Former ‘Meet the Press’ Moderator Chuck Todd Raises Eyebrows for Schilling Life Insurance

Newsman Chuck Todd has gone from grilling presidents to shilling for life insurance — and the former Meet the Press moderator’s career move has people in media circles doing a double take.

Todd is appearing in an ad for Ethos life insurance, Mediaite reported, delivering a somber, deeply personal pitch about protecting families as he discusses his own father’s death when the TV personality was just 16.

But some say Todd’s new venture is jarring for those who remember him as one of NBC’s most powerful political voices.

“This is a big shift,” one media insider tells Straight Shuter. “We’re talking about someone who used to shape the national conversation.”

Todd, who spent nearly two decades at NBC and anchored Meet the Press from 2014 to 2023, left the network in early 2025. Since then, he’s launched a podcast and a subscription-based interview show — but some suspect that hasn’t completely filled the gap.

“The old model is gone,” the insider said. “Even the biggest names are having to hustle in ways they never would have before.

“This isn’t just about Chuck. It’s about the collapse of traditional TV news as we knew it.”

Still, not everyone sees it as a fall.

“He’s telling a personal story and getting paid,” another insider notes. “In today’s media world, that’s survival.”