Editing Meet the Press (section)

==History==
[[File:Meet the Press with Tim Russert Logo 2005.png|thumb|Logo used from 2005 to 2008]]
[[File:meetthepress110975.jpg|right|thumb|''Meet 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.]]
[[File:Meet the Press 1988.svg|thumb|Logo used from 1988 to 1990]]
[[File:Meet the Press 1990.svg|thumb|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'',<ref>{{cite web|title=60 Years Ago in News History: America Meets the Press|url=http://www.newseum.org/news/news.aspx?item=jn_MTP071114&style=f|publisher=[[Newseum]] |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081117170923/http://www.newseum.org/news/news.aspx?item=jn_MTP071114&style=f |archive-date=November 17, 2008 }}</ref> a program to promote ''[[The American Mercury]]'', a magazine that [[Lawrence Spivak]] purchased in 1935.<ref name="NYT Sale 1935">{{cite news |date=January 23, 1935 |title=American Mercury Sold to L. E. Spivak |url=https://query.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=9C00E4D8103FE53ABC4B51DFB766838E629EDE&legacy=true |work=[[The New York Times]] |access-date=2017-08-02 }}</ref> 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.<ref name="shemadeit">{{cite web|title=Martha Rountree: Radio/Television Producer, Writer, Host |url=http://www.shemadeit.org/meet/biography.aspx?m=150 |work=shemadeit.org |publisher=[[The Paley Center for Media|Paley Center for Media]] |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304032421/http://www.shemadeit.org/meet/biography.aspx?m=150 |archive-date=2016-03-04 }}</ref>

On November 6, 1947,<ref>{{cite web |last=Jay |first=Robert |title=WNBT Schedule, Week of November 2nd, 1947 |url=https://www.tvobscurities.com/2017/11/wnbt-schedule-week-november-2nd-1947/ |website=TV Obscurities |date=7 November 2017 |publisher=Robert Jay |access-date=28 October 2020}}</ref> 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,<ref name="60th"/><ref name="musebc"/> 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.<ref name="shemadeit"/>

{{more citations needed|section, in the next two paragraphs,|date=September 2014}}
''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 [[United States Postmaster General|Postmaster General]], [[Democratic National Committee]] chairman and campaign manager to [[Franklin D. Roosevelt|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.<ref name="shemadeit"/> She stepped down on November 1, 1953, and was succeeded by [[Ned Brooks]], who remained as moderator until his retirement on December 26, 1965.<ref name="shemadeit"/> 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 (journalist)|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 [[American Broadcasting Company|ABC]]'s ''[[This Week (ABC TV series)|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 ([[hammocking|leading into]] ''[[The NFL on NBC pregame show|NFL Live]]'' incongruously in the fall) before moving to a 9:00&nbsp;a.m. slot by the early 1990s when it expanded to an hour.

===Under Russert===
[[File:Tv nbc meet the press with tim russert logo.jpg|thumb|right|''Meet the Press'' logo used from September 10, 1995 to June 8, 2008]]
[[File:US Navy 060305-F-0193C-009 Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, U.S. Marine Corps, Gen. Peter Pace, responds to a question asked by host Tim Russert during an interview on NBC's Meet the Press.jpg|thumb|Russert interviews [[General (United States)|General]] [[Peter 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.<ref>{{cite web|title=Fast facts about the longest-running program in TV history |url=https://www.nbcnews.com/id/wbna21872087|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071121225114/http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/21872087/|url-status=live|archive-date=2007-11-21|work=MSNBC.com|date=18 November 2007 }}</ref>

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 [[National Football League|professional football]] season, Russert, a native of [[Buffalo, New York]], and an avid fan of the [[Buffalo Bills]],<ref>{{cite news|title=In the Hot Seat |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A37798-2004May18.html|newspaper=[[The Washington Post]]|date=May 23, 2004|access-date=May 12, 2010}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=Tim Russert's Commencement Address – CUA Office of Public Affairs |url=http://publicaffairs.cua.edu/speeches/russert97.htm}}</ref> sometimes added, "Go Bills!," and occasionally would ask panelists, "How 'bout those [[Buffalo Sabres|Sabres]]?" if Buffalo's [[National Hockey League|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 show]]s.<ref name="usatoday">{{cite news|title=Tim Russert hits ratings milestone|url=https://www.usatoday.com/life/television/news/2006-04-24-russert_x.htm|work=[[USA Today]]|date=April 24, 2006}}</ref>

On June 13, 2008, Russert died of a sudden [[coronary thrombosis]] (caused by a cholesterol plaque rupture).<ref>{{cite web|title=NBC's Tim Russert dead at 58 |url=http://usatoday30.usatoday.com/life/people/2008-06-13-russert-obit_N.htm|author=Jill Lawrence|website=USA Today|date=June 14, 2008|access-date=December 14, 2008}}</ref> 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.<ref>{{cite web|title=NBC remembers Russert on first 'Meet the Press' since his death | url=http://www.cnn.com/2008/US/06/15/russert.sunday/index.html?eref=rss_us | website=[[CNN]].com/US|date=June 15, 2008|access-date=December 14, 2014}}</ref>

===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.<ref>{{cite web|title=June 22: Sen. Joe Biden (D-DE), Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC), political roundtable |url=https://www.nbcnews.com/id/wbna25313596|work=NBC News|date=June 22, 2008}}</ref>

Following Russert's death, Tom Brokaw was named the interim moderator through the [[2008 United States elections|2008 general elections]].<ref>{{cite web |title=NBC's Tom Brokaw to moderate 'Meet the Press' through election|url=https://www.nbcnews.com/id/wbna25313649|work=NBC News|date=22 June 2008 |access-date=June 22, 2008}}</ref> 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 (journalist)|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 [[2008 Summer Olympics|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.<ref>{{cite news|title=Gregory to host 'Meet the Press' |url=http://www.politico.com/news/stories/1208/16119.html|author=Mike Allen|work=Politico|date=December 1, 2008}}</ref>

===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 [[Nielsen ratings|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 [[American Broadcasting Company|ABC]]'s ''[[This Week (American TV program)|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 [[Demography|demographic]] during this period.<ref>{{cite web|title=NBC's 'Meet The Press' hits historic lows in the final quarter of 2013|date=6 January 2014 |url=http://www.politico.com/blogs/media/2014/01/nbcs-meet-the-press-ratings-hit-historic-lows-in-q-180647.html|publisher=[[Politico]]|access-date=August 14, 2014}}</ref> NBC management became uncertain as to the future direction of the program.<ref>{{cite news|title=C staff irked as NBC News eyes cuts|url=https://nypost.com/2013/12/21/dc-staff-irked-as-nbc-news-boss-turness-eyes-cuts/|author=Claire Atkinson|newspaper=[[New York Post]]|date=December 21, 2013|access-date=December 23, 2013}}</ref>

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|High-definition broadcasting]]" below for additional information).<ref>{{cite web|title=Gregory to host 'Meet the Press'|url=http://www.politico.com/news/stories/1208/16119.html|author=Mike Allen |work=[[Politico]]|date=December 2, 2008|access-date=December 30, 2008}}</ref>

===Under Todd===
[[File:Meet the Press 2010.png|thumb|right|Logo used from May 2, 2010 to August 10, 2014]]
[[File:Meet The Press August 17-31, 2014.png|thumb|right|Logo used from August 17, 2014 to August 31, 2014]]
[[File:Meet the Press (2010-2017).png|thumb|right|''Meet the Press'' logo used from May 2, 2010 (introduced under former moderator David Gregory) to November 5, 2017]]
[[File:Meet The Press Logo 2017-2023.png|thumb|right|''Meet the Press'' logo used from November 12, 2017 to September 10, 2023]]
[[File:Chris Murphy on Meet the Press.jpg|thumb|Senator [[Chris Murphy]] on ''Meet the Press'']]
[[File:President Barack Obama participates in an interview with Chuck Todd, new host of NBC's "Meet The Press" in the Cabinet Room of the White House.jpg|thumb|U.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 satire|news comedy]] program ''[[The Daily Show]]'') to replace Gregory,<ref>{{cite web|title=NBC Wanted to Hire Jon Stewart to Host ''Meet the Press''|url=https://nymag.com/daily/intelligencer/2014/10/jon-stewart-might-have-been-meet-the-press-host.html|author=Gabriel Sherman|website=[[New York (magazine)|New York]] Daily Intelligencer |date=October 8, 2014|access-date=December 14, 2014}}</ref> 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]]?{{'"}}<ref>{{cite magazine|title=Jon Stewart on 'Meet The Press' Offer: 'They Were Casting a Wide and Weird Net'|url=https://www.rollingstone.com/tv/news/jon-stewart-on-meet-the-press-offer-they-were-casting-a-wide-and-weird-net-20141030|magazine=[[Rolling Stone]]|author=Andy Greene |date=October 30, 2014|access-date=December 14, 2014}}</ref>

On August 14, 2014, Turness announced that Chuck Todd, NBC's chief [[White House Correspondents' Association|White House correspondent]] and Host of MSNBC's [[The Daily Rundown]], would take over the role of moderator on September 7, 2014.<ref name="nbcnews1">{{cite web|title=Chuck Todd Takes Helm of 'Meet the Press'|url=https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/chuck-todd-takes-helm-meet-press-n180916 |work=NBC News|date=14 August 2014 |access-date=August 14, 2014}}</ref> 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.”<ref>{{cite web|url=https://deadline.com/2015/09/chuck-todd-mtp-daily-debut-483k-viewers-ratings-1201555235/ |title=Chuck Todd's 'MTP Daily' Debut Clocks 483K Viewers|last=de Moraes|first=Lisa|date=September 29, 2015 |work=Deadline |access-date=June 15, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170615212418/http://deadline.com/2015/09/chuck-todd-mtp-daily-debut-483k-viewers-ratings-1201555235/ |archive-date=June 15, 2017}}</ref> By 2022, the show was airing in the 1:00&nbsp;p.m. Eastern slot, and in May it was announced that the show would be moving from MSNBC to the free streaming platform [[NBC News|NBC News NOW]], and rechristened '''''Meet the Press Now''''', starting June 6, 2022. The show also returned to an early evening slot of 4:00&nbsp;p.m. Eastern.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Johnson |first1=Ted |title=Chuck Todd's 'Meet The Press Daily' To Move From MSNBC To Streaming Platform NBC News Now |url=https://deadline.com/2022/05/chuck-todd-meet-the-press-daily-nbc-news-now-1235017991/ |website=Deadline |access-date=May 6, 2022 |date=May 6, 2022}}</ref>

====Disinformation overtaking media====
In a December 2019 interview with ''Rolling Stone'', Todd discussed how [[disinformation]] overtook the media during the Trump administration.<ref>{{cite web|last=Wade|first=Peter|url=https://www.rollingstone.com/politics/politics-news/how-disinformation-spreads-according-to-chuck-todd-interview-929912/|title=How Disinformation Spreads, According to Chuck Todd|publisher=Rolling Stone|date=20 December 2019}}</ref> 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,<ref>{{cite web|last=Rosen|first=Jay|url=http://pressthink.org/2019/12/the-christmas-eve-confessions-of-chuck-todd/|title=The Christmas Eve Confessions of Chuck Todd|publisher=PressThink|date=26 December 2019}}</ref> 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.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2023-06-04 |title=Chuck Todd will depart 'Meet the Press.' Kristen Welker will be the next host |url=https://www.nbcnews.com/news/chuck-todd-will-depart-nbcs-meet-press-kristen-welker-become-host-rcna87618 |access-date=2023-06-04 |website=NBC News |language=en}}</ref> In June 2024, Welker took a month leave of absence because she had given birth to second child on May 30, [[Peter Alexander (journalist)|Peter Alexander]] filled in for Welker during her absence.{{citation needed|date=December 2024}}

===High-definition broadcasting===
The set utilized from March 17, 1996 to April 25, 2010,<ref>{{cite web|title=Meet the Press reflects on set change|url=https://www.nbcnews.com/video/meet-the-press/36899514 |publisher=NBCNews.com|access-date=August 14, 2014}}</ref> had been designed as an experimental set for [[high-definition television|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 [[WRC-TV|WHD-TV]] in Washington, D.C.<ref>{{cite book|first1=Robert L|last1=Hilliard|first2=Michael C|last2=Keith|title=The Broadcast Century and Beyond: A Biography of American Broadcasting|publisher=[[Focal Press]]|date=February 18, 2010|isbn=978-0240812366|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Fcr7AwAAQBAJ&pg=PA299|access-date=May 7, 2017}}</ref> 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.<ref>{{cite web|title=Sunday, May 2: 'Meet the Press' to broadcast in HD, debut a new set |url=https://www.nbcnews.com/id/wbna36418425|work=NBC News|date=May 2, 2010}}</ref>

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]].<ref name="jan2021newstudios" /> The move included a new set.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Hill |first1=Michael P. |title=New 'Meet the Press' studio pays tribute to heart of democracy, free exchange of ideas |url=https://www.newscaststudio.com/2021/01/25/meet-the-press-studio-n1/ |website=NewscastStudio |access-date=26 January 2021 |date=25 January 2021}}</ref>