On Tuesday, when NBC announced that Hoda Kotb would be Matt Lauer's permanent replacement on "Today," it felt like poetic justice that a woman, particularly a woman of color, should take the coveted co-anchor seat for the country's most-watched morning news show. Following several months of shocking allegations of wide-scale sexual harassment, misconduct, and assault throughout the media industry, including the ousting of Lauer after allegations of "inappropriate sexual behavior," many rejoiced at the sheer optics of Kotb and Savannah Guthrie as co-anchors of the show. However, in a recent interview with People, Kotb revealed she is making significantly less than what Lauer made for the same position. 

"I’m not making Matt Lauer money," Kotb told People. "Not even close.” In fact, neither Kotb or Guthrie are making anywhere near the reported $20 million dollars annual salary that Lauer raked in as host. “The answer is no — that’s not happening,” says Kotb when asked if she'd be earning Lauer-like figures. 

According to Page Six, Kotb's NBC salary hovers around $7 million a year, and Guthrie's isn't far behind. While this is by no means meager, it is far less than "Matt Lauer money." NBC has declined to comment on compensation for any of the hosts. While parity in compensation between men and women is absolutely an issue, it's pretty standard in media that new hosts of banner shows rarely see the same salary as their seasoned predecessors. According to Variety, "Stephen Colbert wasn’t given David Letterman’s salary upon taking over CBS’ “Late Show,” or that Trevor Noah was not immediately handed Jon Stewart’s financial arrangement upon being given the reins to Comedy Central’s “Daily Show.”

Whether or not it's reasonable to expect that the seasoned television anchor would start out on Lauer's level, should she really be making less than 1/3 of her male predecessor's salary? Absolutely not.