15. Sunday morning news programming
In 1945 the Mutual Broadcasting System introduced a radio program entitled American Mercury Presents: Meet the Press. Sponsored by the American Mercury Magazine, the program’s television rights were bought by General Foods, which renamed the program simply Meet the Press when it began broadcasting it on NBC. In its original format, hosted by Martha Rountree, a single guest was questioned on the issues by a panel. The program has been on the air ever since, though with considerable changes in format. In 1954 it faced its first competition in the Sunday panel discussion format from CBS when that network launched Face the Nation. The first guest to appear on the CBS program was Wisconsin Senator Joseph McCarthy.
ABC countered with a similar show of its own in 1960 which was called Issues and Answers. Although the show went through several hosts during its 21 year existence it was broadcast on Sunday afternoons, with many affiliates delaying its air time or not airing it at all, replacing it with local broadcasting. In 1981 the show was dropped from ABC’s lineup and replaced with the hour long This Week with David Brinkley. Brinkley’s show was more successful than the long running Issues and Answers in terms of reaching an audience, and presented news headlines before delving into the interviews and panel discussions which marked all of the Sunday news discussion programs.