Why Did NBC Do a 'Psychological Assessment' of David Gregory?

A long Washington Post article on David Gregory and the troubles he faces as moderator of NBC's Meet the Press has quite a few people wondering what's going on at the show. As the Post explains, the longest-running television program has been declining in the ratings for three years, and is currently the No. 3 Sunday talk show. Last year, the network brought in a psychological consultant to talk to friends and family members of Gregory, who took over the gig after Tim Russert's death in 2008. As the Post puts it, that seems "odd" to some, considering Gregory has been at NBC almost two decades.

Multiple blogs picked up on that tidbit, and NBC quickly gave Poynter a statement insisting it actually hired "a brand consultant," not a psychological one, "to better understand how its anchor connects." The network also says the move is "not unusual." But the article's writer tells Politico he checked the term "psychological" with the network twice, and it had "no objections then"—and it remains in the Post story as of this writing. As for Gregory's job, Post reporter Paul Farhi writes that it "does not appear to be in any immediate jeopardy, but there are plenty of signs of concern." (More David Gregory stories.)