Pop Culture Milestones: Bristol Palin and "Today" Show

by Michele Cheplic | More from this Blogger

14 May 2009 08:23 PM

She's a sister, a daughter, a mother, and now Bristol Palin is officially a high school graduate.

Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin, the former Republican vice-presidential nominee, was the first to admit that she was not always sure that Bristol would achieve the goal.

In an interview she did with Fox News a few months after learning that Bristol was going to be a teen mother, Palin said, "Oh, there goes her education."

However, despite giving birth to a son five months ago, the 18-year-old walked across the stage in the Wasilla Sports Complex with the rest of her classmates and collected her diploma.

"I'm so proud of her... really relieved," Sarah Palin told reporters after the commencement ceremony. "It's been a challenging and exciting year - her senior year - and I'm just so pleased that we are where we are today."

According to Palin, her daughter graduated with a 3.497 G.P.A., and is planning to attend an area college for a two-year business degree, and hopefully get a job, possibly in real estate.

"I knew it would be hard work, but I knew I was going to do it," Bristol told reporters.

The teen mom is not the only one celebrating a major milestone.

NBC's "Today" show also has something to cheer about. The program just recorded its 700th week in a row as television's most popular morning show.

According to Nielsen Media Research statistics, the show has been No.1 since December 1995, during President Bill Clinton's first administration. Bryant Gumbel and Katie Couric were the show's co-hosts back then. Now Matt Lauer and Meredith Vieira are at the helm of the award-winning morning show.

A few years ago ABC's "Good Morning America" gave the "Today" show a run for its title, but this season, NBC's average margin of victory is up over 1 million, the largest since 2004.

Roughly 6 million viewers tune into "Today" on an average weekday.

Learn more about Michele Cheplic

Michele Cheplic was born and raised in Hilo, Hawaii, but now lives in Wisconsin. Michele graduated from the University of Wisconsin-Madison with a degree in Journalism.

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