Old White Male Republicans Dominated Sunday Shows in 2013

The Rachel Maddow Show producer Steve Benen surveyed the five big Sunday morning political talk shows — NBC’s Meet the Press, CBS’ Face the Nation, ABC’s This Week, CNN’s State of the Union, and Fox News Sunday — and confirmed what many believe to be true: the most-frequent guest tend to be older, whiter and more conservative than the general population:

Coming in at #1, with a total of 27 visits to the Sunday shows is House Intelligence Committee Chairman Mike Rogers (R-MI), who spent most of the year arguing on behalf of the NSA. Glenn Greenwald was quick to register his disappointment on Twitter:

Who is the most popular Sunday morning TV guest? The authoritarian, pro-National-Security-State GOP Rep. Mike Rogers http://t.co/gteg8NmwQW

— Glenn Greenwald (@ggreenwald) December 30, 2013

Close behind Rogers was perennial favorite Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) with 25 visits. The Democrat who placed highest on the list was Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), who tied for third with former Speaker Newt Gingrich. At #11, Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) was the only non-white guest with more than 10 appearances, and at #13, Sen. Kelly Ayotte (R-NH) was the only woman. The average age of the top six people on the list is 66.

Benen notably exempted any of MSNBC’s Sunday offerings from his survey, but a Media Matters analysis done earlier in the year determined that the liberal network has a far more diverse guest list than the rest of the Sunday field.

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