Meet the Press (US)

Meet the Press started as a radio show in 1945 as American Mercury Presents: Meet the Press, originating from WRC-AM in Washington. It was later adapted for television. Meet the Press made its television debut on November 6, 1947. It is now the longest-running television show in United States broadcasting history. Meet the Press and similar Sunday-morning interview shows specialize in interviewing national leaders on issues of state, economics and foreign policy. These shows help fulfill the obligations of the networks to provide a public service to the community. The show was originally presented as a thirty-minute press conference, with a single guest and a panel of questioners. The original producer, Lawrence E. Spivak, the publisher of conservative political and cultural magazine American Mercury until 1954, remained on the show as permanent panel member and then as moderator until November 1975. Today, the show's format consists of an extended one-on-one interview with the host, followed by a roundtable discussion or one-on-two interview with figures in adversarial positions, typically congressmen from opposite sides of the aisle. Tim Russert has hosted the show since December 8, 1991, under the full title Meet the Press with Tim Russert. The show expanded to sixty minutes in 1992. The final segment of the program (time permitting) is often devoted to a topical clip from the show's extensive archives. Russert's sign-off is "That's all for today. We'll be back next week. If it's Sunday, it's Meet the Press." During football season, Russert, a native of Buffalo, New York, sometimes adds, "Go Bills!" Spoofs of the show on Saturday Night Live often reflect this addition.