The history of "Meet the Press" is an illustrious one. Currently in our 57th year, "Meet the Press" is the longest-running program on network television. "Meet the Press" premiered on NBC-TV on November 6, 1947, and made its debut two years earlier as a radio program with Martha Rountree and Lawrence Spivak as producers. For almost as long as there has been television - there has been "Meet the Press".
There have only been 9 moderators in the history of "Meet the Press." Tim Russert, the current custodian, is in his twelfth year as moderator - the longest serving moderator in the history of the show. Russert also serves as managing editor. He defines the mission of "Meet the Press" as a thoughtful exchange of ideas, sometimes tense, even feisty, occasionally humorous, but always fair and always civilized.
President Kennedy once referred to "Meet the Press" as the "fifty-first state," and since the Kennedy presidency, every man who has occupied the Oval Office has appeared on "Meet the Press" during his career. Most recently, Tim Russert conducted an exclusive, special, hour-long interview with President George W. Bush on "Meet the Press" from the Oval Office at the White House, for his first Sunday morning interview as president on February 8, 2004.
Foreign policy has always been a staple of "Meet the Press" interviews. World leaders like Fidel Castro, Francois Mitterrand, Indira Gandhi, David Ben-Gurion, Golda Meir, Ferdinand Marcos, Mikhail Gorbachev, Anwar el-Sadat, Yitzhak Rabin, King Hussein of Jordan, Hamid Karzai, Pervez Musharraf, King Abdullah of Jordan and Tony Blair have all been interviewed on "Meet the Press."
From the very beginning, "Meet the Press" has been an equal opportunity, inclusive and groundbreaking news program. A proud part of that history was the involvement of women journalists. In fact, the co-creator of "Meet the Press" and the show's first moderator was noted journalist Martha Rountree. The first female guest interviewed on "Meet the Press" was Elizabeth Bentley, a former Soviet spy, on September 12, 1948.
Since those beginning days, "Meet the Press" has interviewed First Ladies Eleanor Roosevelt, Nancy Reagan, Rosalynn Carter, Hillary Rodham Clinton and Laura Bush has appeared on "Meet the Press" every year since her husband has been president. Other notable women appearing as guests over the years on "Meet the Press" include: Barbara Jordan, Shirley Chisholm, Jane Fonda, Phyllis Schlafly, Geraldine Ferraro, Gloria Steiner, Elizabeth Dole, Madeleine Albright, Tipper Gore, Condoleezza Rice, Nancy Pelosi, Shirley Temple Black and Caroline Kennedy.
Every Sunday morning for 57 years strong, in times of peace or war, "Meet the Press" is welcomed into the homes of Americans to analyze, discuss and review the news of the week -- and to look ahead to the week to come -- with world-renowned guests.
We are proud to be the highest rated, most watched and most quoted Sunday morning public affairs program. An average audience of 5 million viewers join us each week to share in a national dialogue about the important issues of our time.
If it's Sunday, it's "Meet the Press."
