DISQUS

Ms.Martin · 1 year ago

Good post. I can't imagine that they NBC would even entertain the idea of Scarborough.


Maybe Brokaw, Ifill or Moyers. They are the only ones of the stature I believe would be needed to do it justice.



Scarborough, YOU'VE GOT TO BE KIDDING ME!

Ms.Martin · 1 year ago

Also, you are soooo right about Andrea Mitchell. She can barely hide her bias. I got so sick of watching her cheer for Hillary, I had to send her an email.


I was watching a MTP video regarding race in the campaign where she was on the panel with Chuck Todd and others and all while Ifill was speaking about, her and Chuck kept looking at each other and speaking without speaking.



I did a little research about Russert after Bigassbelle comment on the thread about his death an discovered that while he id mostly report the news accurately and truthfully, he probably was towing the corporate line a lot of the times. His questioning about Obama regarding Farrakhan was also tacky, because the campaign had issued statements that he did not mention during the questions during the debate and he also ignored the racism that went on during the campaign and accused the Obama campaign of spreading it during one of the debates.

Another Scorpio · 1 year ago

Gwen Ifill would be great. I think she has the capability of being an outstanding journalist, but has been hampered by the political pressure placed on public television.


Bill Moyers probably doesn't want to leave PBS as he pretty much gets to do the things that interest him which might not be the case, always, at Meet the Press.



David Gregory is a possibility - yea, he danced with the Rove; but he has also showed some spine when taking on the White House.



The rest of the crew - Hell Naw!

Pamela · 1 year ago

I have never seen Chuck Todd interview anyone but I think someone like him who has seemed more about interpreting numbers or facts vs. having established their clear bias to the world already should take the position. I also like him because Tim picked him as his successor (although he thought he would be around to 2012).


Joe, Andrea, Copper, Blitzer, King, Brown and anyone from Fox (except for Shep) are too polarizing.



If I had too put money on it my guess is David Gregory or Nora O'Donell, two people who have never been broadcast to have a strong favoritism for either side.

rikyrah · 1 year ago

How about Aaron Brown?


I'd appreciate Moyers.



Definitely feeling you on Scarborough, and anyone who worked on Faux News.

djchefron · 1 year ago

What about Tavis Smiley and if they fill the position from NBC ranks David Shuster is the man

rikyrah · 1 year ago

David Gregory? Lord no. I hate his show, and only watch depending upon the guests. HE's insufferable.


I do like David Shuster.

Pamela · 1 year ago

David Gregory is a bit awkward but I feel like NBC loves him. I'm not sure how much love they have for Shuster. I also think since Shuster is not a stand out, tier 1 member of the team there would be a lot of internal backlash at the decision. I think they would pick Mka, Lord help us, before Shuster. Mike Barnicle would get the job before Shuster and he hates Washington.

Pamela · 1 year ago

NBCs smartest choice, in my opinion, would be to have Brokaw as the host through the election while they evaluate who the true standouts are this political season. Maybe if people knew they were going through an unofficial 6 month interview they would step up their game.

D. · 1 year ago

My vote's for Bill O'Reilly. Meet the Press, meet the No Spin Zone.


Joking.



Brokaw's the only one who would probably do it justice.

Ronnie B · 1 year ago

Not sure if Brokaw has the "quicks" to step in and moderate MTP. He better serves as NBC as its distinguished statesman.


David Gregory gets a thumbs-up for his ability to be tough and tenacious with the White House. He was stupid for encouraging DJ KKKarl Rove, and if he doesn't see why, then that's a strike against him.



Ed Gordon is another one of those distinguished journalists, although I don't know about his grasp of the issues of the day.



Gwen Ifill would be my choice. She's distinguished herself as a serious journalist with integrity; remains concretely objective; and (by her mere presence) would demand an accountability for diverse perspectives of news and politics.

rikyrah · 1 year ago

NBCs smartest choice, in my opinion, would be to have Brokaw as the host through the election while they evaluate who the true standouts are this political season. Maybe if people knew they were going through an unofficial 6 month interview they would step up their game.


I agree about Brokaw. No decision until after The State of the Union 2009. That should give NBC the time to assess the situation properly.

Pamela · 1 year ago

I've looked at other sites ad Gwen Ifill seems to be the overwhelming choice.

Craig Hickman · 1 year ago

Gwen is fierce. If not her then Rachel Maddow. She's young, but she's a damn good journalist and no one lets her talk enough because that's how good she is.


Gregory is an idiot. I loathe him.



Can't take Tweety seriously and Scarborough is a fool.



Moyers wouldn't do it, I don't think, but he's the best man for the job.



But I want Gwen or Rachel.

Town · 1 year ago

djchefron said...
What about Tavis Smiley and if they fill the position from NBC ranks David Shuster is the man

---------------





Hell to the NAW on Tavis Smiley. Tavis threw a bitch fit because Obama wouldn't appear at the SOTBU. The hateration was radiating from Tavis. What if Obama is scheduled for "Meet the Press w/Tavis Smiley" and something happens where he can't show up? You know good and well Tavis will have a fit and will try to get the fill-in guest to join in on the Obama bitchfest. NO to Tavis Smiley.



And NO to Bill O'Reilly. The man's got more spins than a washing machine. "No Spin Zone" means he gets to say whatever he wants, without consequence, while everyone else has to be brought down. No to any of the actors and clowns on Fox News with the exception of Shepard Smith.

Town · 1 year ago

If not her then Rachel Maddow. She's young, but she's a damn good journalist and no one lets her talk enough because that's how good she is.
-------------------



I don't know about that because when Ferraro was getting her Ferraro on, Rachel sat there like a bump on a log instead of challenging Ferraro. I know that she has shut people down but I think she's a little too young right now.

Webb · 1 year ago

Timothy Russert R.I.P.


At first, I was wondering if ChuckyT could grow into the role, he may be too much of a "numbers guy" for Capus, Zucker & Immelt--I like Chuck.



The next moderator must be a prosecutor...a fair prosecutor. The most likely candidate is David Gregory.



@rikyrah...

Aaron Brown totally slipped my mind...but you're absolutely right. HE WOULD BE GREAT! I'm sure that the CNN Experience changed him/toughened him...he would be well suited to take the helm and maintain the show's caliber/prestige.



@town...

Tavis Smiley would have been ideal...had he not fugged up with Obama. Tavis Smiley is now NO better than a hillary-lovin CBC member trying to retain their seat in the 2008 cycle.

Christopher Chambers · 1 year ago

Who IS a real journalist these days? I don't mean a brand name celeb or pundit or blowhard. I'm sorry but my choice would be to wrachet that show back to the pre-Russert days when REAL journalist rules. Boring? Yeah, but hell if we don't need to put the brakes to our descent into exciting ignorance. I say Moyers or Charlie Rose for that very reason...or go all out for Gwen Ifill.

Denise · 1 year ago

In deference to Russert, I think MTP should have guest hosts for at least the next 6 months. A guest host format would also showcase other (currently second and third string) talent, including folk like Maddow, Jamal Simmons, Eugene Robinson, Michelle Martin, Andrew Sullivan, Michelle Bernard...


Let's add some NEW faces and voices to the Sunday Talking Heads chorus.

Sepia · 1 year ago

I think Gwen Ifill would be a GREAT replacement!


Tavis? Ehh...I'm still annoyed with him about how he treated Obama during the primary, so right now I can't co-sign on him.

Another Scorpio · 1 year ago

Do you mean the Michelle Martin who now hosts "Tell Me More" on NPR? If so, she is not 2nd or 3rd tier talent. Ms. Martin has been around a long time and, in fact, was on the networks and PBS before getting married and having twins. She would be great - but would she want to leave her own show to do this?


Six months of guest hosts would not be a bad idea IMO were it not for the Presidential election we are in the middle of contesting...I think MTP needs to establish a brand with a new host and quickly.



Television viewers are a fickle lot and there are lots of Sunday talk shows.

Craig Hickman · 1 year ago

town, that wasn't Rachel's show. She and Ferraro were both guests.


Maddow is not down with women who vote against their interests and she has no problem saying so. I have no doubt if Ferraro were on Rachel's show, she would have challenged her.

Non Delusional · 1 year ago

Gwen's face might be too painful to watch on Sunday morning. Joe Scarborough is the way to go. Get off the liberal plantation. Matthews is awesome. His knowledge of politics and history is amazing. Olberman is a liberal hack and a poor mans Edward R. Murrough.

Denise · 1 year ago

Point taken, Another.


My "2nd string" description didn't mean "2nd rate". It meant journalists and correspondents who make the rounds as panelists to engage the host or headliner.



Ms. Martin is indeed a talented Washington veteran. I have followed her since Nightline and This Week with George Steph.



p.s. Add Julianne Malveaux to my list.

Admiral Komack · 1 year ago

David Gregory: He was pissed when Imus got canned (and let it show)and his question on Imus being fired "Does the punishment fit the crime" still pisses me off (Yes it does, David). Fuck him.


Gwen is a lot prettier than Joe "Whatever Happended To That Intern" Scarborough. Fuck Joe.



Chris Matthews: A sexist asshole who likes to hear the sound of his own voice. Fuck him.



I think MSNBC will put a shill in the MTP spot.

Webb · 1 year ago

Charlie Rose on MTP would be a demotion. Charlie needs to stay right where he is...we almost lost him last summer to a clogged artery.


Keith Olbermann needs to stay right were he is too. He's battling O'Reilly for first place and needs to help defrock the FoxNews Network once and for all...



I did not realize there was so much pent-up frustration toward Gregory...reading some of the comments makes me question the wisdom of selecting him. I once saw Gregory on Bill Maher, and was pleased with his performance.



Inspite of his Imus reactions and Karl-Rove kissin-up, i'd still place my $$$ on him being installed to the throne.



Hasn't Gregory guest-hosted MTP more than anyone else? That's the most reliable indicator of succession at NBC...and he's young and cheap, just like Russert was when he got the post.



Lastly, I highly doubt that NBC will allow it's most prestigious political franchise to go UN-helmed during what's being called, "The Most Important-Historic Political Event in the Last 50 Years."



If i'm Capus, Zucker, or Immelt, then I'm probably thinking, "Let's go with Gregory--the 'safest' choice."

smoothie · 1 year ago

This is a long shot and he doesnt cover politics. My choice would be for Jeremy Schaap.


If youre not familiar with Outside The Lines on ESPN you probably wouldnt know him. He's a tough journalist, who as far as I can tell isnt on either side of the political agenda.



Alot of the names mentioned save Gregory and Ifill lean Either to the right or left. Russert from what i understand was a registered independent. This doesnt mean he may have leaned, but I always thought he played it fair as one could.



Assuming he's to much of a stretch, I vote for David Gregory,

or Dan Rather. (Who got fired for BS)

kid · 1 year ago

Obermann on MTP hell naw.He's the anti Oreilly he need to stay where he is. Moyers , a perfect fit.I sorry to say this but I think Tweety will get it.

BigAssBelle · 1 year ago

just about everyone listed above is a right wing toady. tom brokaw can maintain a semblance of balance and he's an old time newsperson.


david gregory has been mythologized as being tough with the white house but it's really mostly a myth. every now and then he'd ask a tough question, but for the most part, he'd then accept whatever bullshit the WH put out there with no follow up.



rachel maddow is probably the only one not dug in so deeply with the washington establishment that she could be an objective, honest interviewer. but that's precisely why she won't get it. that and that she's female and lesbian. never happen on a sunday morning ~ read establishment ~ mainstream news program.



as for joe scarborough, he's openly partisan to the republican party. i wouldn't be surprised if they chose him and that would be an awful mistake. though sometimes i think if they're open partisans, it's easier to deal with them. these alleged liberal journalists who are actually sucking up to bush & co. are the dangerous ones.



but as for scarborough's intern problem? he wasn't even in the state when she died. there's some evidence she may have fallen and hit her head on her desk, but he wasn't there and as much as i despise him, it's best to be fair.

BigAssBelle · 1 year ago

the issue of follow up is mostly what's wrong with all of these people. with the iraq war, with all of the bush disasters, they've refused to probe the issues and instead simply take the white house propaganda line at its face.


that's a disaster for a supposed newsperson. their purpose is to inform the public, and if all of us can be sitting in our living rooms screaming the questions that they can't be bothered to ask, we're in big trouble with the media in this country.



we are. everyone knows it. and it's not the supposed liberal bias of the media, it's the fact that they've been coopted to act as a propaganda arm of the government.



notice that NONE of the major news networks has given any time to the NYT's (surprising) disclosure of the fact that they were using military experts who were corrupt.



these past generals and ex military men were being fed talking points and propaganda by the pentagon, which they disseminated on various news programs.



the effect was to make it look as if ALL military people of any seriousness supported iraq, supported bush, all of that. the fact was that the military people who DID NOT suport bush were forced out and/or fired.



but what the american people get is old soldiers ~ who we automatically believe ~ telling us lies and the news people never questioning it.



so many outrages in these desperate times. i hope we all survive long enough for someone to write the definitive history of the bush years 20 years down the road. it will be a shocker to see it all put together.

Anonymous · 1 year ago

Gwen was on Tim Russert's tribute. She's a beautiful sister in the dark chocolate kind of way, understand!
My vote goes to Rachel Maddow

Webb · 1 year ago

Tim Russert R.I.P.


Wow, we got some real programming geniuses on here.



I like the idea of redemption for Dan Rather...but you would have to atleast "offer" it to Brokaw first...and Brokaw (bless his heart) has been missing something lately...he's really been exhausted during this mourning period...yesterday, he said that the Buffalo Bills played in the Rose Bowl, i'm worried for his health too.



If you just wanted someone who is a tough mofo journalist, I'd go with any of the following:

Steve Kroft (60 Minutes)...boring

Howard Kurtz (CNN-Reliable Sources)

Bernard Goldberg (HBO Real Sports/Fox)



...wonder if Bryant Gumbel might be interested in MTP? Bryant returns to NBC...wow, that would be some wild shyt. His editorials on Real Sports are always "off-the-chain."



All of this speculation is interesting...notice how it is nearly superceding the Veepstakes...



NBC will probably give the next host (likely David Gregory) a three-year contract (through the 2010 midterm elections).



My condolences to the Russert Family...hope their not reading JJP today.

smoothie · 1 year ago

webb,
I thought about Gumbel, but your answer is the reason I didnt type him in. Him returning to NBC, esp. filling in for Russert, would be a slap in alot of faces up on 30 Rock.

Non Delusional · 1 year ago

BROS BEFORE HOES!!! Joe Scarborough is the perfect choice. He doesn't have to explain a damn thing. If he committed a crime he would have been charged.


Freakin' Liberal Negroes need to let it go.

Anonymous · 1 year ago

Chuck Todd, perhaps?


T.

honey01 · 1 year ago

What's the history behind Bryant Gumble and 30 Rock?

babyming · 1 year ago

I disagree with what the post says about Alan Greenspan.


I definitely blame him for lending his good name to the 2001 Bush tax cuts. Greenspan did warn that the tax cuts had to be matched by spending cuts. And he was trying to give some slack to a new President. Still, I disagree with him on that one.



Other than the above, though, Alan Greenspan is one of the very few politicians I actually look up to. In fact, I would say that Greenspan and Obama are the two politicians I admire most.



Greenspan kept the economy together for almost 20 years, in the face of the craziest, wacko policies by 4 Presidents and Congresses. Working with Bill Clinton, Greenspan helped achieve budget surpluses, which nowadays seems like an impossible dream.



Keep in mind that the wacky Right Wing hates Alan Greenspan: simply because he served George W. Bush for 6 years and doesn't worship Bush like a god. Greenspan's book was respectful about all 4 presidents he served (plus the 5th President, Ford, whom he served in a different job), but he criticizes Bush politely when appropriate, and this drove the right wing crazy.



So I don't have a problem with Andrea Mitchell. From what I've seen of her, she seems perfectly intelligent, interesting, and capable.

Amanda · 1 year ago

Chuck Todd would be perfect, imo. He was kind of a Russert protege and he has a really nice even personality, he's very smart -- I think he'd be a great successor, actually.


David Gregory's current show is pretty bad. Granted, MTP would be a different format -- but I just haven't been too impressed with him as a host. Also he seems pathologucal about appearing "balanced" which I find terribly annoying. And he talks in soundbited. He just doesn't seem as bright as Russert or Todd. And don't get me wrong, I had my issues with Russert -- but he was obviously very smart.



Gern Ifil would be interesting. I give her props on the Imus thing, but I've just never found her that engaging on TV. She's very PBS, but not in the Moyers mold



I still think Todd would be the best fit for the MTP format. Also remember -- NBC's chief concern is going to be maintaining their MTP audience, so they might want to pick someone who they feel won't be a huge departure, so viewers stay. Just a thought.

Anonymous · 1 year ago

I like Chuck Todd for Russert's gig, but he might be too young.
Aron Brown is a good choice, but not a dynamic enough personality.



Gwen Ifill is probably the best choice if Moyers did not want to leave PBS.



The best way to fill the job would be to have guest hosts fill in for a few months and then choose who the public thinks is the best.

Anonymous · 1 year ago

Non Delusional: You are the one who needs to let go, let go of your outdated racism!!


You also probably don't have a problem with people who fly the confederate flag either do you?



You people just can't seem to understand that the confederate flag is just a bad as flying the Swastika!

Anonymous · 1 year ago

Gwen Ifill hands down, though I SO love her weekly Friday show on PBS.