Meet the Press

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Meet the Press
Tim Russert interviews General Peter Pace on Meet the Press in 2006.
Created byMartha Rountree[1]
Lawrence E. Spivak[2]
Directed byRob Melick[2]
Presented byKristen Welker (2023-present)
Narrated byFred Facey (1984–2008)
Bert Pence (2008–2015)
Dennis Haysbert (2015-present)
Theme music composerJohn Williams
Opening theme"The Pulse of Events"[3] (fourth part of The Mission)
Country of originUnited States
Original languageEnglish
No. of seasons66
No. of episodes5,048 (as of May 19, 2013)
Production
Executive producersBetsy Fischer Martin (2002–2012)[2]
Robert Myers Yarin (2013–2014)[2]
John H. Reiss (2014-2022)[2]
David P. Gelles (2022-present)[2]
ProducersAdam Verdugo
(Senior Producer)[2]
Chris Donovan[2]
Production locationWashington, D.C.
Camera setupMulti-camera
Running time30 minutes w/commercials (1947–1992); 60 minutes w/commercials (1992–present)
Original release
NetworkNBC
ReleaseNovember 6, 1947 –
present

Meet the Press is an American television news/interview show that airs on NBC. It began on November 6, 1947. It is the longest-running television show in American television history.[2]

The show's format has a long one-on-one interview with a person who works in politics. There may also be a discussion with either members of Congress or political commentators.

Meet the Press began on radio in 1945 as American Mercury Presents: Meet the Press. It was a show that was used to promote The American Mercury, an American magazine that was issued from 1924 to 1981.[4] The show moved to television with a shorter title of just Meet the Press on November 6, 1947.

Over the years, the show has had twelve hosts called "moderators". The first moderator was Martha Rountree. The current moderator is Kristen Welker, who has hosted the show since 2023. Tim Russert was the show's longest-lasting moderator, who hosted from 1991 until his death on June 13, 2008.

Moderators[change | change source]

This is a list of moderators who have hosted Meet the Press.[2]

Martha Rountree 1947–1953
Ned Brooks 1953–1965
Lawrence E. Spivak 1966–1975
Bill Monroe 1975–1984
Roger Mudd & Marvin 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 2014
Chuck Todd 2014–2023
Kristen Welker 2023–present

References[change | change source]

  1. Martha Rountree: Radio/Television Producer, Writer, Host from shemadeit.org, a Paley Center for Media website
  2. 2.00 2.01 2.02 2.03 2.04 2.05 2.06 2.07 2.08 2.09 About Meet the Press
  3. The Sounds of War, an April 2003 article from Slate
  4. 60 Years Ago in News History: America Meets the Press Archived 2008-11-17 at the Wayback Machine from the Newseum website

Other websites[change | change source]