Tina Brown, past editor of Vanity Fair and The New Yorker has written her opinion of who should be the next "Meet The Press" host in her new blogazine "The Daily Beast". I concur with a condition: Maddow is one of the best progressive voices we have in the media, along with Keith Olbermann. I would be fine with NBC making her the host of "MTP" as long as she can keep her daily "Rachel Maddow Show".
I say give Meet the Press to Rachel Maddow. She’s smart. She’s quick. She’s witty. She does her homework. And she listens to what the person she’s talking to is saying. She doesn't just go to the next question on her list.
"Meet the Press" has to change not just the host but the show itself. It may be successful now, but the winds of change could suddenly engulf it as they have the giants of print.
http://www.thedailybeast.com/...
The fact that NBC could even consider the horrific David Gregory, whose over-usage of the inarticulate non-word "yeah" has defined his stint as the host of his own daily show on MSNBC, notwithstanding his continual penchant for using gossip as fact... and the ever boring and clumsy Andrea Mitchell, shows NBC is certainly agonizing over a choice to fill Tim Russert's slot as host:
The suits at NBC are doing far more agonizing over who should fill Tim Russert’s shoes on Meet the Press than Obama is over appointing his cabinet. They're taking more time over it, too. I guess that’s because the president-elect has something the NBC front office doesn’t have: self-confidence. Unlike him, they’re so terrified of making a mistake they can't make a decision.
Truer words have never been spoken about "MTP"...it's time for a change. The country voted for change, and indeed, change is in the air. There's a new day dawning in America, and those who abide by the old rules will be left behind. Change or get out of the way! I think Tina Brown gets the comment of the day award for her wit and wisdom describing the questioning of Laura Bush on yesterday's show, *(bolded below).
NBC seems to be paralyzed by the sense that whomever they chose has to be another Russert. Not so. Russert defined an era, but that era is over. It’s as if in the months since he died the hands of the clock have spun with accelerated speed, leaving us all with a desire for reinvention. There's been an Obama effect in every sphere of business from General Motors to network TV.
Meet the Press has to change not just the host but the show itself. It may be successful now, but the winds of change could suddenly engulf it as they have the giants of print.
Brokaw’s interview yesterday with Laura Bush—flanked as a safety measure by Afghanistan's ambassador to the U.S., Said Jawad—was exhibit A in a form of TV whose day has passed. *The only things viewers wanted to know from the First Lady were (a) what medication got her through the last eight years, (b) how it felt being married to a walking catastrophe, and (c) what she really thought about Michelle Obama when she came to the White House. If we really want to know about Afghanistan, is Laura Bush the first name that springs to mind? Wouldn't we rather hear from someone steeped in knowledge of the place who could advance our comprehension?
You can make your voice heard. Please let the NBC network chiefs know that you disapprove of David Gregory and Andrea Mitchell as the host of "Meet The Press", and let them know who you would look forward to seeing on your television screen on Sunday mornings.
steve.capus@nbc.com
President NBC News
jeff.zucker@nbc.com
NBC Universal Chief Executive