Several months ago I journeyed to Cleveland early one morning to hear Chuck Todd at the City Club. After hearing him and listening to the audience reaction, I am not surprised by his surprise announcement that he is leaving Meet the Press.
Because the program started at 7:30am, because Natcha had to first get her IV drip, and because one can’t project the traffic on 77N or 271, I had to get up really early that morning. I thought it was worth it – Meet the Press is an icon of Sunday morning TV.
I probably should not admit that I heard David Gregory speak, months before his surprise departure was announced. If you see me coming and you like your job, run.
The program was divided into two sections: moderator Q & A and audience Q & A. The City Club is famous for their question and answer segment where audience members stand up and directly question the speaker.
Chuck Todd took so long, up to 12 minutes, to answer a question that there was time for only four questions. Because my question was one of the four, I had many people come up to me in the room and the parking deck, to complain that they didn’t get to ask their question.
His answers were interesting, that is not the point. My point is that he was totally unaware of the reaction of his audience. I would not rate him high on the self-aware chart. I have been a member of the City Club for decades I have never heard an audience so frustrated with the speaker.
Something went wrong at Meet the Press. You don’t really believe he is leaving his dream job, at 51, of his own accord, do you? That something was on display in Cleveland when he hijacked the agenda for his own purpose. #selfawareness #chucktodd #meetthepress #coach
