About 'Meet the Press'

For 62 years, "Meet the Press” has featured headline-making interviews with world-leaders and U.S. newsmakers every Sunday morning on NBC. On December 7, 2008, David Gregory, former NBC News Chief White House Correspondent, was named moderator of the venerable television institution. If you have any questions or comments, you can e-mail the show.

ABOUT “MEET THE PRESS”:

"Meet the Press," the longest-running program ever on network television, premiered on NBC-TV on November 6, 1947, with James A. Farley, the former chairman of the Democratic National Committee and Franklin Roosevelt’s postmaster general, as its’ first guest. The show made its initial debut two years earlier – as a radio program with Martha Rountree and Lawrence Spivak as producers. For almost as long as there has been television, there has been "Meet the Press."

NBC’s Chief White House Correspondent, David Gregory, was named moderator of “Meet the Press” on December 7, 2008. He is only the tenth person ever to be a permanent host of the program. He assumed the role from veteran NBC newsman Tom Brokaw, who had served as interim moderator after the untimely death of longtime moderator Tim Russert on June 13, 2008.

President John F. Kennedy once called “Meet the Press” the “fifty-first state.” Since then, every man who has occupied the Oval Office has appeared on the program during his career, as has every vice president since Alben Barkley in 1952.

In addition to the commander-in-chief, “Meet the Press” features interviews with all the key players in each presidential administration. Every Secretary of State from John Foster Dulles to Hillary Clinton and every Secretary of Defense from Robert McNamara to Robert Gates has appeared on the program.

Foreign policy has always been a staple of “Meet the Press” interviews. Some of the world leaders interviewed on the program include Fidel Castro, Francois Mitterrand, Indira Gandhi, David Ben-Gurion, Golda Meir, Ferdinand Marcos, Jean Monnet, Mikhail Gorbachev, Anwar el-Sadat, Yitzhak Rabin, King Hussein of Jordan, Hamid Karzai, Pervez Musharraf, King Abdullah of Jordan, Tony Blair and Ghazi al-Yawar.

“Meet the Press” has always been an equal opportunity news program, with women playing a significant role right from the start. The co-creator of “Meet the Press” and the show’s first moderator was noted journalist Martha Rountree.  The first female guest was Elizabeth Bentley, a former Soviet spy, who was interviewed on September 12, 1948. 

“Meet the Press” has since interviewed First Ladies Eleanor Roosevelt, Nancy Reagan, Rosalynn Carter, Hillary Rodham Clinton and Laura Bush.  Other notable women appearing as guests over the years include Madeleine Albright, Shirley Temple Black, Shuttle Commander Eileen Collins, Shirley Chisholm, Elizabeth Dole, Marian Wright Edelman, Geraldine Ferraro, Jane Fonda, Indira Gandhi, Tipper Gore, Anita Hill, Barbara Jordan, Caroline Kennedy, Nancy Pelosi, Janet Reno, Condoleezza Rice, Phyllis Schlafly, and Gloria Steinem.

Nearly every important newsmaker in the U.S. – from politicians, religious leaders and astronauts to sports stars, authors and comedians – has appeared on “Meet the Press”. Some of these prominent figures include Martin Luther King Jr., Robert F. Kennedy, Hubert Humphrey, Joseph McCarthy, Billy Graham, Robert Frost, Jackie Robinson, Jimmy Hoffa, John Glenn, George Wallace, Michael Jordan, Jay Leno, Rick Warren, Bill Cosby, Lance Armstrong, Stephen Colbert, and Jon Krakauer.

Every Sunday morning for 62 years, millions of Americans tune in to get answers from U.S. and world leaders, and hear analysis, discussion and review of the week’s political events from noted journalists and experts.

We are proud to be the highest rated, most watched and most quoted Sunday morning public affairs program.  An average of 4 million viewers join us each week to share in a national dialogue about the important issues of our time.

If it’s Sunday, it’s “Meet the Press.”

RECENT NOTABLE INTERVIEWS:

Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner
November 1, 2009: The Treasury Secretary speaks out exclusively during a key week when the economy began to show signs of life after a year of dire news.   Watch the full interview

Maria Shriver and Valerie Jarrett
October 18, 2009: As part of NBC’s week-long “A Woman’s Nation” series, California’s First Lady Maria Shriver and President Obama’s Senior Adviser Valerie Jarrett spoke to “Meet the Press” about the changing role of women in America.   Watch the full interview

Former President Bill Clinton
September 27, 2009: In an exclusive interview, Former President Bill Clinton spoke out about the many domestic and foreign policy problems facing the nation and the new Obama administration.   Watch the full interview

President Barack Obama
September 20, 2009: David Gregory interviews President Barack Obama in the West Wing of the White House for his first MTP appearance as President of the United States.   Watch the full interview

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton
July 26, 2009: Just back from an overseas trip around the world, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton appeared for a wide-ranging, full-hour interview.   Watch the full interview

Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu
June 21, 2009: As renewed unrest swept across Iran, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu spoke about the internal problems faced by Iran’s government and the threat posed by Iran’s nuclear program, as well as the prospects for a peaceful solution between the Palestinians and Israelis.   Watch the full interview

Vice President Joe Biden
June 14, 2009: Live from Delaware, an in-depth, exclusive interview with Vice President Joe Biden on all the issues topping the political agenda, including foreign policy, the economy and health care.   Watch the full interview

Anne Mulcahy, Jim Owens and Eric Schmidt  
May 31, 2009: From the floor of the New York Stock Exchange, the CEO’s of three major American Corporations – Xerox Corporation, Caterpillar Inc., and Google Inc. – discuss growing fears over the country’s financial situation.   Watch the full interview

Afghanistan’s President Hamid Karzai & Pakistan’s President Asif Ali Zardari      
May 10, 2009: After the two leaders traveled to the U.S. to meet with President Obama, they appeared exclusively on "Meet the Press” with an inside look at what they discussed at that meeting and what each nation is doing on its own, and together, to fight the Taliban militants who have taken refuge in the mountainous region on the Afghanistan-Pakistan border.   Watch the full interview

Kathleen Sebelius, Janet Napolitano, and Dr. Richard Besser
May 3, 2009:  As fears of swine flu swept the country, the Secretary of Health and Human Services, the Secretary of Homeland Security and the Acting Director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention discussed what the government is doing to help prevent a pandemic.   Watch the full interview

Fritz Henderson
April 5, 2009: Less than a week after the White House asked the CEO of General Motors to step down, the American auto icon’s new CEO, Fritz Henderson, spoke exclusively about his plans to fix the company.   Watch the full interview

Secretary of Defense Robert Gates
March 1, 2009: Robert Gates appeared for his first television interview as President Obama's Secretary of Defense, and spoke about the differences in working for President Obama and President Bush.   Watch the full interview

Bill Cosby and Dr. Alvin Poussaint
January 11, 2009: An in-depth discussion on how the Obama presidency can confront the challenges in the black community with Bill Cosby & Dr. Alvin Poussaint, co-authors of "Come On, People: On the Path from Victims to Victors."   Watch the full interview

RECENT NOTABLE EVENTS COVERAGE:

Death of Senator Ted Kennedy (D-MA):
On August 30, 2009, we broadcast an hour-long tribute to the life, legacy and political career of Sen. Ted Kennedy. We began with a special conversation with close friends, colleagues and family members including the daughter of Kennedy's sister Eunice, Maria Shriver; long-time friends and fellow U.S. senators, John Kerry and Chris Dodd; Fmr. Press Secretary & Speechwriter for Sen. Ted Kennedy, Bob Shrum; and the eldest child of Kennedy's brother Robert, Kathleen Kennedy Townsend. We also went inside the Kennedy legacy with Presidential Historian and author of "The Fitzgeralds and the Kennedys: An American Saga," Doris Kearns Goodwin, and had a special look back at highlights from Kennedy's record-making 45 years of appearances on “Meet the Press.”

Economy:
During a year of financial turmoil, we devoted numerous programs to helping the country understand the situation and holding administration officials accountable for the actions they’ve taken and what still needs to be done. We questioned those closest to President Obama including Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner, National Economic Council Director Larry Summers and Chair of the White House Council of Economic Advisers Christina Romer, as well as business leaders including the CEO’s of major American companies such as Xerox, Caterpillar, Google and General Motors.

Decision 2008:
“Meet the Press” devoted an entire hour to each of the top contenders for the White House in our “Meet the Candidates 2008” series. Interviews included Barack Obama, John McCain, Hillary Clinton, Mike Huckabee, John Edwards, Mitt Romney, Chris Dodd, Rudy Giuliani, Joe Biden, Bill Richardson, and Fred Thompson. “Meet the Press” went on the road 13 times during Decision 2008 to interview the candidates at some the most important junctures in their campaigns, including the Iowa caucuses, the New Hampshire primary and the Republican and Democratic Conventions. In the final months of the election, we regularly welcomed top strategists, supporters and policy advisers for both the McCain and Obama campaigns.

Decision 2006:
In the months leading up to the midterm elections, “Meet the Press” covered the story from every angle. For the first time ever, all four chairs of the Senatorial and House campaign committees sat together and discussed the upcoming election. Throughout the season, we featured six debates with candidates from some of the most interesting and competitive Senate races in the country. Plus, we provided an in-depth discussion on the role of the blogosphere and the Internet in this election with the founder of the Daily Kos and host of the YearlyKos Convention, Markos Moulitsas, and discussed the state of the two major parties with Howard Dean, chairman of the Democratic National Committee, and Ken Mehlman, chairman of the Republican National Committee.

War in Iraq:
Since the days leading up to the war in Iraq and in the years following, "Meet the Press" has featured key interviews with top Obama and Bush Administration officials and Iraqi leaders about the on-going events in that country and the surrounding Middle-East region. As the country continues to debate U.S. involvement in the area, “Meet the Press” has continually presented a wide-variety of opinions on the war, including those of: Vice President Dick Cheney, Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld, Gen. Barry McCaffrey (Ret.), Rep. John Murtha (D-PA), Sen. Joe Lieberman (I/D-CT), Sen. John McCain (R-AZ), U.S. Ambassador to the U.N. John Bolton, Gen. George Casey, Gen. Bernard Trainor (Ret.), Sen. John Warner (R-VA), Gen. Peter Pace, Sen. Russ Feingold (D-WI), L. Paul Bremer, U.S. Ambassador to Iraq Zalmay Khalilzad and Gen. Anthony Zinni, USMC(Ret.)  

September 11th:
Days after the tragic terrorist attacks on New York and the Pentagon, "Meet the Press" was invited to Camp David for an hour-long, exclusive interview with Vice President Dick Cheney.  This was the first, live, television broadcast from Camp David – a truly historic Sunday morning on “Meet the Press.”

Decision 2004:
The Wall Street Journal dubbed “Meet the Press” “political TV’s best real-estate.”   Our coverage of the 2004 presidential election season proved that point. During that year’s  presidential primary season, "Meet the Press" featured in-depth interviews with every Democratic candidate for President. Some highlights included:

• Ralph Nader announced his candidacy on the program on February 22, 2004.
  
  
• Sen. John Kerry (D-MA.) announced the formation of his presidential exploratory committee on the program on December 1, 2002.
  
  
• In addition to Democratic nominee John Kerry, "Meet the Press" also featured interviews with all nine candidates for the Democratic nomination: former Sen. Carol Moseley Braun (D-Ill.); Gen. Wesley Clark (Ret.); former Gov. Howard Dean (D-Vt.); Sen. John Edwards (D-N.C.); Rep. Dick Gephardt (D-Mo.); Sen. Bob Graham (D-FL); Sen. Joe Lieberman (D-Conn.); Rep. Dennis Kucinich (D-OH); and the Reverend Al Sharpton of New York.
  

POLITICAL DEBATES ON "MEET THE PRESS":

"Meet the Press" has a proud history of presenting its viewers with the very best in political debate, especially during the election season. During the last three election cycles, “Meet the Press” has featured our award-winning “Senate Debate Series”. The series was created in 2002 and has featured debates between candidates in some of the most competitive and interesting races in the country.  All of the debates have originated from our Washington, D.C. studio. We were awarded the prestigious Walter Cronkite-U.S.C. Annenberg School Award for Excellence in Television Political Journalism for the 2002 “Senate Debate Series”. 

“Meet the Press Senate Debate Series – 2008”
Due to a busy presidential election season, the fourth installment of our series featured only one Senate debate, the key swing state of Colorado where Rep. Mark Udall (D) faced Fmr. Rep. Bob Schaffer (R).

“Meet the Press Senate Debate Series – 2006”
A combined 22.4 million viewers tuned in for the third installment of our award-winning series. This time, the debates featured:

Pennsylvania:  Sen. Rick Santorum (R) vs. State Treasurer Bob Casey (D)
Virginia: Sen. George Allen (R) vs. former Secretary of the Navy Jim Webb (D)
Ohio: Sen. Mike DeWine (R) vs. Rep. Sherrod Brown (D)
Missouri: Sen. Jim Talent (R) vs. State Auditor Claire McCaskill (D)
Minnesota: Hennepin Co. Attorney Amy Klobuchar (D) vs. Rep. Mark Kennedy (R)
Maryland: Rep. Ben Cardin (D) vs. Lt. Gov. Michael Steele (R)

"Meet the Press Senate Debate Series – 2004"
The “Senate Debate Series” returned to “Meet the Press” for the 2004 Election with the following debates:

South Dakota: Sen. Tom Daschle (D) vs.  Fmr. Rep. John Thune (R)
Oklahoma: Rep. Brad Carson (D) vs. Fmr. Rep. Tom Coburn (R)
Colorado: State Attorney General Ken Salazar (D) vs. Pete Coors (R)
South Carolina: Inez Tenenbaum (D) vs. Rep. Jim DeMint (R)

"Meet the Press Senate Debate Series – 2002"
The first "Senate Debate Series" included:

Colorado: Sen. Wayne Allard (R) vs. Tom Strickland (D)
South Carolina: Rep. Lindsey Graham (R) vs. Alex Sanders (D)
Louisiana: Sen. Mary Landrieu (D) vs. Suzanne Terrell (R)

Gore vs. Bradley
* Tim Russert moderated the first debate between Vice President Al Gore and his Democratic rival, former Senator Bill Bradley, on the set of "Meet the Press" on December 19, 1999.

INSIGHTS AND ANALYSIS:

When the news and issues of the week are in need of “Insights and Analysis,” “Meet the Press” calls on the very best political minds in the nation. Some of our most frequent Roundtable guests include:

Dan Balz, The Washington Post

David Broder, The Washington Post

David Brooks, The New York Times

Ron Brownstein, National Journal

Erin Burnett, CNBC

E.J. Dionne, The Washington Post

Maureen Dowd, The New York Times

Harold Ford Jr., Chair of the Democratic Leadership Council

Thomas Friedman, The New York Times

Paul Gigot, The Wall Street Journal

Doris Kearns Goodwin, Presidential Historian

John Harwood, The New York Times and CNBC

Albert Hunt, Bloomberg News

Katty Kay, BBC World News America

Rich Lowry, National Review

Rachel Maddow, MSNBC

Jon Meacham, Newsweek

Mike Murphy, Republican Strategist

Peggy Noonan, The Wall Street Journal

Michele Norris, NPR

Kate O’Beirne, National Review

Steven Pearlstein, The Washington Post

Tom Ricks, The Washington Post

Eugene Robinson, The Washington Post

Joe Scarborough, MSNBC

Roger Simon, Politico

Tavis Smiley, PBS

Judy Woodruff, PBS

Robin Wright, The Washington Post

Byron York, The Washington Examiner

CREDITS FOR "MEET THE PRESS":

Betsy Fischer is the Executive Producer.
Rebecca Samuels and Chris Donovan are the Producers.
Ilana Marcus Drimmer is the Contributing Producer, Abigail Williams is the Associate Producer, Shelby Poduch is the Assistant Producer, Ellen Van de Mark is the Production Assistant and Joey Bell is the Research Assistant.

BROADCAST SCHEDULE:

“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. (Please check local station listings for airtimes in your area.) The program also re-airs at 2 p.m. ET Sundays and 2 a.m. ET & 4 a.m. ET Mondays on MSNBC on cable. The entire program is available as a webcast and video podcast at 1 p.m. ET Sundays on our website,  mtp.msnbc.com.

MORE FROM MEET THE PRESS

Meet the Press Section Front

Sunday's Meet the Press guest list Dec. 20: Axelrod, Dean, roundtable Dec. 13: Romer, economic roundtable Dec. 6: Clinton, Gates, McCain, roundtable Nov. 29: Rick Warren, Bill & Melinda Gates Nov. 22: Senate roundtable, Brinker, Snyderman Nov. 15: Clinton, Duncan, Gingrich, Sharpton Nov. 8: Casey, Barbour, Rendell, roundtable, Brokaw Nov. 1: Tim Geithner, David Plouffe, roundtable Oct. 25: Cornyn, Schumer, Burnett, Sorkin, roundtable Meet the Press Section Front   Add Meet the Press headlines to your news reader: