Launching of Meet The Press
Based on her strong criticism of Spivak's self-promoting program, Rountree created a new radio show, which she called The American Mercury Presents: Meet the Press, debuting on June 24, 1945. On November 6, 1947, while still on Mutual radio, it was subsequently reincarnated on the NBC television network and renamed Meet the Press. Contrary to the claims of others concerning the program's creator, Rountree developed the idea on her own, and Spivak joined as co-producer and business partner in the enterprise after the show had already debuted.
The program's innovative idea was to have public figures respond to probing questions without prior preparation and for those being interviewed to be held accountable on issues of the day.
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