Tag Archives: David Gregory

Uncategorized

Gregory out, Todd in at 'MTP'

Tim Russert didn’t do his successors at “Meet the Press” any favors.

The late host of the iconic news-talk show set a seemingly impossible standard, or so it seems. How, you ask? Only by being a student of politics, knowledgeable about his guests, intensely interested in what they had to say and having an ability to let their own words be (a) their nemesis or (b) their friend.

Russert died suddenly in 2008 at age 58. David Gregory was named to replace him at NBC’s premier Sunday talk show.

Gregory didn’t make the grade. It took some time for the network to realize the problem it had on its hands.

Now it has made a change.

http://money.cnn.com/2014/08/14/media/meet-press-david-gregory-chuck-todd/index.html?hpt=hp_t2

Chuck Todd is the new host of “Meet the Press.” Gregory is leaving NBC after 20 years. He’s receiving the obligatory good wishes from his colleagues at NBC and other networks.

For news junkies such as yours truly, I hope this latest change works for NBC.

Gregory eventually “led” “Meet the Press” from its customary No. 1 ranking to No. 3 among the broadcast networks’ Sunday news-talk ratings pile.

It really doesn’t matter to which talk show is on top. I just want “Meet the Press” to regain the stature it once enjoyed.

I don’t know much about Todd, other than I do enjoy his presence on TV. He’s generally reasonable, balanced, fair and inquisitive — all the things you want to see in a broadcast journalist.

And if it’s true that Todd is more of a student of politics and policy than Gregory, then the network — and viewers like you and me — will be served better.

Uncategorized

What's wrong with Meet the Press?

2 Comments

Michelle Malkin is a noted conservative firebrand/columnist whose views on the “mainstream media” are well-known.

I read her recent column on “Meet the Press”‘s ratings troubles and she lays the problem squarely at the feet of the host, David Gregory, who she calls a lot of names.

http://www.realclearpolitics.com/articles/2014/04/23/nbcs_cognitive_dissonant_hack_syndrome_122382.html

She said he’s boorish, a “jerk,” he throws tantrums, he hates conservatives. In other words, he’s a “typical Washington elite.”

OK, I’ll accept her bias going in. My own view of Gregory’s troubles can be summed up simply. He isn’t Tim Russert, the man who preceded Gregory in the moderator’s chair on TV’s longest-running program.

Russert died of a massive heart attack in 2008 at the age of 58. NBC-TV went to great lengths to eulogize Russert, an everyman from Buffalo, N.Y., who went to law school, worked for Democratic U.S. Sen. Daniel P. Moynihan and Democratic New York Gov. Mario Cuomo before settling into the “Meet the Press” chair he occupied with such distinction.

Malkin’s recollections of Gregory’s hectoring of NRA guru Wayne LaPierre and Cardinal Timothy Dolan are vivid. They’re also accurate portrayals of the way Gregory often crosses an invisible line that is supposed to separate him from the issues he is covering.

I didn’t know about the tantrums or the boorish behavior until I read Malkin’s column (see attached link).

To my eyes and ears, Gregory just hasn’t met the standard Russert set with his equal-opportunity grilling of guests. He was tough on lefties and righties, Democrats and Republicans, liberals and conservatives.

The one thing Russert did so artfully was to research his interview subjects’ own statements. He would then use their words to make a point and ask them to clarify what they said. If they could, so much the better — for them. If they couldn’t, well, score one for Russert.

Malkin also noted that Russert conducted himself like the gentleman he was and it showed in the way he handled his tasks as “Meet the Press” moderator.

I also should add that a little self-deprecation goes a long way in the ego-filled world of TV journalism. Russert could poke fun at himself, such as when he told the story of when NBC asked him to fill in on “Meet the Press.” “What?” Russert would say. “Look at this face.” It didn’t matter. He knew his stuff and was good at what he did.

It is that legacy that is dragging David Gregory down. Pure and simple.

Uncategorized

Climate change beyond doubt

Let’s see: Who’s the expert on climate change, a scientist or a politician?

I’ll go with the scientist.

Scientist Bill “The Science Guy” Nye debated politician Marsha Blackburn today on “Meet the Press.” The topic was whether Earth’s climate is changing. Nye says it is; Blackburn expresses doubt.

http://www.realclearpolitics.com/video/2014/02/16/gop_rep_marsha_blackburn_vs_bill_nye_on_climate_change.html

As the program’s moderator David Gregory tried to point out several times during the exchange, the fact of climate change seems beyond dispute. The only topic worth debating is its cause.

And, for my money, even that debate is beginning to look more like a slam dunk in favor of those who believe human beings are responsible for the resulting change in our worldwide climate patterns.

This is a difficult concept to swallow during this winter of extreme cold, record-breaking snow in the Northeast, prolonged cold in the Midwest — including some mighty chilly days in the Texas Panhandle — and the catastrophic winter storms that have swept through the South.

The point Nye was trying to convey this morning, though, was that even those changes reflect a dynamic not seen in many decades, perhaps even centuries.

How many “storms of the century” have we seen in recent years? They seem to arrive annually. Don’t those descriptions of these monumental weather events send up any red flags — even among those who continue to doubt the existence of climate change or those who pooh-pooh the idea as being some sort of left-wing conspiracy to destroy the fossil fuel industry?

Rep. Blackburn chairs a House science and technology committee. So she’s got some credibility on this issue.

Nye looks at this more from a scientific perspective. Yes, there exists plenty of debate among scientists about climate change and its cause.

The evidence continues to persuade me that it’s real and — if there’s anything humans can do about it — that it’s long past time to act.

I’m just hoping it’s not too late.