David Gregory's "Meet The Press": What To Expect

When Danny Shea broke the news that the big chair at Meet The Press was going to David Gregory, one could sense a great disturbance in the collective unconsciousness, as if a million voices were screaming out at once. That was the nation of Chuck Todd fans, expressing their disappointment.

So, yes. It looks as if NBC's goateed battler of polls will not, as many dreamed, take over the reins from the late Tim Russert. The same goes for presumed contenders Gwen Ifill and Andrea Mitchell. All brought some interesting qualities to the table. For Todd, it was a name brand that bespoke steadiness and trust. For Andrea Mitchell, it was years of experience and an appreciable range of expertise. And Gwen Ifill seemed like an unconventional choice for a news organization working to brand itself as the bird's eye on an unconventional political period.

Let's not waste too much time dithering over the other would-be NBC contenders. Tom Brokaw's stewardship of the show has been, in a word, disappointing. Chris Matthews -- have you heard? -- he's running for the Senate in Pennsylvania, maybe? Joe Scarborough really doesn't need another hour to fill with the Joe Scarborough Monologues. And while Tina Brown may think the job should fall to Rachel Maddow, I don't think I'm being unfair when I suggest that maybe she'd be better off just running her own show.

So, yeah, how do I feel about David Gregory taking over? Uhm ... it's okay I guess? Like a wall painted with a particularly intense shade of beige? To put Gregory in contrast to the other contenders, I'd say: Gregory is free from the disadvantages the other known contenders brought to their MTP audition. For all Chuck Todd's qualities, he just doesn't have a long history of going toe-to-toe with political figures. Andrea Mitchell does, but she's also the wife of Alan Greenspan, and with the economy shaping up as a key issue over the next year, NBC doesn't need a host that has to retreat to her Cone of Silence every time the topic comes up. I've always thought that Tim Russert had a special place in his heart for Gwen Ifill, but the whole flap that occurred over her forthcoming book and debate moderation probably poisoned the well for her (unfairly).

David Gregory is a company man who came up through the trenches of news reading, and who frequently succeeded in managing circumstances as a White House correspondent in a way that led to boffo confrontational footage for his network. Which is not a slag! That's what a White House correspondent from TV news is supposed to do, and Gregory did it exceedingly well. And that's the clear advantage he brings to Meet The Press -- he's comfortable as an interlocutor, is not intimidated by powerful people, and can skillfully manage a conversation so that at the end of the day, NBC News has some provocative looking footage to blast around the world.

Gregory came across reasonably well in the White House Press Room. Still, I've always thought that when he's come out of the trenches to appear on one of NBC's slickly produced news programs, a discernible gravitas gap has widened to Gregory's disadvantage. This has been on display all year as Gregory participated in the soul-crushing experience known as The Race For The White House, a dismaying festival of conventional wisdom that played like a televised version of Time's "The Page" if you stuffed Mark Halperin full of Martian creatine and gave him viral echolalia. From the silly stripes that chased Gregory around in the opening sequence to his painful evocations of a "panel that comes to play," The Race For The White House was a monumentally silly enterprise, and, as its bandleader Gregory showed a propensity for keeping aloft every idiot press meme that came along.

I'm also concerned about Gregory's tendency toward clubby insularity. Media Matters describes a recent, trademarked incidence of this, in which Gregory insisted breathlessly that "everyone was talking about" Christopher Hitchens' criticisms of Hillary Clinton, when in reality, the only people doing so were those in the MSNBC Green Room.

Nevertheless, with David Gregory, Meet The Press is probably going to successfully pull off the picking-up-where-it-left-off moment following the untimely death of Tim Russert. If you were a fan of the Russertian style of inquiry (and I was not), the show is probably going to feel familiar. I'm interested in how the look and feel of the show changes to suit Gregory, who I feel will come off better with a reduction in production gloss. Anyway, it will have to do. In another decade, ten-year old cub reporter Damon Weaver and the splendid Amanda Lorber from MTV's The Paper will hopefully have taken over the media, and on that day, there shall be much rejoicing.

UPDATE: A commenter, "WriterRoss," opines: "Since the show is called Meet the PRESS, perhaps NBC could have gone back to a panel of press people instead of simply meeting ONE member of the 'press.'"

Indeed, this would have been my preference.

Comments

[december30]

I WILL NEVER WATCH MTP AGAIN!!!!

[lotuslike]

Gregory is an awful choice. A purely corporate choice. Expect him to tow the corporate line, like he does most of the time, perpetuating conservative memes as fact. I'll watch Bob Scheiffer instead---and when he leaves at the end of the year, I'll learn to sleep a little later on Sundays.

[KarenM]

Gregory's stint doing backup for MC "Rappin'" Rove should have been enough to disqualify him. Period.

[blatgirl]

Hurray! I get to sleep late on Sundays! The guy who suggested Gregory was a liberal? Just what is the criterion for labeling one a liberal.? Was it his sucking up to the administration? Slanting right? Loving McCain? I'm throwing my hands in the air 'cause I just don't care. PEACE FIRST

[Clavis]

Meet the new bland, same as the old bland. If you think for one second that Gregory will ever speak truth to power, or demand a straight answer instead of just sitting there obediently while his guests spew pre-chewed talking points, then I've got a bridge I'd like to sell you.

[Hemmingplay]

David Greggory was good as a WH interrogator of Bush, but I found myself changing the channel every time that stupid "Race..." program came on. Same reasons as the OP: conventional meme flogging, a persistent hint of anti-Obama bias that masqueraded as journalistic skepticism (which would have been fine; there was just .... something else there in his delivery, night after night.)

He's now just another pretty boy TV talking head. I used to think he was a serious journalist, but methinks the celebrity culture has crawled inside his head and metastasized.

For my money, you could put him, the whole Morning Joe crew, most of the News Bunnies the cables trot out as eye candy during the day, and 5 random Fox TV dweebs -- into a big van and drive them to rural South Dakota and force them to report on corn futures for 5 years, until they either quit the business or stop thinking they're actually in charge of us.

[ShanniC]

I will not watch MTP now that I know David Gregory is hosting. It was excellent with Tim, barely passable with Brokaw, but it is going to be downright unbearable with him! I thought NBC was going to do something about the all white, all male hosts that have Sunday shows. Apparently, they do not want to be trendsetters.

[Yarrr]

Gregory is a very boring choice imo. nothing against the guy, he's just not the right person for the job.

[jerzyjc16]

How about real journalists, such as Bob Woodward, Sy Hersch, and David Brooks asking real questions that actually make news?

We are so used to the phony exposing of hypocrisy ("2 years ago you said ______, but last week you said _______") of Russert et. al. that we think that was real journalism.

Gregory at least will ask a few real questions, and he's not afraid to hold feet to the fire, and that's what journalists who are really serving the public interest do. We are tired of these idiots who keep their little pet memes aloft on their own hot air. (Remember how white people wouldn't vote for Barack and women wouldn't vote for him because they were angry about how Hillary was treated?) The latest is this nonsense about how the new cabinet members will be at each others' throats, and how this is not "real change".

A panel of real journalists would make MTP watchable!

[demfriend]

I have never found David G to be very insightful or able to dig into a idea/issue deep enough to enable himself to bring out what needs to be from anyone. He has at times gotten somewhere based on questions that never seemed to be his but someone else giving to him the meat to put to the other person to disclose what needed to be. Although Tim wasn't someone I watchfaithful he did his job well the majority of the time with information coming from he source usually without doubt whether the source liked it or not.Tim also ad the brain to go into and find out wht hehad to use to get the disclosure. David Gregory has bored be always and it has never been easy to watch him even when he had someone to interview I felt had something I wanted to hear. When they took from ChrisMatthews and Keith O on the campaign trail nd ave to David G I felt they had taken all the color on the screen and painted in in neutrals without any spice and I stopped watching with sound unless others were on.

[acordas]

Good-bye Meet the Press this will end the tradition that Tim Russert (who spinning his grave) built in depth and wise commentary. I put this at the level of mistakes NBC at the level of putting Rosie O' on the air or bringing back that stupid computer car that bombed back when. So congratulations NBC you"re slipping into the Pink Floyd "comfortably numb" mode. With Andrea Mitchell & Chuck Todd on hand you picked the arrogant robot mind & faced David Gregory heck why didn"t you come to Texas and grab our weatherman it would be the same thing. Even Russert son would have more intelligence; I will be in heaven soon and I hope "the man" will be on the air so I can enjoy Tim Russert again and forever.

[Freesia2]

Hey. Why will you be in heaven soon? You okay?

[Palmz]

Like i said when i first heard the news,

MTP is now called Meet The Prrriiiccckkk!

[imjustawitchywoman]

No one will ever be able to replace Russert.

As excited as I was for this Presidential Election.....it was hard for me because there was a degree of emptiness because Russert was missing from the coverage and he wasn't there on MTP to interview , with a style that only he possessed, the Candidates and their surrogates.

I am a bit disappointed with Gregory hosting MTP. I know that no one can fill Russerts shoes.....but I think that the contrast between Russert and Gregory is going to set up a certain degree of failure for this program.

I don't think many Russert viewers will be tuning in to see Gregory.
I know that I won't be.

[Timichelle]

My senTIMents exactly. I did appreciate them remembering him on election night.
There was a joie de vivre wherever he was and whatever he was doing. Never has my family been so affected by the loss of a television personality.

[Bearangaria]

Poor guy. Of course not. He will be David Gregory.
No one can "follow" Tim Russert.."replace" him.
But someone with passion, dogged integrity and grit
wrapped in a good heart could make it their own.
David just isn't the fella or gal.

[hopefull2008]

Yeah, and Donnie Osmond is better than Frank Sinatra.