10 Facts About Martha Rountree

Martha Jane Rountree was an American pioneering broadcast journalist and entrepreneur.

Martha Rountree was the creator and first moderator of a public-affairs program, first on radio as The American Mercury from June 24,1945 to 1947, and as Meet the Press on the NBC television network from November 6,1947 to November 1,1953.

Contrary to the claims of others concerning the program's creator, Martha Rountree developed the idea on her own, and Spivak joined as co-producer and business partner in the enterprise after the show had already debuted.

Martha Rountree returned to television in the summer of 1956 as the moderator of Press Conference, which was similar in format to Meet the Press.

In 1965, Martha Rountree founded the Leadership Foundation, a conservative, non-profit, public-affairs organization in Washington, DC She was a member of the National Press Club and the Women's National Press Club.

Martha Rountree covered national conventions in the 1950s and 1960s, appeared as a guest on the Phil Donahue television talk show, led a national campaign in support of school prayer and testified before the 1988 Republican National Convention's Platform Committee.

Martha Rountree founded Leadership Foundation, a 5013 entity, and Leadership Action, a 5014 entity, located on MacArthur Boulevard, in Cabin John, MD - near her home on Comanche Court in Bethesda, Maryland, in the suburbs of Washington, DC where she lived with Presbrey.

Martha Rountree's relationship with the Reagan White House was a close one.

Martha Rountree won a Peabody Award for her role as co-founder and producer of Meet the Press.

Martha Rountree died in Washington, DC, from complications of Alzheimer's disease aged 87.