Meet the Press

This article is about the American public affairs program. For the Australian program, see Meet the Press (Australian TV program).
Meet the Press
GenrePublic affairs/news analysis program
Created byMartha Rountree[1][2]
Lawrence Spivak[1]
Directed byRob Melick[3]
Presented byKristen Welker
(for past moderators, see section)
Narrated byFred Facey
Bert Pence
Dennis Haysbert
Theme music composerJohn Williams
Opening theme"The Pulse of Events"[4] (fourth part of The Mission)
Country of originUnited States
Original languageEnglish
No. of seasons77
No. of episodes3,600+
Production
Executive producerDavid P. Gelles
Production locationsNBC News Washington Bureau, Capitol Hill, Washington, D.C.[5]
Camera setupMulti-camera
Running time30 minutes (1947–1992)
60 minutes (1992–present)
Production companyNBC News Productions
Original release
NetworkNBC
ReleaseNovember 6, 1947 (1947-11-06) –
present
Infobox instructions (only shown in preview)

Meet the Press is a weekly American television Sunday morning talk show broadcast on NBC.[6][7] It is the longest-running program on American television, though its format has changed since the debut episode on November 6, 1947.[8][9] Meet the Press specializes in interviews with leaders in Washington, D.C., across the country, and around the world on issues of politics, economics, foreign policy, and other public affairs, along with panel discussions that provide opinions and analysis. In January 2021, production moved to NBC's bureau on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C.[5][10]

The longevity of Meet the Press is attributable in part to the fact that the program debuted during what was only the second official "network television season" for American television. It was the first live television network news program on which a sitting president of the United States appeared, this occurred on its broadcast on November 9, 1975, which featured Gerald Ford. The program has been hosted by 12 moderators, beginning with creator Martha Rountree. The show's current moderator is Kristen Welker, who became moderator in September 2023 following longtime moderator Chuck Todd’s departure.

Meet the Press airs Sundays from 9:00 a.m.–10:00 a.m. ET on the NBC-TV network, 10:30 a.m.–11:30 a.m. ET in New York and Washington. The program also re-airs at 2:00 p.m. ET Sundays and 2:00 a.m. and 4:00 a.m. ET Mondays on MSNBC on cable.[11] Meet the Press is also occasionally pre-empted by network coverage of sports events held outside the U.S. The program is also rebroadcast on Mondays at 2:30 a.m. Eastern Time on MSNBC, whose audio feed is also simulcast on Sirius/XM Satellite Radio. The program is syndicated by Westwood One to various radio stations around the United States, and is on C-SPAN Radio as part of its replays of the Sunday morning talk shows.

  1. ^ a b Cite error: The named reference 60th was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  2. ^ Cite error: The named reference shemadeit was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  3. ^ "Meet the Press – Credits". NBCUniversal. Retrieved July 31, 2017.
  4. ^ "The Sounds of War". Slate. April 2003.
  5. ^ a b Johnson, Ted (25 January 2021). "NBCU Debuts New Washington Bureau And Studios". Deadline. Retrieved 26 January 2021.
  6. ^ "Meet the Press: Cast & Details". TV Guide. Retrieved December 30, 2008.
  7. ^ "About Meet The Press". MSNBC. Archived from the original on February 3, 2004. Retrieved December 30, 2008.
  8. ^ "Meet the Press: U.S. Public Affairs/Interview". Museum of Broadcast Communications. Archived from the original on September 25, 2012.
  9. ^ "About 'Meet the Press' – Meet the Press – About us". 2012-12-31. Archived from the original on 2012-12-31. Retrieved 2023-10-27.
  10. ^ Ball, Rick (1998). Meet the Press: Fifty Years of History in the Making. McGraw Hill. pp. 12 (Farley), 14–15 (Chambers), 15–17 (Bentley), 51–53 (Castro), 67–68 (JFK) 92 (MLK), 167 (satellite). Retrieved 18 March 2020.
  11. ^ "Watch NBC's 'Meet the Press with Kristen Welker' in your area". NBC News. 2023-09-18. Retrieved 2024-01-07.