I used to really enjoy watching Meet The Press. Tim Russert was an extremely likeable man who was able to ask pointed questions without coming off as a sanctimonious piece of work. When Russert pressed his guests for meaningful responses, he did so with respect, and a certain twinkle in his eye. When he died, a lot of people who I know (mostly political junkies) were really saddened by his sudden passing. He made Meet The Press a show that I looked forward to watching.
This morning I happened to catch part of the "new" Meet The Press, hosted by David Gregory. I admit that I have only watched it a few times since Tom Brokaw left his temporary post as moderator, and each time that I have tuned in, I have been really turned off. It's not that I am turned off by the questions being asked, it's the way in which they are being asked that I find irritating.
Gregory was not likeable this morning. He seemed like he was trying too hard, and he gave off an angry and adversarial vibe that made me uncomfortable. I wanted to yell, "lighten up Dave", as he attempted to back guest Christina Romer into a corner about the economic crisis and Obama's policies. While Romer handled herself with poise, I could see that she felt intimidated by Gregory's demeanor, not by his questions.
What I really have an issue with is his guise of “neutrality”. On shows like Countdown or Rachel Maddow, the hosts make no apologies about their biases. But on Gregory’s show 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, he tried to present himself to be neutral, but he never came off as such. I think that this carries through on MTP, and if he can’t remain neutral as “moderator” of MTP, then it’s probably not a good fit.
I want to like David Gregory, I really do. Meet The Press has been a relevant and intelligent source of information that I had come to depend upon.
I hope that he can grow into this position of responsibility that he chose to accept. He has some big shoes to fill.
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Comments
Gregory is young, and he does have big shoes to fill. I think he is about 38. He'll never be Tim, but he's not that bad. I loved Gregory as the White House correspondent. He was the first to try to ask the Bush admin tough questions, albeit belatedly. I dont like him as much since he left the WH pool either, but cut the man a little slack. And as far as anyone being "intimidated" by the interview, this is Washington D.C., not Sesame Street. If a person in D.C. is intimidated by anything, anything at all, and they are in public life in D.C., they should consider a new line of work. I am not advocating for harshness, but intimidation from a question is not a host's problem in D.C. That is an environment for all the marbles. You could not intimidate Helen Thomas or Madeline Albright with a flame thrower. That is as it should be.
Gregory, however, is another story altogether. I used to enjoy him when he was White House correspondent because he often appeared to be the only reporter who was willing to ask some hard hitting questions that the other reporters would avoid. But now on MTP he is trying so hard to BE the show, that he seems to lose control of the interviews and conversations.
On several occasions I saw him ask a question, which the subject proceeded to answer, and then re-ask the same question in a totally different tone of voice as if he were going for a gotcha moment. I believe a good host and moderator should work on making his guest as understandable and interesting as possible, as well as getting the answers that are important to the public. But Gregory seems to care more about being the center of attention that being a thoughtful interviewer.
I agree that Gregory takes himself so seriously, he appears so uptight, it seems to be all about him.
Well, and I think he's also the wrong guy to have there. I still wish they'd picked Luke Russert.
I used to have my gripes about Tim, actually, but I watched anyway. He was too pushy sometimes himself, asking the same question 6 times in a way that I thought embarrassed him. But he was good enough most of the time to overcome that.
I've all but stopped watching entirely these days. I try harder to watch John King sometimes and especially Fareed when I'm able, though he's timed badly—I wish they'd run Fareed in the morning.
I admit that I am no longer watching MTP. I think that I have actually tuning political shows out with much more frequency lately. It's as if they are intentionally trying to suck out all of the hopefullness that I felt after Obama's election. I am protesting but not tuning in as much. (I think I feel a blog piece coming on!)