, Hannah Storm, announced Thursday, adding that his passing was “sudden and unexpected.” Melvin paid tribute to the sportscaster at the end of Thursday’s broadcast alongside co-stars Dylan Dreyer and Al Roker, choking up as he remembered Hicks as a “devoted” father and husband.
framing: assertive · carried by 1 article(s) · first seen 2026-11-12
“In a statement this morning, Hannah called her husband endlessly kind, thoughtful, funny, said there are simply no words to express how much he will be missed,” Melvin said.

Claims (19 extracted, 0 hedged)

Craig Melvin was visibly emotional on Thursday’s episode of “Today” as he paid tribute to legendary NBC colleague Dan Hicks after his sudden death at age 64. asserted
he → pay → age
Hicks died following an “acute illness,” his wife, Hannah Storm, announced Thursday, adding that his passing was “sudden and unexpected.” Melvin paid tribute to the sportscaster at the end of Thursday’s broadcast alongside co-stars Dylan Dreyer and Al Roker, choking up as he remembered Hicks as a “devoted” father and husband. asserted
he → die → father
“In a statement this morning, Hannah called her husband endlessly kind, thoughtful, funny, said there are simply no words to express how much he will be missed,” Melvin said. asserted
Melvin → call → husband
“Our thoughts are with Hannah and those three adorable girls, and over the years, they’ve become part of our family.” asserted
they → become → family
Melvin added that he “just” had dinner with both Hicks and his wife. asserted
he → add → Hicks
“So, he will be missed, he will be sorely missed,” the news anchor concluded, with tears in his eyes. asserted
anchor → miss → eyes
Hicks was the play-by-play announcer for Notre Dame football and covered 16 Olympic Games for NBC, going all the way back to 1992. asserted
Hicks → cover → 1992
He was a well-known figure in the golf world, as he had led NBC Sports’ coverage of the PGA Tour since 2000. asserted
he → know → 2000
In the past, he and Melvin had closely collaborated, especially when covering the Olympics and various sports specials on the network. asserted
he → collaborate → network
“Our family is heartbroken by the sudden and unexpected passing of Dan following an acute illness. asserted
family → heartbroken → illness
He was a devoted husband of over 30 years, loving father to our three daughters, and cherished friend to so many,” his wife, Storm, wrote in a statement on Thursday. asserted
wife → love → Thursday
“Dan was truly one of a kind, and, quite simply, the person everyone wanted to be around. asserted
everyone → want → kind
When he walked into a room, he brought the energy, the laughter, and the people together. asserted
he → walk → energy
He was endlessly kind, thoughtful and funny, and he made everyone feel like they mattered.” asserted
they → make → ?
We are grateful for the love and support surrounding our family during this incredibly difficult time. asserted
We → surround → time
There are simply no words to express how much he will be missed,” the statement concluded. asserted
statement → be → ?
Hicks began his career in 1984 working at various local news stations in Arizona. asserted
Hicks → begin → Arizona
He met his wife while working for CNN in 1989. asserted
He → meet → 1989
He joined NBC in 1992. Conversation asserted
He → join → Conversation
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