Martha Rountree (October 23, 1911 – August 23, 1999) was a pioneering broadcast journalist and entrepreneur. She was the creator and first moderator of a public-affairs program, first on radio as The American Mercury from June 24, 1945, and as Meet the Press on the NBC television network from November 6, 1947. She remains the only female moderator in the over-six-decade history of the show.