NBC close to announcement on MTP

Related: ‘Press’ Prevails; ‘Week’ Stays Strong

NBC appears to be close to naming a successor, or successors, for late Meet the Press moderator Tim Russert. Tom Brokaw, who has been filling in as interim host on the top-rated Sunday morning public affairs program, is likely to make his final appearance this Sunday when he is scheduled to interview President-elect Barack Obama.

Certainly an interview with the incoming President would be an appropriate swan song for Brokaw’s command performance on MTP.

Chuck Todd, NBC’s political director, and David Gregroy, NBC’s chief White House correspondent and an MSNBC anchor, have been the front-runners to replace Russert.

In September, NBC News president Steve Capus told the New York Times that the network would settle on a replacement sometime between the Election and early December. 

And that would be right about now.

PBS’ Gwen Ifill and Andrea Mitchell, NBC News’ foreign correspondent, have also been mentioned.

The Huffington Post is reporting that Gregory has the job. On Monday, an NBC News representative said the network had nothing to announce.

Politico also is reporting that Gregory will be given the job - a decision made by Capus and NBC Universal chief Jeff Zucker. And that that decision was in part a "process of elimination," with network executives fearing that Gregory, who lobbied hard for the job, could bolt if he is not named to succeed Russert.

According to NBC News sources, there had been internal discussions about Todd and Gregory sharing moderating duties and a supporting cast has not been ruled out entirely. The only time MTP had more than one moderator was during the 1984 season when Roger Mudd and Marvin Kald shared the job – and MTP was losing to ABC’s This Week with David Brinkley.

Gregory filled in as host last summer. And Todd, who emerged as a regular on-air commentator during the long run-up to the Election, has made repeated appearances at the MTP roundtable.