“David Gregory has been fired as moderator of the venerable NBC interview show ‘Meet the Press’ after years of slumping ratings that saw the program falls behind rivals ABC and CBS,” the London Daily Mail reports:
David Gregory has been fired as moderator of the venerable NBC interview show ‘Meet the Press’ after years of slumping ratings that saw the program falls behind rivals ABC and CBS.
The network announced that chief White House correspondent Chuck Todd will replace him a host on September 7.
Shortly before NBC made the change public, Gregory took to Twitter to announce he was leaving the network: ‘I leave NBC as I came – humbled and grateful. I love journalism and serving as moderator of MTP was the highest honor there is.
‘I have great respect for my colleagues at NBC News and wish them all well. To the viewers, I say thank you.’
Note that Gregory doesn’t state that he has any respect for his viewers; if he did, he might still have the gig. But he’s leaving with one heck of a golden parachute:
Ousted “Meet the Press” anchor David Gregory was paid $4 million to leave NBC and signed a contract not to speak out against the network, sources told Page Six.
Gregory, 43, who moderated the show for six years, was unceremoniously dumped from the political program on Thursday after dismal ratings and months of speculation about his departure.
He has been replaced by NBC White House correspondent Chuck Todd.
A source said Gregory’s contract extended into next year, so NBC had to pay him for the rest of the term, plus an extra fee to ensure his silence.
In return, he was asked to sign a nondisparagement clause, which explains — despite the drama behind the scenes — his saccharine message on Twitter to announce his departure.
Will Todd do any better as host? His history as both a Democrat operative with a byline — originally officially and now in all but title — along with NBC’s disastrously biased past decade doesn’t inspire confidence.
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