Source: Politics<\/p>\n
Longtime NBC News political reporter Chuck Todd is leaving the network after 18 years, he announced on his podcast Friday morning.<\/p>\n
\u201cSo look, I\u2019m leaving a bit earlier than we had all originally planned, but there\u2019s a reason for it,\u201d Todd said on his \u201cChuck Toddcast,\u201d adding that he had exciting projects that were \u201cnear reality\u201d and would focus on the future of media, \u201clocal in particular.\u201d<\/p>\n
In his 18 years at NBC, Todd has held various positions, including political director, and eventually helming NBC\u2019s Sunday flagship show \u201cMeet the Press\u201d from late 2014 until 2023.<\/p>\n
Todd\u2019s departure comes less than two weeks into Donald Trump\u2019s second term in the White House. The president has routinely mocked the journalist, who at times was critical in his coverage of Trump. Trump deemed him \u201csleepy-eyed Chuck Todd.\u201d <\/p>\n
More recently, Todd got into an on-air spat with the network<\/a> over its hiring of former Republican National Committee Chair Ronna McDaniel, saying she had deep credibility issues.<\/p>\n Todd said he will bring his podcast with him to his next venture after a brief hiatus. \u201cI do plan to continue to share my reporting and my perspective, and to cover politics the way I\u2019ve been covering it,\u201d Todd said.<\/p>\n NBC News and MSNBC have undergone<\/a> recent leadership changes<\/a>, with Comcast recently announcing a plan to house some of NBCUniversal\u2019s cable networks, including MSNBC, in a $7 billion spinoff<\/a>.<\/p>\n Todd did not reference any of these changes when announcing his departure. Instead, he said it was because the \u201cmedia has a lot of work to do to win back the trust\u201d of the public, and \u201cnational media isn\u2019t the place that\u2019s going to be able to do it.\u201d<\/p>\n Local media, Todd said, is what gave national media its initial credibility, and it\u2019s local news that is best suited to fix the problem, especially given national news\u2019 focus on web traffic.<\/p>\n Todd said his priorities for, and commitment to, political journalism remain the same. <\/p>\n \u201cBottom line here is we can\u2019t stick our heads in the sand, and we can\u2019t be propagandists, y\u2019know we gotta continue to call \u2018em like we see \u2018em. We gotta continue to cover politics as it is, not as we wish it were,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n