When he takes over as moderator of “Meet the Press” next month, Chuck Todd will be charged with reversing the Sunday morning show’s sagging ratings. If his boss has anything to say about it, he will also be expected to bring more “edge” to the struggling program.
In an interview with the New York Times published Monday, NBC News president Deborah Turness offered her diagnosis for what’s plaguing “Meet the Press”:
Her new vision for “Meet the Press” includes adding a regular panel of journalists who will question guests, something of a return to the venerable show’s original format. “The show needs more edge,” she said. “It needs to be consequential. I think the show had become a talking shop that raked over the cold embers of what had gone on the previous week. The one-on-one conversation belongs to a decade ago. We need more of a coffeehouse conversation.”
Todd was tapped as the new moderator for “Meet the Press” earlier this month, ending a tumultuous period for David Gregory, who had overseen the show’s steady decline since he took over for the late Tim Russert in 2008.
