DENVER — Craig Smith has worked as a reporter with Scripps News’ Tucson station, KGUN, for roughly 30 years. He has covered several high-profile stories in his career, including some that have gained national attention.
He told Denver7 the ongoing search for Nancy Guthrie, mother of TODAY Show host Savannah Guthrie, is different because social media is a “much stronger factor” now.
He said that’s led to a media frenzy filling up the street outside Guthrie’s home in the foothills just outside of Tucson.
Smith recalled doing one live shot there when, “a few feet away from me, I can hear somebody who I'm pretty sure was from Australia, doing their live shots.”
He adds that the attention has led to conspiracy theories spreading quickly online.
“Now we have bloggers just wandering back and forth in front of Nancy Guthrie's house, just talking incessantly into their phones and saying whatever occurs to them,” Smith described.
“I try to just stay clear of even paying attention to conspiracy theories,” he added. “And it's hard to do because I've got six, seven, eight apps in my phone sending me pushes endlessly. And I've got people who want to buttonhole me and say, ‘Oh, I just saw this.’ Or, ‘Here's my theory.’ And I really just don't want to clutter my head with anything I can't use on the air, which means if you can't name the source, I'm not using it.”
KGUN was one of three media outlets that received an apparent ransom note in the first days after Guthrie’s disappearance, though that note has not been confirmed by law enforcement as a legitimate link to Guthrie.
Smith said the general Tucson community is on edge over the unsolved case, and while thousands of tips are coming in to law enforcement and media outlets, the alternative is also not a good option.
“It's a terrible grind for everybody,” Smith said. “It's a terrible grind for all these investigators, and most of all, it's a terrible grind for the Guthrie family. And you know, everybody's just going to keep going. I asked [Pima County Sheriff Chris Nanos], like, ‘How long can you sustain this?’ And he said, ‘Well, we'll keep going as long as the tips come in. When the tips dry up, I'll start to worry that the case has gone cold.’”
