Melvin first joined
NBC-affiliate
WIS-TV in
Columbia, South Carolina as a high school student, working as an "Our Generation Reporter" from 1995 to 1997. After college, he returned to WIS in July 2001 as a news photographer and producer, before becoming a reporter for the station's morning news team, producing his "Craig Cam" live segments. In July 2008, Melvin left WIS-TV to join NBC's
owned-and-operated station in
Washington, D.C.,
WRC-TV, where he anchored the weekend evening newscasts. Three years later, in July 2011, Melvin departed WRC-TV for MSNBC to become a daytime anchor, while also contributing to NBC News as a reporter. He also covered the
Sandy Hook shootings in December 2012. In 2013, he covered the
Moore tornado in May, as well as the crash of
Asiana Airlines Flight 214 and the
George Zimmerman trial in July. In 2014, Melvin covered the
shooting of Michael Brown in August and the
murder of Hannah Graham in September. In 2015, he covered the
Charleston church shooting as well as the
death of Freddie Gray in June. In 2016, Melvin covered the
mass shooting of Dallas police officers in July and was also among the NBC reporters covering the
Summer Olympics in
Rio de Janeiro in August. That same year, he also succeeded
José Díaz-Balart as an anchor of
MSNBC Live, which would become
MSNBC Reports. In 2017, Melvin hosted his own true crime series
Dateline: Secrets Uncovered. It premiered on
Oxygen in July 21. In 2018, Melvin reported from
Pyeongchang County for NBC's coverage of the
Winter Olympics in February. He was also promoted to weekday news anchor on
Today in September and formed the cast of hosts heading
Today Third Hour in October. In December 2020, Melvin co-hosted NBC's annual broadcast of the lighting of the
Rockefeller Center Christmas Tree. In March 2022, Melvin announced he would be leaving his hour of
MSNBC Reports to focus on
Today. On January 13, 2025, Melvin stepped into the co-anchor chair alongside
Savannah Guthrie and replaced
Hoda Kotb, who left the program the week before. Melvin was slated to host the
2026 Milan-Cortina Winter Olympics, beginning in
Milan on February 6, 2026, however, due to the disappearance of Savannah Guthrie's mother,
Nancy Guthrie (which occurred on January 31, 2026), Melvin decided to withdraw from Olympics coverage and remain in New York City.
Ahmed Fareed will replace Melvin as host as a result. ==Personal life==