Chuck Todd told viewers Sunday he is leaving the moderator’s chair on the 75-year-old "Meet The Press" in September. He will hand it off to Kristen Welker, the network’s chief White House correspondent.
The L-A Times reports Welker will be the second female moderator in the long history of “Meet the Press.” Martha Rountree was the first to have the job when the program launched in 1947 and held the position until 1953.
Chuck Todd will depart NBC's 'Meet the Press' after nine years hosting the show.
— NBC News (@NBCNews) June 4, 2023
Kristen Welker, NBC News’ co-chief White House correspondent, will succeed him. https://t.co/giJX6qkyv9
Welker will make history as the first Black woman to serve as moderator of a Sunday morning network public affairs program, among the most prestigious positions in TV news.
The correspondent’s contract with NBC News was up at the end of the year and she likely would have departed for other opportunities if the moderator job had gone to another candidate, according to people familiar with the discussions who were not authorized to comment.
Welker is a home-grown on-air talent, hired in 2010 after she put in several years as a local anchor at NBC’s Philadelphia TV station, and the network did not want to risk losing her.
Her stock at the network shot up significantly in 2020 after she received strong reviews for her handling of the second presidential debate.
Today we close our show with an announcement from @chucktodd:
— Meet the Press (@MeetThePress) June 4, 2023
"While today is not my final show, this will be my final summer here at Meet the Press. ... I am really proud of what this team and I have built over the last decade." pic.twitter.com/sgeUcNR3C5
Todd praised the choice of Welker, who has served as a regular substitute for him.
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