Rountree, Martha (1911–1999)

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Rountree, Martha (1911–1999)

American radio and television producer. Name variations: Martha Presbrey. Born in Gainesville, Florida, on October 23, 1911; died on August 23, 1999, in Washington, D.C.; second oldest of five children; sister of Ann Rountree Forsberg; attended the University of South Carolina; married Albert N. Williams, Jr. (a magazine and radio writer), in 1941 (divorced 1948); married Oliver M. Presbrey (a television producer and advertising executive), on June 18, 1952 (died 1988); children: Martha Presbrey Wiethorn; Mary Presbrey Greene.

A pioneer radio and television producer, Martha Rountree was co-creator of "Meet the Press," the newsmaker series that began as a radio program in 1945, moved to television in 1948, and is currently that medium's longestrunning series.

Rountree set her sights on a journalism career at the age of nine. Born in 1911 in Gainesville, Florida, and raised in Columbia, South Carolina, she attended the University of South Carolina, but left college early to become a reporter for the Tampa Tribune. In 1938, she moved to New York, where she freelanced for several magazines and wrote advertising copy. A year later, she and her sister Ann Rountree Forsberg began Radio House, a production company that produced transcribed programs and singing commercials. One of Rountree's early successes, and radio's first panel show, was "Leave It to the Girls," which began broadcasting in April 1945. The show was comprised of a panel of several well-known celebrities who answered questions—mostly concerning affairs of the heart—sent in by listeners. A single male guest represented the masculine point of view.

Rountree first met her future partner Lawrence E. Spivak when she submitted a story to the American Mercury, of which he was then editor. (She later worked as a roving editor for the magazine.) In 1945, she and Spivak joined forces to create "Meet the Press," a first-of-its-kind radio news program on which a panel of journalists interviewed prominent media personalities, eliciting their opinions on controversial issues. In the early years of the show, Rountree served as the moderator, while Spivak was the permanent member of the panel. The program was an instant success; early guests included President Harry S. Truman, Henry A. Wallace, and Senator Robert A. Taft. "I think it is important that the public should hear its elected officers speak out and take their stand in answer to direct questions, without preparation or oratory," Rountree once said, referring to the show's unrehearsed format. "There is nothing so refreshing as unadorned conviction."

"Meet the Press" won the George Foster Peabody Award in 1947, and moved to television in 1948, where it continued to capture awards, including the Radio and Television Arts Sciences Award (1951), the Sylvania Award (1951), and a second George Foster Peabody

Award (1952). In 1951, Rountree was personally honored by a citation from the Women for Achievement and selected as the outstanding woman in television by the National Fraternity for Women in Journalism. That same year, she and Spivak produced a second discussion program, "Keep Posted" (later changed to "The Big Issue"), in which two guests on opposing sides of a newsworthy issue were questioned by a panel of notables. They also collaborated with Frank McNaughton and Rountree's husband Oliver Presbrey to produce yet another news program, "Washington Exclusive," which aired in 1953. It presented six senators from both political parties in a debate format.

Rountree lost a coin-toss to Spivak and had to sell her share in "Meet the Press" and "The Big Issue" in the fall of 1953. Spivak would remain its executive producer and moderator for the next 20 years. Since his retirement, the show has been headed by Bill Monroe, Marvin Kalb, Roger Mudd, and Tim Russert. Rountree, who was the only woman to ever moderate the program, moved on to form her own production company with Presbrey and Robert Novak. A clause in her sales contract prevented her from producing any show similar to "Meet the Press" for a period of two years, so the first program created by Rountree Productions, entitled "Press Conference," did not go on the air until mid-1956. Variety described the new show as "a no-holds-barred, give-and-take between a roomful of reporters and a top drawer, newsworthy subject." Rountree's role was as "referee or press adviser to the guest of the day." On the first show, U.S. Attorney General Herbert Brownell disclosed the Department of Justice's hitherto unrevealed intention to prosecute General Motors for alleged antitrust violation. His candor drew some protests from magazine and newspaper journalists who objected to a government official "breaking" a story of such national concern on commercial television. "Press Conference," despite critical acclaim, did not have the staying power of "Meet the Press," lasting only until July 1957.

Rountree, a tall, attractive blonde with a soft southern accent, was married in 1941 to writer Albert N. Williams, Jr. They divorced in 1948, and Rountree then married Presbrey. During the height of her career, she made her home in Washington, D.C., where she was acquainted with the city's most prominent diplomats, Cabinet members, and Congressional leaders. "Yielding to Martha's cajolery, they often use her programs for major pronouncements," reported Life magazine in June 1952. She also formed Leadership, a nonprofit research foundation, serving as its president until 1988. Once characterized by Millicent Hearst as "a diesel engine under a lace handkerchief," Rountree was proud of her blunt, down-to-earth style of reporting. "Freedom of the press is America's first line of defense," she said in a speech to a Chicago women's group. "It is something that must be fought for continuously—not taken for granted." Martha Rountree died in Washington, D.C., in August 1999.