Meet the Press is a weekly American television Sunday morning talk show broadcast on NBC.[6][7] It is the longest-running program on American television, though its format has changed since the debut episode on November 6, 1947.[8][9]Meet the Press specializes in interviews with leaders in Washington, D.C., across the country, and around the world on issues of politics, economics, foreign policy, and other public affairs, along with panel discussions that provide opinions and analysis. In January 2021, production moved to NBC's bureau on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C.[5][10]
The longevity of Meet the Press is attributable in part to the fact that the program debuted during what was only the second official "network television season" for American television. It was the first live televisionnetwork news program on which a sitting president of the United States appeared, this occurred on its broadcast on November 9, 1975, which featured Gerald Ford. The program has been hosted by 12 moderators, beginning with creator Martha Rountree. The show's current moderator is Kristen Welker, who became moderator in September 2023 following longtime moderator Chuck Todd’s departure.
Meet the Press airs Sundays from 9-10 a.m. ET on the NBC-TV network; 10:30-11:30 a.m. ET in New York and Washington. The program also re-airs at 2 p.m. ET Sundays and 2 a.m. and 4 a.m. ET Mondays on MSNBC on cable.[11]Meet the Press is also occasionally pre-empted by network coverage of sports events held outside the U.S. The program is also rebroadcast on Mondays at 2:30 a.m. Eastern Time on MSNBC, whose audio feed is also simulcast on Sirius/XM Satellite Radio. The program is syndicated by Westwood One to various radio stations around the United States, and is on C-SPAN Radio as part of its replays of the Sunday morning talk shows.
Format
The program's format consists of an extended one-on-one interview with the host, and is sometimes followed by a roundtable discussion or one-on-two interview with figures in adversarial positions, either Congressional members from opposite sides of the aisle or political commentators. A half-hour program for the first 45 years of its history, the show was expanded to 60 minutes starting with the broadcast on September 20, 1992.[12]
The program also features in-depth examinations of facts behind political and general news stories (particularly as part of a segment called the "Data Download," introduced after Chuck Todd assumed duties as moderator, which is conducted on a touchscreen within the main set).
History
Logo used since 2005Meet the Press set, November 1975. On this broadcast, a sitting American president (Gerald Ford) was, for the first time, a guest on a live television network news program.Logo used from????, 1988 to??-??-1990.Logo used from??-??, 1990 to September 3, 1995,
Meet the Press began on radio on the Mutual Broadcasting System in 1945 as American Mercury Presents: Meet the Press,[13] a program to promote The American Mercury, a magazine that Lawrence Spivak purchased in 1935.[14] Before the program aired, Spivak had asked journalist Martha Rountree, who had worked in radio and had been employed by Spivak as a roving editor for the magazine, to critique plans for a new radio show. As a result, Rountree created a new radio program that she called The American Mercury, on October 5, 1945.[2]
On November 6, 1947,[15] while still on the Mutual Broadcasting System, the television rights to the program were purchased by General Foods. They began to air the show on the NBC television network with the title shortened to simply Meet the Press. The radio version then adopted the new name.
Although some sources credit Spivak with the program's creation,[1][8] Rountree developed the idea on her own, and Spivak joined as co-producer and business partner in the enterprise after the show had already debuted.[2]
Meet the Press was originally presented as a 30-minute press conference with a single guest and a panel of questioners. Its first guest was James Farley, who served as Postmaster General, Democratic National Committee chairman and campaign manager to Franklin Delano Roosevelt under the first two terms of the New Deal Administration. Martha Rountree served as its first host, the program's only female moderator until 2023.[2] She stepped down on November 1, 1953, and was succeeded by Ned Brooks, who remained as moderator until his retirement on December 26, 1965.[2] Spivak became the moderator on January 1, 1966, moving up from his role as a permanent panelist. He retired on November 9, 1975, on a special one-hour edition that featured a sitting president as guest for the first time, in this case Gerald Ford. The next week, Bill Monroe, previously a weekly panelist like Spivak had been years before, took over as moderator and stayed until June 2, 1984.
For the next seven and a half years, the program then went through a series of hosts as it struggled in the ratings against ABC's This Week with David Brinkley. Roger Mudd and Marvin Kalb, as co-moderators, followed Monroe for a year, followed by Chris Wallace (who would later go on to a much longer run as host of the rival program Fox News Sunday) from 1987 to 1988. Garrick Utley, then hosting Weekend Today, concurrently hosted Meet the Press from 1989 through December 1, 1991. All this occurred despite the increasing ratings of NBC News' other programs (and those of the network generally) during that period. The program originally aired at noon Eastern Time every Sunday (leading intoNFL Live incongruously in the fall) before moving to a 9:00a.m. slot by the early 1990s when it expanded to an hour.
Under Russert
Meet the Press logo used from September 10, 1995 to June 8, 2008.Russert interviews GeneralPeter Pace in 2006.
Network officials, concerned for the show's future, turned to Tim Russert, the network's bureau chief in Washington, D.C. He took over as moderator of Meet the Press on December 8, 1991, and remained with the program until his death on June 13, 2008, becoming the longest-serving moderator in the program's history.[16]
Under Russert, the program was expanded to one hour and became less of a televised press conference, focusing more on Russert's questions and comments, Russert also engaged in longer in-depth interviews and hosted panels of experts to discuss the topics featured in that week's broadcast. Russert signed off each edition by saying, "That's all for today. We'll be back next week. If it's Sunday, it's Meet the Press."
During the professional football season, Russert, a native of Buffalo, New York, and an avid fan of the Buffalo Bills,[17][18] sometimes added, "Go Bills!," and occasionally would ask panelists, "How 'bout those Sabres?" if Buffalo's NHL hockey team was doing well. Spoofs of the show featured in a recurring sketch on Saturday Night Live often reflected his impromptu additions in support of the two professional sports franchises. By 2006, Meet the Press was the highest-rated program among the Sunday morning talk shows.[19]
On June 13, 2008, Russert died of a sudden coronary thrombosis (caused by a cholesterol plaque rupture).[20] Former NBC Nightly News anchor Tom Brokaw hosted a special edition of Meet the Press dedicated to the life of Russert on June 15, 2008, in which Russert's chair was left empty as a tribute.[21]
After Russert
Mark Whitaker was named by NBC News as the division's Washington, D.C. Bureau Chief and was given "executive oversight" of Meet the Press.
Interim Brokaw era
NBC Nightly News anchor Brian Williams acted as moderator of the first show following the tribute to Russert on June 15, 2008, with the same guests and subject matter that Russert was planning for when he died.[22]
Following Russert's death, Tom Brokaw was named the interim moderator through the 2008 general elections.[23] Brokaw followed Russert's tradition by signing off with "We'll be back next Sunday because if it's Sunday, it's Meet the Press" (a sign-off that continues to be used by his successors as moderator). In September of that year, the show was presented with limited commercial interruption.
On August 10, 2008, David Gregory moderated the panel discussion during the second half-hour of the broadcast, while Brokaw anchored the first half-hour from the site of the Summer Olympics in Beijing. The following week on August 17, 2008, he moderated the entire broadcast. On December 1, 2008, it was also reported that the December 7, 2008 broadcast would be Brokaw's last, with Gregory becoming the new permanent host the following Sunday.[24]
Under Gregory
David Gregory began his tenure as moderator on December 14, 2008. Four days after Gregory's first regular broadcast, on December 18, 2008, NBC News political director Chuck Todd was named contributing editor of Meet the Press. Throughout Gregory's tenure as moderator, Meet the Press experienced significant ratings declines. In the final three months of 2013, the program placed third among the Sunday morning talk shows in total viewership, behind CBS's Face the Nation and ABC's This Week, for the first time since 1992. It also experienced the lowest ratings in the show's entire history among the key 25-to-54 age viewing demographic during this period.[25] NBC management became uncertain as to the future direction of the program.[26]
A new set was introduced on May 2, 2010, featuring video screens and library-style bookshelves, Gregory would preview the guests to be featured during each week's broadcast using a large video screen. Different, modified intro music was also introduced, with the Meet the Press theme music in a shorter "modernized [style]... the beginning repeated with drum beats" (see "High-definition broadcasting" below for additional information).[27]
Under Todd
Logo used from May 2, 2010 to August 10, 2014.Logo used from August 17, 2014 to August 31, 2014.Meet the Press logo used from May 2, 2010 (introduced under former moderator David Gregory) to November 5, 2017.Meet the Press logo used from November 5, 2017 to September 10, 2023.Senator Chris Murphy on Meet the PressU.S. President Barack Obama participates in an interview with Todd in the Cabinet Room of the White House, September 6, 2014.
In response to declining viewership, rumors surfaced in August 2014 that Gregory would be replaced as the program's moderator. NBC News President Deborah Turness apparently had held discussions with Jon Stewart (then-host of Comedy Central's news comedy program The Daily Show) to replace Gregory,[28] which Stewart later confirmed in a Rolling Stone interview, saying, "My guess is they were casting as wide and as weird a net as they could. I'm sure part of them was thinking, 'Why don't we just make it a variety show?'"[29]
On August 14, 2014, Turness announced that Chuck Todd, NBC's chief White House correspondent, would take over the role of moderator on September 7, 2014.[30] Because of Todd's fanhood, a Los Angeles Dodgers poster became part of the physical format.
Meet the Press Now
On September 28, 2015, MSNBC premiered MTP Daily, a weekday spin-off also hosted by Todd. It formally replaced The Ed Show as MSNBC's early-evening program after a transitional period following its cancellation. MSNBC explained that the program is meant to "bring the insight and power of Meet the Press to our air every day of the week.”[31] By 2022, the show was airing in the 1:00p.m. Eastern slot, and in May it was announced that the show would be moving from MSNBC to the free streaming platform NBC News NOW, and rechristened Meet the Press Now, starting June 6, 2022. The show also returned to an early evening slot of 4:00p.m. Eastern.[32]
Disinformation overtaking media
In a December 2019 interview with Rolling Stone, Todd discussed how disinformation overtook the media during the Trump administration.[33] However, PressThink, a project of the Arthur L. Carter Journalism Institute at New York University, took Todd to task for failing to address the issue as it unfolded,[34] in a very detailed discussion of Todd's remarks.
Under Welker
On June 4, 2023, Todd announced he would be leaving his role as moderator. Kristen Welker was named as his replacement for the flagship Meet the Press beginning in September, while spin off Meet the Press Now featured rotating guest hosts, with Welker only hosting Meet The Press Now on Thursdays and Fridays.[35]
High-definition broadcasting
The set utilized from March 17, 1996 to April 25, 2010,[36] had been designed as an experimental set for high-definition broadcasting, several editions of the program (including the first broadcast of a regular series on a major television network in HD) had aired in the format in the 1990s over experimental HD station WHD-TV in Washington, D.C.[37] Despite this, the program continued to be transmitted in NTSC over the NBC network itself. On May 2, 2010, Meet the Press became the last NBC News program to convert to high definition, and unveiled a new set consisting of large video screens mostly used to display Washington scenery, satellite interview subjects and moderator and subject talking points, along with graphics produced for the format.[38]
In January 2021, production of the program moved from WRC-TV facilities in Tenleytown to a ground floor studio in NBC's new Washington D.C. bureau on Capitol Hill.[5] The move included a new set.[39]
Moderators
The following is the list of moderators for Meet the Press:[1]
Every U.S. president since John F. Kennedy has appeared on Meet the Press, although not necessarily during their presidency. Jimmy Carter used his appearance on January 20, 1980, to announce the United States' boycott of the 1980 Summer Olympics. Ronald Reagan appeared seven times before being elected president, but did not appear during his presidency. Bill Clinton was the guest for the 50th anniversary broadcast on November 9, 1997. The interview with George W. Bush was conducted in the Oval Office at the White House on February 8, 2004. The interview was held with then President-elect Barack Obama on December 7, 2008. Donald Trump has appeared on the program a number of times, most recently in September 2023.[10]
A special edition of the program aired on Christmas Day 2022 to commemorate its 75th anniversary, consisting entirely of clips from the program archives and brief introductory commentaries by Todd.[41]
Distribution
In addition to its broadcasts on NBC, Meet the Press also airs on various other NBCUniversal-owned channels domestically and internationally, including MSNBC, NBC News Now, CNBC Europe in Europe and CNBC Asia in Asia. It is also broadcast in Australia on the Seven Network and in the Philippines on 9TV.
Meet the Press is also available as an audio or video podcast,[42] and is simulcast on radio stations by Westwood One (which also handles distribution of all other NBC-produced radio programming, including NBC News Radio).[43]
MSNBC is an American news-based television channel and website headquartered in New York City. It is owned by NBCUniversal — a subsidiary of Comcast — and provides news coverage and political commentary. The network produces live broadcasts for its channel from studios at 30 Rockefeller Plaza in Manhattan, New York City, and aggregates its coverage and commentary on its website, msnbc.com.
NBC News is the news division of the American broadcast television network NBC. The division operates under NBCUniversal Television and Streaming, a division of NBCUniversal, which is, in turn, a wholly owned subsidiary of Comcast. The news division's various operations report to the president of NBC News, Noah Oppenheim. The NBCUniversal News Group also comprises MSNBC, the network's 24-hour general news channel, business and consumer news channels CNBC and CNBC World, the Spanish language Noticias Telemundo and United Kingdom–based Sky News.
Thomas John Brokaw is an American retired network television journalist and author. He first served as the co-anchor of The Today Show from 1976 to 1981 with Jane Pauley, then as the anchor and managing editor of NBC Nightly News for 22 years (1982–2004). In the previous decade he served as a weekend anchor for the program from 1973 to 1976. He is the only person to have hosted all three major NBC News programs: The Today Show, NBC Nightly News, and, briefly, Meet the Press. He formerly held a special correspondent post for NBC News.
A Sunday morning talk show is a television program with a news/talk/public affairs–hybrid format that is broadcast on Sunday mornings. This type of program originated in the United States, and has since been used in other countries.
Timothy John Russert was an American television journalist and lawyer who appeared for more than 16 years as the longest-serving moderator of NBC's Meet the Press. He was a senior vice president at NBC News, Washington bureau chief and also hosted an eponymous CNBC/MSNBC weekend interview program. He was a frequent correspondent and guest on NBC's The Today Show and Hardball. Russert covered several presidential elections, and he presented the NBC News/Wall Street Journal survey on the NBC Nightly News during the 2008 U.S. presidential election. Time magazine included Russert in its list of the 100 most influential people in the world in 2008. Russert was posthumously revealed as a 30-year source for syndicated columnist Robert Novak.
Countdown with Keith Olbermann is a weekday podcast that originated as an hour-long weeknight news and political commentary program hosted by Keith Olbermann that aired on MSNBC from 2003 to 2011 and on Current TV from 2011 to 2012. The show presented five selected news stories of the day, with commentary by Olbermann and interviews of guests. At the start of Countdown, Olbermann told television columnist Lisa de Moraes:
Our charge for the immediate future is to stay out of the way of the news. ... News is the news. We will not be screwing around with it. ... As times improve and the war [in Iraq] ends we will begin to introduce more and more elements familiar to my style.
This Week, originally titled as This Week with David Brinkley and billed as This Week with George Stephanopoulos since 2012, is an American Sunday morning political affairs program airing on ABC. It premiered on November 15, 1981, replacing Issues and Answers with David Brinkley as its original anchor until his retirement in 1996. The program has been anchored by George Stephanopoulos since 2012, after first hosting it from 2002 to 2010. Martha Raddatz and Jonathan Karl have been co-hosts since 2016 and 2021, respectively. The program airs live at 9:00 a.m. Eastern Time although many stations air the program at a later slot to air local newscasts, especially those in other time zones. During the David Brinkley era, the program drew consistent #1 ratings and in Stephanopolous era generally runs in third place among the Sunday morning talk shows, behind Meet the Press and Face the Nation.
Imus in the Morning was a long-running radio show hosted by Don Imus. The show originated on June 2, 1968, on various stations in the Western United States and Cleveland, Ohio, before settling on WNBC radio in New York City in 1971. In October 1988, the show moved to WFAN when that station took over WNBC's dial position following an ownership change. It was later syndicated to 60 other stations across the country by Westwood One, a division of CBS Radio, airing weekdays from 5:30 to 10 am Eastern time. Beginning September 3, 1996, the 6 to 9 am portion was simulcast on the cable television network MSNBC.
Tucker is an American television program on MSNBC that focused on politics, hosted by Tucker Carlson. The show aired from June 13, 2005 to March 14, 2008.
David Michael Gregory is an American television personality and the former host of NBC News' Sunday morning talk show Meet the Press. Gregory has served as a CNN political analyst since 2016.
Weekend Today is currently the branding of the weekend editions of Today, an American morning news and talk program that airs daily on NBC. Weekend editions of Today began with the launch of the Sunday edition of the program on September 20, 1987.
Charles David Todd is an American television journalist who was the 12th moderator of NBC's Meet the Press. He also hosted Meet the Press Now, its daily edition on NBC News Now and is currently the Chief Political Analyst for NBC News. Before taking the helm of Meet the Press, Todd was Chief White House correspondent for NBC as well as host of The Daily Rundown on MSNBC. He also serves as NBC News' on-air political analyst for NBC Nightly News with Lester Holt and Today.
Lawrence Edmund Spivak was an American publisher and journalist who was best known as the co-founder, producer and host of the prestigious public affairs program Meet the Press. He and journalist Martha Rountree founded the program as promotion for Spivak's magazine, The American Mercury, and it became the longest-running continuous network series in television history. During his 28 years as panelist and moderator of Meet the Press, Spivak was known for his pointed questioning of policy makers.
Morning Joe is an American morning news talk show, airing weekdays from 6:00 a.m. to 10:00 a.m. Eastern Time on the cable news channel MSNBC. It features former US Representative (Republican) Joe Scarborough reporting and discussing the news of the day in a panel format with co-hosts Mika Brzezinski and Willie Geist, who regularly co hosts from Tuesdays to Fridays, along with recurring and special guests.
Carol Ross Joynt, author of the 2011 memoir "Innocent Spouse," published by Crown, first excerpted in Vogue, also hosts her own Washington-based long-form cable TV interview program, "The Q&A Cafe," created in 2001, and is currently the Booking Producer for "Face the Nation" at CBS News. Prior to FTN she was with NBC, serving as a Booking Producer for "Meet the Press Daily with Chuck Todd," on MSNBC. FTN is her third time working at CBS News. Over the course of her broadcast career she was a writer for Walter Cronkite on "The CBS Evening News," and a segment producer for Charlie Rose at "Nightwatch," where Charlie and she won the network news Emmy Award for "Best Interview;" she also held producing roles with David Brinkley at "This Week" at ABC News, Ted Koppel, at "Nightline" at ABC News, and Larry King at "Larry King Live" on CNN, and "Hardball" with Chris Matthews at MSNBC; and for its brief two years on the air she was with the syndicated "USA Today: The TV Show" as Washington Bureau Chief and "Life" section producer.
Martha Jane Rountree was an American pioneering broadcast journalist and entrepreneur. She was the creator and first moderator of a public-affairs program, first on radio as The American Mercury from June 24, 1945 to 1947, and as Meet the Press on the NBC television network from November 6, 1947 to November 1, 1953. Until Kristen Welker took over on September 17, 2023, Rountree was the only female moderator in the seven-decade history of the show.
1600 Pennsylvania Avenue is an MSNBC television program hosted by David Shuster that ended in 2009. The show is a panel discussion of news and trends in American politics among the panelists and anchor. It is a continuation of the show Race for the White House, which was originally hosted by David Gregory and aired in the same time slot from March to November 2008. Shuster became the host of the show when Gregory became moderator of NBC's Meet the Press.
The Rundown with José Diaz-Balart is an American political news talk show that aired on MSNBC. The show premiered on January 11, 2010, and hosted by Jose Diaz-Balart. The program aired in the 9 a.m. to 11 a.m. timeslot on weekdays.
Kristen Welker is an American television journalist working for NBC News. She serves as a White House correspondent based in Washington, D.C., and served as co-anchor of Weekend Today, the Saturday edition of Today, alongside Peter Alexander from 2020 to 2023. She took over hosting duties for the longest-running program in television history, Meet the Press, on September 17, 2023.
Betsy Fischer Martin is an American Emmy-winning journalist and former TV news executive at NBC's “Meet the Press,” the longest-running program in television history. She is currently the executive director of the Women & Politics Institute at American University and the Executive-in-Residence. Martin is also a Fellow in the Center for Congressional and Presidential Studies at American University. She is a member of the International Advisory Council of APCO Worldwide and she is the founder, and principal, of her own consulting business, Fischer Martin Media, where she specializes in offering media training to corporate executives.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply. Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.
