Chuck Todd To Exit NBC News After Almost 18 Years
Chuck Todd, the chief political analyst for NBC News and former Meet the Press moderator, announced Friday that he is leaving the network today after almost 18 years.
In a note to staffers, Todd wrote, “There’s never a perfect time to leave a place that’s been a professional home for so long, but I’m pretty excited about a few new projects that are on the cusp of going from ‘pie in the sky’ to ‘near reality.’ So I’m grateful for the chance to get a jump start on my next chapter during this important moment.”
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Todd also said that he would be taking his podcast, The ChuckToddcast, with him.
Variety first reported on his departure.
An NBC News spokesperson said, “We’re grateful for Chuck’s many contributions to our political coverage during his nearly two-decade career at NBC News and for his deep commitment to Meet the Press and its enduring legacy. We wish him all the best in his next endeavors.”
Todd joined NBC News in March, 2007, after serving as editor in chief of the widely read The Hotline from National Journal. He served as NBC News political director, and then become chief White House for the network during Barack Obama’s first term. He became moderator of Meet the Press in 2014, succeeding David Gregory, and expanded the show to a daily format on MSNBC. Todd departed as moderator of Meet the Press in September 2023, when he handed off the reins to Kristen Welker.
But as chief political analyst, Todd continued to appear on the show and elsewhere on the network. In a Meet the Press appearance in March, he sharply criticized the network for its hiring of former Republican National Committee chair Ronna McDaniel as a paid contributor.
Todd said, “Look, there’s a reason why there’s a lot of journalists at NBC News uncomfortable with this because many of our professional dealings with the RNC over the last six years have been met with gaslighting, have been met with character assassination. That’s where you begin here. And so, when NBC made the decision to give her NBC News’ credibility, you gotta ask yourself, what does she bring NBC News?”
The following day, a succession of MSNBC hosts also criticized the network for the hire. Amid the outcry, Cesar Conde, chairman of the NBCUniversal News Group, reversed the hiring decision.
In his memo, Todd wrote, “Being a real political journalist isn’t about building a brand, it’s about reporting what’s happening and explaining why it’s happening and letting the public absorb the facts without judging them for coming to a different conclusion. If you do this job seeking popularity, or to simply be an activist, you are doing this job incorrectly.”
Todd wrote that it was a “ripe moment” to depart, and gave some hints as to his next move.
“The only way to fix this information eco system is to stop whining about the various ways the social media companies are manipulating things and instead roll up our collective sleeves and start with local,” he wrote. “National media can’t win trust back without having a robust partner locally and trying to game algorithms is no way to inform and report. People are craving community and that’s something national media or the major social media companies can’t do as well as local media.”
Todd’s complete memo to staffers below:
Today is my last day at NBC. I started as political director in 2007, a month before my son was born and he’ll be graduating high school in a few months. So I guess this means I’ve been here a while.
There’s never a perfect time to leave a place that’s been a professional home for so long, but I’m pretty excited about a few new projects that are on the cusp of going from “pie in the sky” to “near reality.” So I’m grateful for the chance to get a jump start on my next chapter during this important moment.
The ChuckToddcast is also coming with me (thank you NBC). Stay tuned for an announcement about its new home soon. Needless to say, I do plan to continue to share my reporting and unique perspective of covering politics with data and history as important baselines in understanding where we were, where we are and where we’re going.
The media has a lot of work to do to win back the trust of viewers/listeners/readers and I’m convinced the best place to start is from the bottom up. At my core, I’m an entrepreneur — I spent my first 15 years professionally working for the company that started the political newsletter craze that dominates today. And this is a ripe moment. The only way to fix this information eco system is to stop whining about the various ways the social media companies are manipulating things and instead roll up our collective sleeves and start with local. National media can’t win trust back without having a robust partner locally and trying to game algorithms is no way to inform and report. People are craving community and that’s something national media or the major social media companies can’t do as well as local media.
As I said when I announced my exit from MTP, I leave feeling concerned about this moment in history but reassured by the standards I and others at NBC have worked so hard to set. We can’t tolerate propagandists. But it doesn’t mean sticking your head in the sand either; if you ignore reality, you’ll miss the biggest story. Being a real political journalist isn’t about building a brand, it’s about reporting what’s happening and explaining why it’s happening and letting the public absorb the facts without judging them for coming to a different conclusion. If you do this job seeking popularity, or to simply be an activist, you are doing this job incorrectly.
I’m really proud of the work I’ve done with the incredible team of folks I’ve been lucky enough to work with over these two decades (and five presidents). The beauty of NBC is that one can’t succeed without being an incredible collaborator. I fear if I start name checking folks, I’ll leave someone out and that won’t be right. I was proud to be able to work at the former home of David Brinkley, Tom Brokaw and Tim Russert. I still can’t believe I got to follow in their amazing footsteps. That will remain an honor of a lifetime.
Please, don’t be shy about staying in touch. My personal info is below. Thank you NBC and I can’t wait to work with many of you again down the road. And needless to say, I’ll also be watching!
Thank you
Chuck Todd
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