WASHINGTON AND NEW YORK — "Meet the Press," the predominant political forum on television, entered a new era Sunday as NBC announced that David Gregory will take the helm of the program, six months after the death of longtime moderator Tim Russert.
The selection of Gregory, NBC's chief White House correspondent, was no surprise, having leaked out days ago after weeks of speculation.
Interim host Tom Brokaw confirmed the news at the end of Sunday's show, introducing Gregory as a "great friend and cherished colleague." The 38-year-old called the appointment "daunting and humbling" and briefly choked up on the air as he described the program's "great purpose."
"There's a lot of pressure," he said later. "I'm not Tim Russert, but I can, working with this team, try really hard to make him proud."
The furious conjecture that preceded the announcement underscored the lasting potency of the program, the oldest on television. For six decades, "Meet the Press" has been a political mainstay, one of the preeminent platforms for elected officials and policymakers. John F. Kennedy called it "the 51st state." Sweating while the boss squirms in the hot seat is a Sunday morning ritual for aides up and down Pennsylvania Avenue.
There's no sign of that changing with a new administration. President-elect Barack Obama was Brokaw's guest on Sunday, after a month in which his aides have cropped up regularly on all four Sunday morning network shows.
Together, the public-affairs programs occupy a rare niche in a landscape cluttered with glib political chatfests.
"It's the most old-fashioned kind of journalism," said Bob Schieffer, moderator of CBS' "Face the Nation." "It is the last place where people don't scream and holler. There are no bells and whistles. We basically turn on the lights, sit down and ask the questions."
Schieffer, who was close friends with Russert, called his successor "a very good choice."
"He'll be a tough competitor, and I intend to give him no break whatsoever," he said.
Indeed, Gregory's arrival could recharge the already pitched rivalry among the Sunday shows after 11 years in which "Meet the Press" has dominated the ratings.
Chris Wallace, host of "Fox News Sunday" and a former "Meet the Press" moderator, called Gregory "a very solid newsman" but noted that "he's got big shoes to fill."
"There's going to be some shopping around," he added. "That creates an opportunity for me and all the other competitors."
