Education and Early Career
Matthew grew up in Toms River, NJ, where his natural curiosity and interest in the wider
world shaped his ambitions. His parents, with careers in law and psychology, influenced his
perspective and gave him an appreciation for analysis and understanding human behavior.
Combined with strong academic dedication, these influences encouraged him to pursue
journalism.
After attending a boarding school in Pennsylvania, he studied at Clark University in
Massachusetts. He chose Political Science and Psychology as his areas of study, disciplines
that allowed him to explore both institutional and personal motivations. These studies
provided him with insight into how stories are framed and how they impact audiences.
Carluccio graduated in 1993 with a Bachelor of Arts degree and moved to New York City to
begin his career in television. His first position was as an Assistant to the Executive
Producer at King World TV, a syndication company known for distributing popular shows
such as The Oprah Winfrey Show and Jeopardy. This entry-level role exposed him to the
daily responsibilities of media production and allowed him to learn directly from seasoned
television executives.
He soon transitioned to NBC as an Associate Producer for Dateline NBC. In that role, he
worked on investigative reports, general assignments, and long-format features. His
responsibilities included writing, editing, off-air reporting, and booking guests. This work
helped him strengthen his editorial judgment and develop a broad skill set.
During this time, he produced hundreds of reports while also taking on challenging field
assignments. His career expanded to include international coverage, such as reporting
during Operation Iraqi Freedom from Jordan, Iraq, and Afghanistan. After a period at NBC’s
Chicago Bureau, he was chosen to lead a task force covering the criminal case involving
Michael Jackson in Southern California.
In 2005, he moved to TODAY as an anchor producer. In this role, he frequently traveled with
anchors to manage coverage of high-profile stories. Matthew helped produce special
broadcasts from Cuba, Belize, the Vatican, and Antarctica, where he played a role in the first
live network news broadcast from the South Pole Station. He also worked on NBC’s
coverage of seven Olympic Games, beginning in Torino in 2006 and continuing through
Beijing in 2022.
Management
By 2008, he had been promoted to Supervising Producer at TODAY, overseeing a team of
ten and managing daily assignments. This role required him to balance editorial judgment
with leadership responsibilities.
In 2011, Carluccio was promoted again, this time to Senior Producer. In this capacity, he
managed the program’s first hour and coordinated the efforts of producers, writers, and
researchers. Under his leadership, TODAY maintained its top-rated status for an
unprecedented 16 consecutive years.