| David Gregory | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Name: | David Michael Gregory |
| Born: | August 24, 1970 |
| Birth Hometown: | Los Angeles, California |
| Occupation: | Television host |
David Michael Gregory (born August 24, 1970) is an American television personality and the former host of NBC News' Sunday morning talk show Meet the Press. Gregory has served as a CNN political analyst since 2016.
Early life and education[]
Gregory was born in Tarzana, Los Angeles, California, and raised in Encino and Van Nuys, the son of Carolyn (née Fitzpatrick), an account manager, and Don Gregory (originally Don Ginsburg), a film and theatrical producer. His father was Jewish and his mother was Irish Catholic.
Gregory was educated at Birmingham High School, a co-educational public high school in the Lake Balboa district of Los Angeles, followed by the American University in Washington, D.C., from which he graduated in 1992. While there, he worked for the campus television station, ATV - American University Television, and received a degree in International Studies from the School of International Service. Gregory was named the School of International Service's alumnus of the year in 2005 and sits on the Dean's Advisory Council.
Career[]
Gregory began his career at the age of 18 as a summer reporter for KGUN-TV in Tucson, Arizona. Gregory also worked for NBC's Sacramento, California affiliate KCRA-TV.
Gregory was assigned by NBC to the press corps covering George W. Bush when he ran for president in 2000. During the campaign, Bush threw a party for Gregory's 30th birthday, complete with cake, on the campaign plane. Bush nicknamed Gregory "Stretch" because of his height (6'5"), and also "Dancing Man," for Gregory's occasional propensity to display his dance moves.
After the election, Gregory became a White House correspondent for NBC. The conservative Media Research Center named him 'Best White House Correspondent' for his coverage of Bush's first 100 days. Gregory held this position until taking the Meet the Press job in December 2008.
Michael Chertoff, a Bush appointee, attended a baby shower for Gregory's children.
He also participated with Karl Rove, Bush's chief advisor, in a dancing skit for the Radio and Television Correspondents' Association Dinner in Washington, D.C.
Gregory had been the substitute co-anchor at Weekend Today for Lester Holt from 2003 to 2014. He filled in for Matt Lauer on Today from 2005 to 2014. Gregory had anchored News Chat, Crosstalk NBC and Newsfront on MSNBC from 1998 to 2000.
Gregory also filled in on NBC News Weekend Nightly News and NBC Nightly News from 2005 to 2014.
Gregory also filled the Imus in the Morning time slot on MSNBC after the Don Imus controversy involving the Rutgers University basketball team while MSNBC searched for a permanent host. He served as a guest host in the morning time slot for MSNBC (while also being simulcast on WFAN) for one week in May. The morning radio program was known as Gregory Live.
From March 17, 2008, through December 5, 2008, Gregory hosted a show on MSNBC weekday evenings, which replaced Tucker Carlson's Tucker. The show was called Race for the White House until the conclusion of the 2008 U.S. Presidential election. From November 5, 2008, forward the show became known as 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue. Gregory was replaced by David Shuster, who was named as the new host for 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue starting with the December 15, 2008 show.
Due to internal fighting among the staff at MSNBC, Gregory was appointed as anchor on MSNBC during the presidential debates and the 2008 election. On November 4–5, he teamed with Rachel Maddow, Eugene Robinson, Chris Matthews and Keith Olbermann as commentators on the presidential election.
Gregory became the moderator of Meet the Press, beginning with the December 14, 2008, episode when he was introduced by interim moderator Tom Brokaw. The ratings fell, and he was replaced in 2014.
During Gregory's tenure at Meet the Press, the show's ratings fell to their lowest in 21 years and it regularly placed third among Sunday morning news shows. The Washington Post reported that NBC hired a "psychological consultant" to assess Mr. Gregory. NBC did not deny this, saying it had hired a "brand consultant" to evaluate how Gregory connected with the audience. On August 14, 2014, NBC announced Gregory would leave the parent network, with his hosting duties assumed by Chuck Todd. The New York Post reported NBC had paid Gregory $4 million to leave the network, and he had signed a non-disparagement clause. On August 17, 2014, Andrea Mitchell hosted Meet the Press, and paid brief tribute to Gregory's career at NBC, saying, "In 20 years with NBC News, David has done it all.... Through all the years, David has been true to the traditions of this program and NBC News."
Gregory was hired by CNN as a political commentator for the 2016 U.S. Presidential election season.
Personal life[]
Since June 2000, Gregory has been married to Beth Wilkinson, a Methodist. Wilkinson is a former federal prosecutor, former Fannie Mae executive vice president, general counsel and corporate secretary, and a lawyer representing four of Hillary Clinton's closest aides in the FBI's investigation of Clinton's email scandal. They met while Gregory was covering the Oklahoma City bombing as a reporter and Wilkinson was serving as prosecutor on the case. They have three children.
Gregory wrote How's Your Faith?, a book about his spiritual journey with Judaism, being born to interfaith parents and his marriage to a Christian. It was released in September 2015.