Chuck Todd Explains The Meet The Press “Balancing Act” And How Diversity Is A “Front-Burner Issue”
Posted in Main Blog (All Posts) on October 22nd, 2014 11:09 pm by HL
Chuck Todd Explains The Meet The Press “Balancing Act” And How Diversity Is A “Front-Burner Issue”
If Chuck Todd’s plans for the new Meet the Press are successful, within a year the show will balance the need to explain the inner workings of Washington to viewers with elevating public concerns that are not getting enough attention in the political sphere.
In the second part of a three-part interview series with Media Matters, Todd lays out his goals for Meet the Press, the struggle for guest diversity on Sunday political shows, and the current state of the media landscape.
Responding to a frequent progressive critique of the Sunday shows — that they are obsessed with gaffes and spin and not actual issues — Todd expressed hope that his show would pull off a “balancing act.”
“On one hand, we’re trying to explain and interpret what Washington is up to for the public,” Todd said. “But at the same time, trying to bring the public’s concerns and the public’s issues and the things that they seem to be worried about to Washington’s doorstep.”
Asked whether Meet the Press should discuss issues like climate change that are generally under-covered or merely reflect the current discussion in Washington, Todd explained that it’s difficult to find time to cover every deserving story, especially when breaking news events like the Ebola outbreak eat into the schedule.
Media Matters has repeatedly highlighted the lack of diversity on the Sunday morning political shows, including on Meet the Press. In 2013, when the show was hosted by David Gregory, a full 62 percent of the guests were white men.
Todd said that it’s probably too early to judge his own efforts with regards to diversity but said it is “a front-burner issue for us, not a back-burner issue.”
While Todd said he had so far sought to make his weekly roundtables diverse, he warned of challenges in providing a balanced slate of interview subjects.
Todd highlighted how, for instance, “90 percent of the generals and the military experts out there” are white men. “Some of this stuff is out of your control. At the end of the day, you want to put the best people on. You want to put the best, smartest people on,” Todd said. “I’d like to think we’re doing a better job at making sure that we’re reflecting America.”
He also pointed to the need for geographical diversity among guests in order to avoid “socioeconomic groupthink,” as well as providing diverse ideological voices within both the Democratic and Republican parties.
Todd criticized Fox News’ use of straight news reporters to balance conservative commentators on their roundtable panels, saying that it demonstrates the network has an “agenda,” adding that Meet the Press doesn’t “believe in that.” Todd also criticized Fox News for “trying to make everything about media bias.”
Despite his criticism of the conservative network, Todd offered that “too many citizens are only getting news from one place and not understanding the other side.”
The first part of Todd’s interview with Media Matters focused on the media’s coverage of scandals and crises. The third and final installment will focus on media coverage of Hillary Clinton’s potential 2016 presidential run.
Relevant transcript from Todd’s Media Matters interview will be published with each part.
Answers covered in part two are below:
