Retired ‘NBC Nightly News’ anchor Tom Brokaw has been chosen by the TV network to host ‘Meet the Press’ during the 2008 elections. The announcement was made by Brian Williams who hosted the show this week.

Meet the Press has been the best audience rated talk show in the US for the past years. The main reason for the show’s success has been its host, Tim Russert, who died on June 13 of a heart failure while recording voice-overs. Mr. Russert was one of the most popular TV hosts in the US and was equally appreciated both by the public, and by politicians alike.

After the news of his death was made public, some of the most important personalities all over the world rushed to express their regrets to Tim Russert’s family.

Tom Brokaw is himself a well known and appreciated TV figure. Four years ago, when he left ‘NBC Nightly News,’ he was considered the most popular news anchor in the US. After that he continued to appear as a correspondent for the show and also presented the news on the MSNBC on numerous occasions.

NBC hopes that Brokaw’s charm, as well as the fact that he is a person people trust as a journalist will help ‘Meet the Press’ keep its leading position on the audience charts. If NBC fails, George Stephanopoulos and his show ‘This Week,’ which is aired by ABC, could take the lead. Last year, ‘This Week’ came second.

Mr. Brokaw seems to be only a temporary solution for ‘Meet the Press.’ After the 2008 elections, which are bound to bring massive audience to talk shows, NBC will look for a permanent anchor for the show. Among the names that are considered to have a chance on becoming the new host of ‘Meet the Press’ there are David Gregory, Andrea Mitchell and Chris Matthews.