How Did Jenna Bush Hager Become the Most Powerful Book Influencer Since Oprah?

What Is the “Read With Jenna” Effect and How Does It Launch Bestsellers?

Discover how Jenna Bush Hager transformed from a scrutinized first daughter into a publishing powerhouse. Learn how her Today Show book club creates instant bestsellers, rivals Oprah’s influence, and is now expanding into film and TV production with Thousand Voices. Read on to uncover the strategy behind the “Read With Jenna” phenomenon and see which upcoming authors are poised to become household names under her media empire.

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The cohost of NBC’s Today Show, Jenna Bush Hager – daughter and granddaughter of former presidents George W. Bush and George H.W. Bush – has emerged as a force in the book publishing world. An author herself, Hager launched her on-air book club in 2019. Since then, the show’s “Read with Jenna” segment has become a phenomenon akin to Oprah’s Book Club. In this engaging New York Times article, journalist Matt Flegenheimer leads readers through Hager’s journey from “the nation’s most scrutinized underage drinker” to media maven and unveils the former first daughter’s plans to expand her influence.

Take-Aways

• During her father George W. Bush’s presidency, the press depicted Jenna Bush Hager as a loose cannon.
• Hager worked hard to prove herself as more than a stunt hire after joining NBC’s Today Show in 2009.
• Hager’s reading segment stepped into the mainstream TV void left by Oprah’s Book Club.
• Hager’s production company, Thousand Voices, will further expand her influence.

Summary

During her father George W. Bush’s presidency, the press depicted Jenna Bush Hager as a loose cannon.

Jenna Bush – now Jenna Bush Hager – always wanted to be in show business, recalls her fraternal twin, Barbara. But neither Jenna nor Barbara was prepared for the full glare of the media spotlight that came with the political rise of their father, George W. Bush.

“The shorthand in the political press held that Barbara was their mother’s daughter, Yale-bound and reserved, and Jenna was their father’s: the extrovert, the cut-up, the high-school senior named most likely to trip across the stage at graduation.”

While both girls faced scrutiny, the press was kinder to the more introverted Barbara. Tabloid journalists splashed the headline “George W.’s Wild Daughter” over a photo of Jenna partying during her first year at the University of Texas at Austin, and her citations for underage drinking made national news.

Hager worked hard to prove herself as more than a stunt hire after joining NBC’s Today Show in 2009.

Given her tense relationship with the media during her younger years, some members of Hager’s family were surprised when she accepted an anchor role on Today in 2009. The offer was the culmination of a series of events that began with Hager’s authorial debut in 2007. That book, Ana’s Story : A Journey of Hope, which told the story of a Panamanian teen mother whom Hager met while interning for UNICEF, garnered Hager an invitation for an interview on Today. Her ease onscreen during that initial foray caught NBC executives’ attention. She impressed them again in 2008 when she returned with her mother – reading advocate and former First Lady Laura Bush – to promote their co-written picture book, Read All About It!

“Had I not…had my last name, I don’t know that I would have been given a prime interview spot on [the] Today show, which…eventually landed me a job’.” (Jenna Bush Hager)

Though journalists dubbed her initial Today show hire “stunt-casting,” Hager quickly gained popularity with the show’s audience and her coworkers. She worked hard to perfect her prompter reading and didn’t shy away from using her connections to bring in big political names like Michelle Obama for interviews.

Hager’s reading segment stepped into the mainstream TV void left by Oprah’s Book Club.

Hager is far from the first modern celebrity to start a book club, but many see “Read With Jenna,” launched in 2019, as having the most in common with the commercial significance of Oprah’s Book Club. As Winfrey once did, Hager highlights books for mainstream TV viewers – often more than 1.6 million people each day – who trust and respond to her reading suggestions. This “instant influence” rendered Hager an overnight heavyweight within the publishing world.

“Since fall 2021, Ms. Hager’s picks have outpaced the overall adult fiction market by almost 60%.”

Most of Hager’s selections have become bestsellers. She’s taken several first-time authors from obscurity to fame – including Jessamine Chan (The School for Good Mothers) and Katy Hays (The Cloisters). At this point, publishers will cheerfully change book release dates to fit Hager’s schedule, and agents fill her email and social media inboxes with requests to review manuscripts.

Hager appears more attracted to certain kinds of stories than others, particularly tales centered on family relationships and women seeking new paths, and her imprimatur is a tremendous benefit for the authors she selects. Cynthia D’Aprix Sweeney, author of Hager’s pick, Good Company, explains that being chosen for the book club can feel as unexpected and exciting as “winning the lottery.”

Hager’s production company, Thousand Voices, will further expand her influence.

In 2022, Hager announced the launch of her production company, Thousand Voices, focused on adapting her club picks – and other books, such as Judy Blume’s Summer Sisters – for the screen. She also signed a “first look” deal with Universal Studio Group. Hager consults with former president Bush, among other family members, about which books might make good adaptations. She also hopes to add audio and children’s programming to her portfolio.

About the Author

Matt Flegenheimer is a reporter for The New York Times, covering national politics. For more information, see #ReadWithJenna and today.com/read-with-jenna.