The McLaughlin Group

The general format for the show consisted of moderator John McLaughin questioning four commentators, usually Pat Buchanan, Eleanor Clift, Clarence Page, Tom Rogan and Mort Zuckerman during the show′s final years. Members of the regular panel varied over the years.

A typical episode covered three or four issues. The first was introduced by McLaughlin, beginning with, "Issue one..." which was explained by him, usually in a prerecorded video segment accompanied by his voice-over. He then proposed a question for the panelists, starting with Buchanan (if present). The conversation was usually sedate at the beginning of the program, but as opposing viewpoints emerged there was more verbal rough-housing, good-natured gamesmanship and occasionally very loud crosstalk as panelists attempted to out-yell the others, all of which were the show's trademarks.[3]

Two episodes at the turn of the calendar year were reserved for "The McLaughlin Group Year-End Awards". Each panelist announced his or her choice for each category such as “Biggest Winner of 2008,” ”Best Politician,” “Most Boring,” “Turncoat of the Year,” “Enough Already,” “Most Underrated,” etc., followed by McLaughlin’s choice. During the first of these special episodes, the participants typically dressed in festive Christmas attire; in the second, they typically dressed in formal evening wear for the New Year.

McLaughlin’s loud and forceful style of presentation was parodied by many comedians and other commentators, most notably Dana Carvey of Saturday Night Live.[4][5] McLaughlin made a cameo on one of Carvey’s parody sketches.[6] The program was also included in a few major films, including Dave, Murder at 1600 and Independence Day. In the movie Watchmen, the group was portrayed discussing the nature of Dr. Manhattan.[7] In the videogame MechCommander 2, the fictional discussion panel "think tank" closely resembled The McLaughlin Group's basic format—a moderator in between four commenters, McLaughlin's speech patterns, general appearance, etc.[8]

Journalists James Fallows and ex-McLaughlin Group panelist Jack Germond opined that the show gloried too much in sensationalism and simplification, to the detriment of serious journalism.[9] Ronald Reagan, while in office as U.S. president, once referred to McLaughlin and his group as taking the traditional Sunday morning talk show format of a moderator with a group of journalists and turning it into "a political version of Animal House."[10]

Despite the president's remark, Christopher Hitchens wrote in 1987 that The McLaughlin Group was firmly aligned with the Reagan administration. Not only did it accept all sorts of preconditions for access to official guests (servitude Hitchens attributed to all major political talk shows of the time), it actively assisted the White House – McLaughlin's wife Ann served in the cabinet, and Pat Buchanan was "hired straight off the set" to be Reagan's director of communications. As for McLaughlin himself, Hitchens said, "he likes to canvass all opinions from the extreme right to the moderate right".[11]

The original incarnation aired on PBS member TV stations and the PBS digital subchannel World as well as on some local commercial TV stations, including WCBS-TV in New York City. During its run, underwriters included Pfizer, the New York Stock Exchange, and GE (the longest-serving).

The show was distributed by Chicago-based PBS member station WTTW. In the United States, it was carried on numerous public broadcasting stations and, from May 2007 to August 2016, a small number of CBS-affiliated stations.[12] Most stations carried the program on weekends, but there were a few, like WGBH in Boston, Kentucky Educational Television stations across Kentucky, Mississippi ETV in Jackson, Mississippi, PBS channel 8 KUHT in Houston, Texas, WGVU Channel 35/WGVK Channel 52 Grand Rapids/Kalamazoo, Michigan, and PBS channel 3 KBTC in Tacoma, Washington, that ran it on Friday evenings, and WHUT-TV Channel 32 in Washington, D.C., aired it on Tuesdays. Internationally, the show was carried on several satellite channels, such as Voice of America TV and it was on the London-based CNBC Europe.[13] It was also carried by CTV in Christchurch, New Zealand, and by Triangle TV in Auckland, New Zealand.

From its start until May 2008, the program originated from WRC-TV, the NBC-owned station in Washington, D.C. From May 2008 until it ended in August 2016, the show was produced at WUSA-TV, the Tegna-owned CBS affiliate for Washington, D.C., where it also aired in that market.[14]

In the final months of the show's run, McLaughlin took a smaller role in the panel's weekly discussions due to health issues and a wavering voice.[15] The McLaughlin Group recorded its last episode on August 12, 2016 without him on camera.[16] It was the only episode he missed in the original run's 34-year history, although his voice introduced the week′s issues via pre-recorded voiceovers.[17] The episode began with a written statement from McLaughlin, which read:

Dear Friends of The McLaughlin Group, Dr. McLaughlin here. As the panel′s recent absences attest, I am under the weather. The final issue of this episode has my voice, but please forgive me for its weaker than usual quality. Yet my spirit is strong and my dedication to this show remains absolute![17]

Panelist Pat Buchanan then began the episode by saying, "This is our first time in 34 years that our distinguished leader Dr. McLaughlin is not in his chair and we miss him. But let's get on with the show." Buchanan, Eleanor Clift, Clarence Page, and Tom Rogan recorded the show without a moderator. Rogan closed the episode by saying, "On behalf of the panel, we want to say to John that we're thinking of you and you have our very best."[17]

Four days after the recording of the last episode, John McLaughlin died at the age of 89 on August 16, 2016. On August 18, 2016, WTTW's chief content officer Dan Soles announced that The McLaughlin Group had ended production. He told The Hollywood Reporter in a statement, "This long-running political commentary and discussion show was consistently an audience favorite, and we will miss this important contribution to our political coverage. WTTW is proud to have brought the series, and Dr. McLaughlin, to the PBS system."[15]

In August 12, 2017, a test pilot for a revived The McLaughlin Group appeared on YouTube. The panelists were Pat Buchanan, Eleanor Clift, Clarence Page, and former Central Intelligence Agency officer and 2016 presidential candidate Evan McMullin. Tom Rogan served as the host of the program. According to Buchanan's official website, the panelists were hoping to sell the revived show to a network so that The McLaughlin Group could be "back on the air on a full-time basis."[18]

On December 22, 2017, it was announced that the program would return in 2018 with Rogan as host; longtime panelists Buchanan, Clift, and Page were also set to return.[1] The new version of The McLaughlin Group premiered on January 7, 2018, airing on one station, WJLA-TV – a Sinclair-owned ABC station in Washington, D.C. – on Sundays at noon Eastern Time, with its episodes also available online.[2] Sinclair Broadcasting expressed hopes to syndicate the show in the 2018–19 season, most likely in a news block also featuring Full Measure with Sharyl Attkisson. However, after a few months the program ceased to air on WJLA and became available online only. After it revived the original program's two-part end-of-year "awards" show in its episodes of December 23 and December 30, 2018, the new show went into hiatus.

From January 4, 2019 to August 30, 2019, The McLaughlin Group's web site featured a banner that said: "Exciting news coming soon for McLaughlin Group fans! We are taking a brief hiatus on-air and will have a major announcement coming soon. 'The American Original' for over three decades, the sharpest minds, best sources and hardest talk will be bigger and better in 2019. Thanks for your support and stay tuned right here and on our social media for the latest."[19] In August 2019, a redesigned version of the web site announced that the show would return to the air on Maryland Public Television (MPT) and would premiere there on September 6, 2019, again moderated by Rogan and with Buchanan, Clift, and Page returning as regular panelists.[20][21]

Under an agreement between MPT and The McLaughlin Group's production company, Re-Group Media, LLC, announced on August 12, 2019, the show is recorded on Fridays at a studio in Washington, D.C., and airs on MPT on Fridays at 11:30 p.m. Eastern Time and again on Saturdays at 11:00 a.m. Eastern Time;[21] the most recent episode becomes available online at 12:00 noon Eastern Time on Sunday.[19] Telecasts began on September 6, 2019,[21] with a new logo and set but otherwise retaining the format of the 2018 revival. MPT produces, markets, promotes, and distributes the program nationally through an agreement with American Public Television,[21] and since January 3, 2020, the program has aired nationally in the United States, exclusively on PBS stations and digital platforms.[21]

The McLaughlin Group also produces a "Web Exclusive" each week. Available on the show′s web site, each "Web Exclusive" is a continuation of that week's episode in which the panelists discuss an additional topic using footage not included in the broadcast. The first "Web Exclusive" was recorded as a continuation of the television episode of November 1, 2019.[19]

Regular panelists

• Pat Buchanan: political commentator and author
• Eleanor Clift: contributor, MSNBC and The Daily Beast
• Clarence Page: columnist, The Chicago Tribune

Recurring panelists (original series)

• Paul Glastris: editor, Washington Monthly
• Mort Zuckerman: owner, New York Daily News and U.S. News & World Report
• David Rennie: columnist, The Economist

Former regular panelists (original series)

Tony Blankley, Lawrence O'Donnell, Michael Barone, Jack Germond, Rich Lowry, Robert Novak, Morton Kondracke, Fred Barnes, Lawrence Kudlow, Chris Matthews, Al Hunt, Mark Shields, Michael Kinsley, Monica Crowley, Katty Kay, Susan Ferrechio, Jay Carney

Current host Tom Rogan (columnist, Washington Examiner) served as a regular panelist on the original series before being named host of the revival. The fourth panelist is a recurring panelist on the current version.