Photo credit: Janet Donovan
“Comcast is honored to serve as the latest corporate steward of NBC News and Meet the Press,” said David Cohen, Senior Executive Vice President of Comcast Corporation, to an enthusiastic crowd at The Newseum in Washington, DC where guests were celebrating the 70th Anniversary of Meet the Press. “We’ve always said that NBC News is one of the crown jewels of our company. The work of journalists in keeping our citizens informed is vital in our democracy. That’s never been more true than it is today; and we couldn’t be prouder of all of our NBC News journalists for the work that they do each and every day. The show continues to be a leader in journalistic innovation, and how news content is made and delivered.”
David Cohen
Andy Lack, Chairman of NBC News, acknowledged four very special people: Tom Brokaw, who played a sentient role in the history of the program – 116 appearances including his first during Watergate. His best moments with Richard Nixon include this funny story which Lack recounted: “He asked a question which was a pretty cool question in 1988 of then former president Richard Nixon which is a personal favorite of mine. He goes back and forth with the President on Watergate, a pretty serious exchange, and then he asks the President, in the autumn of his years as Tom put it, to reflect if he would do just in a personal way, as a human being, ‘When, sir, are you self-critical of your personal style or how you treat people? Do you see anything that you might have done differently?’ And Nixon said, ‘Well, I suppose I could have treated the press a little better.’ Yeah, I suppose those are words to live by. Treat the press a little bit better, at least in this room, please.”
Tom Brokaw
Tim Russert who is synonymous with Meet the Press, “made this show an extraordinary franchise; he was the heart and soul of NBC News for so long. His spirit and his passion still endure.” The late Russert was represented by his wife, journalist Maureen Orth. “Tim, of course, introduced us to Chuck Todd. Chuck was born to do this job, and he has, as all of us know, brought Meet the Press to a number one stature, across the board, the number one show on Sunday morning. In fact, he’s redefined the meaning of Sunday Morning,”
Andrea Mitchell
Andrea Mitchell is the all-time record holder for Meet the Press appearances by any correspondent, a mere 207 times. “You could stretch all of Andrea’s morning television shows from here to the moon, and come back 15 times.” “I don’t know about all of you, but I grew up watching Meet the Press; it was required viewing in our family,” responded Mitchell. “In fact, my parents did not really get excited, did not recognize the fact that I had become an NBC News correspondent until I appeared on Meet the Press. My first appearance was Christmas Eve, 1978? Bill Monroe was the moderator. Betty Cole Dukert was the Producer. Like so many of you, I have experienced American political history through the lens of that Sunday morning conversation on Meet the Press. Where else could you see Fidel Castro in 1959 speaking English, which he still knew but never spoke in public, and certainly not on American television after that? Or that moment when Menachem Begin was mistakenly hooked up to the host’s IFP, so he was hearing the producer’s instructions, which is why our viewers heard Israel’s Prime Minister saying, ‘Say goodbye?’ Perhaps the most contentious Meet the Press that I’ve ever participated in was on that emotional, explosive weekend of testimony in the Clarence Thomas/Anita Hill hearings, when Alan Simpson sat there across from me, he was a friend then and now, but he sat across from me and said, ‘I’m getting information over the transom about Anita Hill.’ And I challenged him to state what he was claiming, or back down, and it got very contentious. He recently publicly apologized for that performance. In recent years, one can’t forget Tom Brokaw’s powerful interview with Colin Powell, on race in America; that was when the life-long Republican endorsed Barack Obama for president on Meet the Press.”
Senator Ted Cruz, Rep. Debbie Dingle and Savannah Guthrie
It was Chuck’s turn to be in the hot seat. Turning the tables was Senator Ted Cruz, Congresswoman Debbie Dingle and NBC’s Savannah Guthrie. “President Trump has tweeted that your organization is fake news,” said Cruz. “How do you respond to those allegations?” “You know, I just think you can’t pay attention to every comings and goings on twitter, because at the end of the day, we’re just here to try to do the bidding of the American people,” responded Todd. “So, I’m here to ask you if the American people reject you as host of Meet the Press, in 746 words or less, who would you endorse to replace you?” “That’s tough. Um, you know, look, I think the American people don’t necessarily know exactly what they want out of a moderator. What they’re looking for is they’re worried about their own pocketbook, at the end of the day. They’re worried about, you know, going to the grocery store, making their mortgage payment. You’re sitting here worried about some TV show. I’m here worried about the American people.” “Well, I will say I think you’ve just proven your disclaimer that TV hosts can’t do comedy. But let me ask one final and pressing question that I know everyone here wants to know. Are you, in fact, the Zodiac Killer?” “Never proven.”
And so the banter went on and ended on a serious note. “I can’t think of a better caretaker for Meet the Press than my friend Chuck, and Meet the Press is what Tim always used to say, ‘It’s a national treasure.’ Chuck is dedicated to its relevance, to its importance, to its substance,” said Savannah. “He brings his freakishly encyclopedic knowledge to every discussion, and his unique dorky-ness to every segment. His enthusiasm is palpable. He lives and breathes and loves our government, our democracy, and our institutions. And I know this will sound a little bit corny, but forgive me, Chuck loves this show because he is patriotic.” “The biggest issue I always worry about is you just don’t want to be the last moderator of Meet the Press,” responded Todd. “So, whenever anybody wants to talk about the history, you’re like, ‘Yes, yes, yes. I’ve got to hurry up and polish the baton and hand it to the next custodian.’ We are a weird family at Meet the Press. But it is a family, and it is passed down. Look, Meet the Press belongs in many ways to Washington. Tom Brokaw said it earlier, Meet the Press has had two founding fathers. Lawrence Spivak and Tim Russert. And I believe my job is to build on them.”
Chuck Todd
“My hope here is to make this … make Meet the Press …. relevant in these fast times; and in so many ways, the noisier it gets every single hour of our news cycle and the sheer volume that comes in, suddenly I think a lot of Americans are realizing: ‘Hey, Sundays are pretty good day of reflection on politics too.’ ” Chuck Todd
