Stunner! Top NBC News star quits Sunday - The Horn News

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Stunner! Top NBC News star quits Sunday

By: The Horn editorial team

One of NBC News’ top stars, Chuck Todd, said on Sunday that he’ll be leaving “Meet the Press” after a tumultuous nine years of moderating the NBC political panel show, to be replaced in the coming months by Kristen Welker.

“Meet the Press” is the longest-running show in the history of American television. It celebrated its 75th anniversary last year.

Todd, 51, told viewers that “I’ve watched too many friends and family let work consume them before it was too late” and that he’d promised his family he wouldn’t do that.

However, Todd will reportedly remain at NBC News even after quitting “Meet the Press.” He’s set to start working as the network’s chief political analyst, and he’ll continue producing “Chuck Toddcast,” in addition to a sister program on Peacock.

Todd has often been an online punching bag for critics, including former President Donald Trump, because of his liberal bias and there were rumors that his time at the show would be short when its executive producer was reassigned at the end of last summer, but NBC gave no indication this was anything other than Todd’s decision.

It’s unclear when Todd’s last show will be. However, Todd told viewers that this would be his final summer… and he congratulated himself on his way out.

“I leave feeling concerned about this moment in history but reassured by the standards we’ve set here,” Todd said. “We didn’t tolerate propagandists, and this network and program never will.”

Todd continued, “When I took over ‘Meet the Press,’ it was a Sunday show that had a lot of people questioning whether it still could have a place in the modern media space… Well, I think we’ve answered that question and then some.”

NBC News’ president of editorial, Rebecca Blumenstein reportedly praised Todd for his “thoughtful and passionate leadership.”

Welker, a former chief White House correspondent, has been at NBC News in Washington since 2011 and has been Todd’s chief fill-in for the past three years. She achieved national attention for moderating the final presidential debate between Trump, a Republican, and Joe Biden, a Democrat, in 2020.

Take a look at Welker’s big moment from October 2020 —

The Sunday morning political interview show has aired since 1947, led by inventor and first host Martha Rountree. Its peak came in the years that Tim Russert moderated, from 1991 until his death in 2008, with its footing less certain since then. Tom Brokaw briefly filled in after Russert’s death, and David Gregory replaced him until being forced out in favor of Todd.

Todd said that he was proud of expanding the “Meet the Press” brand to a daily show, which initially aired on MSNBC but was shifted to streaming, along with podcasts and newsletters, even a film festival.

“He transformed the brand into a vital modern-day franchise, expanding its footprint to an array of new mediums, and kept ‘Meet the Press’ at the forefront of political discourse,” Blumenstein said.

By turning “Meet the Press” into a daily show, Todd gave his critics much, much more material to work with.

Todd was roasted at the White House Correspondents’ Association dinner in 2022 by Trevor Noah, who pointed him out in the audience and said, “How are you doing? I’d ask a follow-up, but I know you don’t know what those are.”

Trump even anointed Todd with one of his signature nicknames, Sleepy Eyes, and later called on NBC to fire Todd in 2020 over its airing of a CBS interview clip with his then-Attorney General William Barr. Todd later said the show had been unaware at the time of a longer soundbite of the interview that would have provided more context, and he apologized for the mistake.

Todd alluded to his critics in announcing his exit on Sunday.

“If you do this job seeking popularity, you are doing this job incorrectly,” he said. “I take the attacks from partisans as compliments. And I take the genuine compliments with a grain of salt when they come from partisans.”

The goal of each show, he said, is to “make you mad, make you think, shake your head in disapproval at some point and nod your head in approval at others.”

In the just-concluded television season, “Meet the Press” was third in viewers after CBS’ “Face the Nation” and ABC’s “This Week,” each of them averaging between 2.5 million and 2.9 million viewers, the Nielsen ratings company said.