Meet the Press Meets the Moment: Women Now Front All Five Sunday News Shows
“It is an incredible honor to be sitting in this chair,” began Meet the Press’ newest moderator Kristen Welker last week, “and I feel the huge responsibility it carries. I also want to recognize all of the women, all of the people of color, who’ve been pathfinders to make this moment possible – as well as all of the journalists who’ve mentored me along the way.”
It was a mentor moment to behold.
Owning her place at the table and staring directly into the camera with a level gaze, Welker paid tribute to the women with whom she shares the spotlight while noting that she stands on the shoulders of those who came before her, like Martha Rountree, who launched the program in 1947.
“When my colleague Andrea Mitchell applied for her first job at a news radio station in Philadelphia in 1967,” Welker continued, “she was told the newsroom was no place for a woman. Well, she talked them into hiring her for the overnight shift.”
“I’m here because she and other fearless women never stopped fighting for their places in the newsroom. Now, all five Sunday shows are moderated or co-moderated by women.”
“So, to Martha, Margaret, Dana and Shannon," she concluded, "I am incredibly honored to join you on Sunday mornings.”
Why does this matter?
Because, as of last week the women breaking news are also making news.
The Sunday morning shows, long thought to be the preeminent spot for journalists, now have women at every mic and at the center of every lens. And girls sleepily eating cereal while televisions hum in the background will notice.
It’s important to note that Meet the Press, the longest running news program in American television history, was the last to make this happen, making Welker not only the series’ 13th moderator, but the first Black journalist to hold the chair and only the second woman after Rountree.
Girls will notice that too.
Who are the other four mentors Welker mentioned?
Martha Raddatz - the co-moderator of ABC’s This Week With George Stephanopoulis and the network’s chief global affairs correspondent;
Margaret Brennan - the moderator of Face the Nation on CBS. She is also the network's chief foreign affairs correspondent and the second woman to helm the program after Leslie Stahl;
Dana Bash - the co-moderator of State of the Union on CNN as well as the anchor of Inside Politics with Dana Bash and CNN’s chief political correspondent; and
Shannon Bream - the moderator of FOX News Sunday and the network’s chief legal correspondent.
And the other women who paved the way so these five women could run the show on Sundays?
Think legends like Nellie Bly, Ida Wells, Ethel Payne, Margaret Fuller, Alice Dunnigan and Anne Royall; icons like Barbara Walters, Gwen Ifill, Carole Simpson, Diane Sawyer and Katharine Graham; groundbreakers like Robin Roberts, Katie Couric, Fredricka Whitfield, Christiane Amanpour and Yamiche Alcindor; trailblazers like Leslie Stahl, Judy Woodruff, Connie Chung, Helen Thomas and Maria Ressa, and the list goes on. As inspiring as it is endless, the list of news-making, news-breaking women continues.
Sunday news shows do two things: they wrap the weekend news, and they tee up important items so we’re ready for Monday. These are venerated desks and vaunted chairs.
It makes me smile to know that on Sunday mornings, no matter what news stations are on in their homes, girls everywhere will see women staring back at them.
Looking forward,
Illana
ÊXTRAS: Want more mentor advice from epic journalists who know? Don’t miss answers in The Epic Mentor Guide from Alisyn Camerota (on breaking into broadcast journalism), Ann Nyberg (on going live on TV for the first time), Elizabeth Vargas (on overcoming obstacles in the public eye), Maria Hinojosa (on listening when journalism is your calling), and Sara Sidner (on being vulnerable at work)! Need even more early career advice? Find it here.
