Arrive Magazine - November/December, 2009

getting on the phone with investment bankers, union leaders and CEOs. He wants to look at the entire landscape of an issue and not just read about it on the front page of The New

York Times.”

Gregory confesses that the research demands are a great job perk.

“I spent an hour with a high-level Wall Street CEO, going over all the nuances and intricacies of how the financial industry works,” he says. “And as it’s happening, in the back of my mind, I’m thinking: I’m getting this tutorial for free. I’ll bet a lot of people would pay a fortune for something like this.”

a surprisingly no-frills structure that looks like an old high school made of cinder blocks. At 6 feet 5 inches, Gregory looks as if he’d have to duck to get around if he were any taller. He takes Armey to the fabled Meet the Press greenroom—

smaller than you’d think, but with a lovely bagel/melon spread served by an elegant gentleman in a tuxedo.

Gregory has been finishing his prep work for today’s show for several hours now, having woken up at 5: 45 a.m., while his family was still asleep in his northwest D.C. neighborhood two minutes from the studio. He’ll go over his research and read The Washington Post and The New York Times, Washington Times and Los Angeles Times. He’ll run a final check on news wires. He’ll consult with Fischer about last-minute changes. Throughout the week, the potential lineup changes as news events dictate, and it’s quite common for a guest to be booked as late as Friday.

“We really go down to the wire every week,” he says, moments before the show begins. “It’s a different rhythm than a daily show. But I love what a 20- or 25-minute interview allows for … to dig in deep. You can really develop your questions to probe into the issues of the day. It’s still about the rough-and-tumble of American politics, but it’s a much more thoughtful way of examining it all.”

Indeed, Gregory is hardly shy about mixing it up, as evidenced by his Bush-era White House sparring sessions. For Meet the Press, he interviews Larry Summers, director of the White House’s National Economic Council, for nearly

Each Sunday, Gregory interviews the world’s top newsmakers (opposite). As

NBC’s chief White House correspondent (above), he questioned President George W. Bush in 2006.

Meet the Host

On the set, Gregory is in command, engaging Washington’s power players by examining issues of the day with appropriate thoroughness and weight while still pacing the program briskly. The show’s traditionally collegial tone is well preserved; it never devolves into a Crossfire-like volley of shouting and verbal grenade chucking. That spirit extends off the set, too.

“David, good to see you,” says former House majority leader and native Texan Dick Armey, greeting Gregory with a white Stetson hat firmly in hand, before appearing on the show last spring.