It’s official, or at least officially a rumor: David Gregory will be the next host of NBC’s Meet the Press, unless he isn’t. (Other media organizations have been unable to confirm the Huffington Post’s original report, so count it a scoop for HuffPo if it turns out to be true. Update: Politico’s Mike Allen now also reports the same, though NBC says there may not be an announcement today.) Other candidates for “moderator” of MTP have included—and for all I know, may still include—Gwen Ifill, Andrea Mitchell, and Chuck Todd.
I don’t particularly have a horse in the race, mainly because I’m not a regular watcher of MTP. (I think it’s something you have to pick up at an early age, like religion.) But whoever takes over the show, it will be interesting to see if it takes any different direction. Under Tim Russert, MTP always seemed more interested in politics than in issues and governance: that is, more interested in power and its contesting and acquisition than in what you do with power once you get it. That’s understandable—Russert was a politico first and loved the game of politics (which is probably why so many people’s fondest memories of him are of his coverage of election nights). But as a result MTP can seem—like much of the rest of national news coverage—mainly to be the story of an endless campaign.
None of the candidates bruited about, though, make it sound like NBC plans any major change for MTP. Should it?
