| Meet the Press | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Genre | Public affairs News analysis |
| Created by | Martha Rountree[1][2] Lawrence Spivak[1] |
| Directed by | Rob Melick[3] |
| Presented by | Kristen Welker (for past moderators,see section) |
| Narrated by | Fred Facey Bert Pence Dennis Haysbert |
| Theme music composer | John Williams |
| Opening theme | "The Pulse of Events"[4] (fourthpart ofThe Mission) |
| Country of origin | United States |
| Original language | English |
| No. of seasons | 77 |
| No. of episodes | 4946+ |
| Production | |
| Executive producer | David P. Gelles |
| Production locations | NBC News Washington Bureau,Capitol Hill,Washington, D.C.[5] |
| Camera setup | Multi-camera |
| Running time | 30 minutes (1947–1992) 60 minutes (1992–present) |
| Production company | NBC News Productions |
| Original release | |
| Network | NBC |
| Release | November 6, 1947 (1947-11-06) – present |
Meet the Press is a weekly American televisionSunday morning talk show broadcast onNBC.[6][7] It is thelongest-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 ofpolitics,economics,foreign policy, and otherpublic affairs, along with panel discussions that provide opinions and analysis. In January 2021, production moved to NBC's bureau onCapitol Hill inWashington, D.C.[5][10]
The longevity ofMeet 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 firstlive televisionnetwork news program on which a sittingpresident of the United States appeared, this occurred on its broadcast on November 9, 1975, which featuredGerald Ford. The program has been hosted by 12moderators, beginning with creatorMartha Rountree. The show's current moderator isKristen Welker, who became moderator in September 2023 following longtime moderatorChuck Todd's departure.
Meet the Press airs Sundays from 9:00 a.m.–10:00 a.m. ET on NBC, 10:30 a.m.–11:30 a.m. ET in New York and Washington.[11]Meet the Press is also occasionally pre-empted by network coverage of sports events held outside the U.S. The program issyndicated byWestwood One to various radio stations around the United States, and is onC-SPAN Radio as part of its replays of the Sunday morning talk shows.
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 atouchscreen within the main set).
Meet the Press began onradio on theMutual Broadcasting System in 1945 asAmerican Mercury Presents: Meet the Press,[13] a program to promoteThe American Mercury, a magazine thatLawrence Spivak purchased in 1935.[14] Before the program aired, Spivak had asked journalistMartha 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 calledThe 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 byGeneral Foods. They began to air the show on theNBC television network with the title shortened to simplyMeet 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]
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Meet the Press was originally presented as a 30-minutepress conference with a single guest and a panel of questioners. Its first guest wasJames Farley, who served asPostmaster General,Democratic National Committee chairman and campaign manager toFranklin Delano Roosevelt under the first two terms of theNew 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 byNed 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 caseGerald 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 againstABC'sThis Week with David Brinkley.Roger Mudd andMarvin Kalb, as co-moderators, followed Monroe for a year, followed byChris Wallace (who would later go on to a much longer run as host of the rival programFox News Sunday) from 1987 to 1988.Garrick Utley, then hostingWeekend Today, concurrently hostedMeet 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 9:00 a.m. slot by the early 1990s when it expanded to an hour.
Network officials, concerned for the show's future, turned toTim Russert, the network's bureau chief in Washington, D.C. He took over as moderator ofMeet 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'sMeet the Press."
During theprofessional football season, Russert, a native ofBuffalo, New York, and an avid fan of theBuffalo Bills,[17][18] sometimes added, "Go Bills!", and occasionally would ask panelists, "How 'bout thoseSabres?" if Buffalo'sNHL hockey team was doing well. Spoofs of the show featured in a recurring sketch onSaturday 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 theSunday morning talk shows.[19]
On June 13, 2008, Russert died of a suddencoronary thrombosis (caused by a cholesterol plaque rupture).[20] FormerNBC Nightly News anchorTom Brokaw hosted a special edition ofMeet the Press dedicated to the life of Russert on June 15, 2008, in which Russert's chair was left empty as a tribute.[21]
Mark Whitaker was named by NBC News as the division's Washington, D.C. Bureau Chief and was given "executive oversight" ofMeet the Press.
NBC Nightly News anchorBrian 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 the2008 general elections.[23] Brokaw followed Russert's tradition by signing off with "We'll be back next Sunday because if it's Sunday, it'sMeet 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 theSummer Olympics inBeijing. 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]
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 directorChuck Todd was named contributing editor ofMeet the Press. Throughout Gregory's tenure as moderator,Meet the Press experienced significantratings declines. In the final three months of 2013, the program placed third among the Sunday morning talk shows in total viewership, behindCBS'sFace the Nation andABC'sThis 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 viewingdemographic 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 theMeet the Press theme music in a shorter "modernized [style]... the beginning repeated with drum beats" (see "High-definition broadcasting" below for additional information).[27]
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In response to declining viewership, rumors surfaced in August 2014 that Gregory would be replaced as the program's moderator. NBC News PresidentDeborah Turness apparently had held discussions withJon Stewart (then-host ofComedy Central'snews comedy programThe Daily Show) to replace Gregory,[28] which Stewart later confirmed in aRolling 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 avariety show?'"[29]
On August 14, 2014, Turness announced that Chuck Todd, NBC's chiefWhite House correspondent and Host of MSNBC'sThe Daily Rundown, would take over the role of moderator on September 7, 2014.[30] Because of Todd's fanhood, aLos Angeles Dodgers poster became part of the physical format.
On September 28, 2015,MSNBC premieredMTP Daily, a weekday spin-off also hosted by Todd. It formally replacedThe 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 ofMeet the Press to our air every day of the week."[31] By 2022, the show was airing in the 1:00 p.m. Eastern slot, and in May it was announced that the show would be moving from MSNBC to the free streaming platformNBC News NOW, and rechristenedMeet the Press Now, starting June 6, 2022. The show also returned to an early evening slot of 4:00 p.m. Eastern.[32]
On June 4, 2023, Todd announced he would be leaving his role as moderator.Kristen Welker was named as his replacement for the flagshipMeet the Press beginning in September, while spin offMeet the Press Now featured rotating guest hosts, with Welker only hostingMeet the Press Now on Thursdays and Fridays.[33] In June 2024, Welker took a month leave of absence because she had welcomed her second child via surrogate on May 30,Peter Alexander filled in for Welker during her absence.[citation needed]
The set utilized from March 17, 1996 to April 25, 2010,[34] had been designed as an experimental set forhigh-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 stationWHD-TV in Washington, D.C.[35] Despite this, the program continued to be transmitted inNTSC 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.[36]
In January 2021, production of the program moved fromWRC-TV facilities inTenleytown to a ground floor studio in NBC's new Washington, D.C. bureau onCapitol Hill.[5] The move included a new set.[37]
The following is the list of moderators forMeet the Press:[1]
| Moderator | Date |
|---|---|
| Martha Rountree | 1947–1953 |
| Ned Brooks | 1953–1965 |
| Lawrence Spivak | 1966–1975 |
| Bill Monroe | 1975–1984 |
| Roger Mudd andMarvin Kalb (co-moderators) | 1984–1985 |
| Marvin Kalb | 1985–1987 |
| Chris Wallace | 1987–1988 |
| Garrick Utley | 1989–1991 |
| Tim Russert | 1991–2008 |
| Tom Brokaw | 2008 |
| David Gregory | 2008–2014 |
| Andrea Mitchell andChris Jansing | 2014 |
| Chuck Todd | 2014–2023 |
| Kristen Welker | 2023–present |
In addition to its broadcasts on NBC,Meet the Press also airs on various otherNBCUniversal-owned channels domestically and internationally, including MSNBC, NBC News Now,CNBC Europe inEurope andCNBC Asia inAsia. It is also broadcast in Australia on theSeven Network.
Meet the Press is also available as an audio or videopodcast,[40] and issimulcast on radio stations byWestwood One (which also handles distribution of all other NBC-produced radio programming, includingNBC News Radio).[41][42]
Addition to Sunday program,Meet the Press is also available Monday to Friday in NBC YouTube channel[43] and in NBC website[44] named as aMeet the Press Now – airing date.
