Chuck Todd, former host of ‘Meet the Press,’ leaves NBC News after almost 20 years

Former “Meet the Press” moderator Chuck Todd is leaving NBC News after nearly 18 years at the network.

Todd shared with his NBC News coworkers in a memo that he was wrapping up his time with the company on Friday. He mentioned that he will continue working on his podcast and is contemplating new projects, although he didn’t provide specific information about them.

Having joined NBC News in 2007 as the political director, Todd stepped into the role of moderator for “Meet the Press” from 2014 to 2023. He then passed the baton to Kristen Welker. This position elevated his visibility as a journalist in Washington, attracting attention from President Donald Trump and his followers on occasion.

Todd notably led an on-air demonstration last year that led to the cancellation of former Republican Party chair Ronna McDaniel’s recruitment as an NBC News contributor.

In his memo to colleagues, Todd said the news media has much work to do in winning back the trust of consumers, “and I’m convinced the best place to start is from the bottom up” with entrepreneurship.

“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,” he wrote. “People are craving community and that’s something national media or the major social media companies can’t do as well as local media.”

Reporting is key to winning back public support, he said. “If you do this job seeking popularity, or to simply be an activist,” he said, “you are doing this job incorrectly.”

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David Bauder writes about the intersection of media and entertainment for the AP. Follow him at and https://bsky.app/profile/dbauder.bsky.social