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☆ For Once, the British Tabloids Held Back. It Didn’t Make a Difference.
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-24 | by ( Michael M. Grynbaum | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Days before Catherine, Princess of Wales, ended the wild speculation over her absence from public life by revealing that she is battling cancer, a top royal journalist appeared on British national television and delivered a stark message to the media: Knock it off. “I think everyone just needs to give her a little bit of space,” Roya Nikkhah, royal editor of The Sunday Times of London, said on “Good Morning Britain.” “This is a woman who’s been in the public eye since she was in her early 20s, and she’s barely put her foot wrong. I think we should all lay off a little bit.”The idea of an editor at a Rupert Murdoch-owned publication scolding other journalists for nosiness may strike some as a bit rich. After all, London newspapers pioneered the celebri-fication of the House of Windsor, famously hounding the previous Princess of Wales, Diana, and exposing the most microscopic details of her and her children’s private lives. In the case of Catherine’s recent whereabouts, however, the British press largely showed an unusual level of restraint.

Persons: Catherine , Princess of, Roya Nikkhah, who’s, she’s, Rupert Murdoch, Wales, Diana Organizations: British, Sunday Times of Locations: Catherine , Princess of Wales, Sunday Times of London, Britain, London, Windsor

☆ Chuck Todd Assails His Network, NBC News, for Hiring Former R.N.C. Chair
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-24 | by ( Michael M. Grynbaum | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

The veteran NBC anchor Chuck Todd publicly attacked the leadership of his own network on Sunday, questioning why NBC News hired Ronna McDaniel, the former chairwoman of the Republican National Committee, and declaring live on air, “There’s a reason why there are a lot of journalists at NBC News uncomfortable with this.”Mr. Todd’s comments on “Meet the Press,” the flagship political show he anchored for nine years, were an extraordinary escalation of behind-the-scenes tensions simmering within NBC News and its cable cousin, MSNBC, since the announcement on Friday that Ms. McDaniel had been brought onboard as a political analyst. Some journalists at NBC were taken aback by the decision to hire Ms. McDaniel, citing her tenure at the R.N.C. under former President Donald J. Trump, when she regularly echoed Mr. Trump’s criticisms of the news media and, in particular, the left-leaning programs on MSNBC. Rashida Jones, the MSNBC president, called several prominent anchors over the weekend to assure them they would not be forced to book Ms. McDaniel on their shows, according to a person briefed on the conversations who requested anonymity to share details meant to be private.

Persons: Chuck Todd, Ronna McDaniel, Mr, Todd’s, McDaniel, Donald J, Trump, Rashida Jones Organizations: NBC, NBC News, Republican National Committee, Press, MSNBC

☆ U.K. Moves to Bar Foreign State Ownership of Newspapers, a Blow to Telegraph Bid
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-13 | by ( Michael M. Grynbaum | Mark Landler | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

An audacious effort by the American media executive Jeff Zucker and his Emirati backers to acquire London’s Daily Telegraph appeared to be on life support on Wednesday after the British government advanced legislation that would bar foreign state ownership of newspapers and newsmagazines. The move by Prime Minister Rishi Sunak would torpedo Mr. Zucker’s bid in its current form, which relies heavily on financing from investment partners in the United Arab Emirates. The use of Emirati funds caused an uproar in Westminster over foreign influence in the British media, given the outsize importance of The Telegraph and its sister publication, The Spectator, to Mr. Sunak’s Conservative Party. Mr. Zucker’s media venture company, RedBird IMI, can now try to salvage its bid for the publications by finding new investors and diluting the Emiratis’ majority stake to a level allowed under the government’s proposed rules. His representatives had no immediate comment on Wednesday.

Persons: Jeff Zucker, Rishi Sunak, Zucker’s, Zucker, Rupert Murdoch Organizations: London’s Daily Telegraph, United, United Arab Emirates, Telegraph, Spectator, Sunak’s Conservative Party, RedBird IMI, CNN Locations: United Arab, Westminster, Britain

☆ ‘Barbenheimer,’ and an Early Start, Boost Oscar Ratings to 4-Year High
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-11 | by ( Michael M. Grynbaum | More About Michael M. Grynbaum | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

The comeback of live event TV continues. ABC’s telecast of the 96th Academy Awards on Sunday drew 19.5 million viewers, hitting a four-year viewership high, according to Nielsen. The live TV audience was up from last year’s 18.8 million, the third consecutive year that Oscar viewership has grown. The ratings report will prompt cheers at ABC and the academy, which bumped the start of the venerable awards ceremony to 7 p.m. Eastern, an hour earlier than usual, in the hopes that more viewers would stick around through the final categories. Jimmy Kimmel also received warm reviews in his fourth outing as host, leaving him one away from matching another late-night star who moonlighted at the Oscars, Johnny Carson.

Persons: “ Barbie ”, “ Oppenheimer, Jimmy Kimmel, Johnny Carson, Nielsen Organizations: Nielsen, ABC

Credit Credit... The focus was a sign of how political the president’s address had been — and how central Mr. Trump is to Mr. Biden’s own political future. Video transcript Back bars 0:00 / 0:56 - 0:00 transcript In its decision to overturn Roe v. Wade, the Supreme Court majority wrote the following. Image Mr. Biden spoke at times in what seemed a near-shout during his State of the Union address. The morning of the State of Union began with an ad from Mr. Trump’s super PAC questioning if Mr. Biden would live to 2029.

Persons: Biden, Donald Trump, Trump, Biden’s, ’ —, Troy Nehls, Kenny Holston, —, Vladimir V, Putin, ”, Mr, Marjorie Taylor Greene, Doug Mills, heckles, Greene, “, Laken Riley, — Laken Riley, legals —, ’ Mr, Kate Cox, Latorya Beasley, Jill Biden, Roe, Wade, We’ll, we’ll, ” Roe, I’ve, chuckles, I’m, We’ve, we’ve, Nancy, Donald Trump Jr Organizations: Union, Capitol, Mr, New York Times, Republican, Credit, Associated, New York, Republicans, Democratic, Alabama, State of Union, Trump’s Locations: Wilmington, Russia, Europe, Russian, China, Georgia, Venezuelan, Texas, Alabama, America

☆ More Tuned In for State of the Union Than Last Year
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-08 | by ( Michael M. Grynbaum | More About Michael M. Grynbaum | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

But plenty tuned in to see what he was offering. The live viewership for Mr. Biden’s speech will probably exceed last year’s television audience of 27.3 million, according to early figures released by Nielsen on Friday. Preliminary numbers show that roughly 28 million people watched on major cable and broadcast networks — a number that will probably grow once smaller channels are included. The 66-minute-long appearance is likely to end up as the second-most-watched of Mr. Biden’s speeches to Congress. His first, in 2021, attracted 26.9 million viewers, and about 38.2 million watched in 2022, days after the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

Persons: Biden, Nielsen Locations: Ukraine

☆ Tucker Carlson’s Lesson in the Perils of Giving Airtime to an Autocrat
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-16 | by ( Jim Rutenberg | Michael M. Grynbaum | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Tucker Carlson left Moscow more than a week ago, riding high from an interview with President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia that returned him to the spotlight after his abrupt cancellation by Fox News last spring. But the interview with the wartime autocrat, mocked in various corners of the political-media world for its soft touch, continues to have a long and tortured afterlife — becoming a trending topic all over again on Friday after Mr. Putin’s most vocal domestic opponent, Aleksei A. Navalny, turned up dead in a Russian prison. “This is what Putin’s Russia is, @TuckerCarlson,” Liz Cheney, the former Republican congresswoman from Wyoming, wrote on X after the news of Mr. Navalny’s death broke on Friday. “And you are Putin’s useful idiot.”Naomi Biden, President Biden’s granddaughter, also weighed in, pointing to a video that Mr. Carlson had recently posted in which he contrasted the supposed splendors of Russia under Mr. Putin’s leadership with the “filth and crime” of the United States. “Has anything aged so poorly, so quickly before?” Ms. Biden wrote on X.

Persons: Tucker Carlson, Vladimir V, Putin, Aleksei A, ” Liz Cheney, Navalny’s, ” Naomi Biden, Biden’s, Carlson, Ms, Biden Organizations: Fox News Locations: Moscow, Russia, Wyoming, United States

☆ Tucker Carlson Regains the Bullhorn, at Least Temporarily
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-08 | by ( Jim Rutenberg | Michael M. Grynbaum | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Last spring, it seemed Tucker Carlson might have reached the end of his fiery path through American media and politics. Fox News canceled his top-rated show, depriving Mr. Carlson of his nightly platform in prime time. Under the old rules of the legacy media, Mr. Carlson would have been off the air and out of sight through the end of the 2024 election, when his contract runs out. But Mr. Carlson is no typical television star. In landing an exclusive interview with President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia — released on Thursday on the social network X and Mr. Carlson’s own streaming site, Tucker Carlson Network — the host returned with a vengeance to the center of American politics.

Persons: Tucker Carlson, Carlson, Vladimir V, Putin, Russia — Organizations: Fox News, Tucker Carlson Network Locations: Russia

☆ Tucker Carlson Urges Putin to Release American Journalist
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-08 | by ( Michael M. Grynbaum | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

In an interview released on Thursday, Tucker Carlson urged President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia to release an American reporter for The Wall Street Journal who has been held in a notorious Moscow prison for nearly a year. Mr. Carlson’s appeal on behalf of the reporter, Evan Gershkovich, was only the second time that Mr. Putin directly addressed a case that has galvanized press freedom groups and strained diplomatic relations with the United States. Large portions of the two-hour interview were taken up by Mr. Putin’s recounting hundreds of years of Russian history. But in the final minutes, Mr. Carlson asked, “as a sign of your decency,” if he “would be willing to release him to us and we’ll bring him back to the United States.” Mr. Carlson added: “This guy’s obviously not a spy. “We have done so many gestures of good will out of decency that I think we have run out of them,” he said, according to a translation of his remarks by Mr. Carlson’s team.

Persons: Tucker Carlson, Vladimir V, Putin, Evan Gershkovich, Carlson, we’ll, Mr, he’s, ”, Carlson’s Organizations: Wall Street Locations: Russia, Moscow, United States

☆ CNN’s New Morning Strategy: More News, Less Banter
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-05 | by ( Michael M. Grynbaum | Benjamin Mullin | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

CNN spent years trying to compete in the cutthroat realm of chatty morning TV, cycling through formats in the hopes of catching up to breakfast-time staples like “Morning Joe” and “Good Morning America.”That experiment never quite caught on with viewers — and now it is coming to an end. In his first significant programming move since joining the network in the fall, Mark Thompson, CNN’s chairman, announced on Monday that the channel would exit the morning chat-show format by the end of the month. Instead, its morning lineup will focus on straight news coverage, the kind of bread-and-butter reporting that Mr. Thompson, a former head of The BBC and The New York Times, has championed. The co-anchors of “CNN This Morning,” Poppy Harlow and Phil Mattingly, are in discussions about new roles at the network. “I’m very aware that today’s announcement means a great deal of uncertainty for many valued colleagues,” Mr. Thompson wrote in a memo to employees, adding that “change and uncertainty are inevitable in an industry undergoing a revolution.”

Persons: Joe ”, Mark Thompson, Thompson, Poppy Harlow, Phil Mattingly, ” Mr, ” Organizations: CNN, America, BBC, The New York Times

☆ Biden to Sit Out Super Bowl Interview for Second Year in a Row
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-03 | by ( Michael M. Grynbaum | More About Michael M. Grynbaum | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

President Biden is sitting out the Super Bowl for the second year in a row. In a tradition dating to 2009, presidents have recorded an interview with the network that broadcasts the Super Bowl, although there have been exceptions. Last year, Mr. Biden declined to appear on Fox, home of cable hosts like Sean Hannity who are sharply hostile toward him. But the White House has been receptive to CBS News in the past. “We hope viewers enjoy watching what they tuned in for — the game,” Ben LaBolt, the White House communications director, said in a statement on Saturday.

Persons: Biden, Donald J, Trump, Sean Hannity, Norah O’Donnell, Scott Pelley, ” Ben LaBolt Organizations: Super Bowl, CBS, White, NBC, Fox, CBS News, White House

☆ Fox News to Taylor Swift: ‘Don’t Get Involved in Politics!’
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-31 | by ( Michael M. Grynbaum | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: 1 min

Taylor Swift has not uttered a word about the 2024 presidential election. “So don’t get involved! Don’t get involved in politics! We don’t want to see you there!”“Please don’t believe everything Taylor Swift says,” urged one commentator, Charly Arnolt. “Does Taylor realize the guy that they want her to endorse is a kind of stumbling, bumbling mess?” he asked.

Persons: Taylor Swift, Biden, ” Jeanine Pirro, don’t, Don’t, ”, Charly Arnolt, “, Sean Hannity, Swift, Taylor Organizations: Fox News Locations: conniptions

Even by the standards of a news business whose fortunes have plummeted in the digital age, the last few weeks have been especially grim for American journalism. Prominent newspapers like The Washington Post are shedding reporters and editors, and on Tuesday, The Los Angeles Times laid off more than 20 percent of its newsroom. Esteemed titles like Sports Illustrated, already a shadow of their former selves, have been gutted overnight. An average of five local newspapers are closing every two weeks, according Northwestern University’s Medill School, with more half of all American counties now so-called news deserts with limited access to news about their hometowns. Of 1,100 public radio stations and affiliates, only about one in five is producing local journalism.

Persons: — Organizations: Los Angeles Times, Cable, Sports, Northwestern University’s Medill School Locations: Washington

☆ Trump Campaign Bars an NBC Reporter From a New Hampshire Event
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-21 | by ( Michael M. Grynbaum | More About Michael M. Grynbaum | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Donald J. Trump, who popularized the term “fake news” and as president declared the news media “the enemy of the people,” is again clashing with journalists over press access, this time to his 2024 campaign events. An NBC News correspondent said on Sunday that aides to Mr. Trump stopped him from covering an event in New Hampshire, where the former president was expected to make his first in-person remarks after Gov. Vaughn Hillyard, a longtime NBC News correspondent who regularly covers Mr. Trump, had planned to attend as a pool reporter representing five major TV networks. But he told other campaign journalists that the Trump team objected to his presence. “After affirming to the campaign that your pooler would attend the events, NBC News was informed at about 2:20 p.m. that the pool would not be allowed to travel with Trump today.”

Persons: Donald J, Trump, Ron DeSantis, Vaughn Hillyard, ” Mr, Hillyard, “, ” Organizations: NBC, NBC News, The New York Times, Trump Locations: New Hampshire, Florida

☆ Inside CNN, a Debate Over Taking Trump Live
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-19 | by ( Michael M. Grynbaum | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Tensions within CNN over coverage of former President Donald J. Trump burst into the open on Thursday during an internal call with the network’s journalists, as an executive candidly questioned the approach of the channel’s new chief executive, Mark Thompson. CNN aired roughly 10 minutes of Mr. Trump’s victory speech after he won the Iowa caucuses on Monday before cutting away. The decision to cut him off prompted derision from the former president and his allies, although critics on the left questioned why CNN had taken Mr. Trump live in the first place, given his tendency to spread falsehoods and conspiracies. After a period of silence, a senior vice president of programming, Jim Murphy, jumped in, telling Mr. Thompson that the network had given Mr. Trump too much airtime when the network aired Mr. Trump’s live news conference last week after his civil fraud trial. Mr. Murphy said that CNN should cover Mr. Trump’s comments when he makes news, not when he is repeating political talking points.

Persons: Donald J, Trump, Mark Thompson, Thompson, Jim Murphy, Mr, Trump’s, Murphy Organizations: CNN, MSNBC, Republican Locations: Iowa

But Mr. DeSantis lashed out last week, accusing Fox News of bias toward his rival, former President Donald J. Trump. Speaking to reporters in Iowa, Mr. DeSantis said that conservative media outlets, including Fox, had acted as “a Praetorian Guard” for Mr. Trump. “Corporate media election interference,” she wrote on X.Mr. DeSantis’s campaign and Fox News declined to comment. Despite the apparent ill feelings toward Fox from some of his aides, the candidate has continued to appear on the network. On Thursday, as he fought to salvage his candidacy heading into the New Hampshire primary, Mr. DeSantis openly regretted that early media strategy, saying he should have tried to engage with news outlets beyond Fox News.

Persons: DeSantis, Donald J, Trump, “, they’re, Mr, Fox, Pushaw, Iowans, ”, Ingraham’s, Alexis McAdams, Neil Cavuto’s, Brian Kilmeade, Ms . Ingraham Organizations: Fox News, Trump, Fox, Praetorian Guard, Mr, “, Praetorian, “ Fox, Sunday, “ Fox & Friends, CNN, New Locations: Iowa, New Hampshire, Florida

Image A watch party for Mr. Trump in Des Moines on Monday night. Credit... Haiyun Jiang for The New York TimesInstead, if Mr. Trump wins next week’s New Hampshire primary, a march to a third nomination is all but certain. Some in the news media were reluctant to direct their audiences to Mr. Trump, especially shortly after he left office, for fear that it would only amplify his lies about his election loss. Since 2016, both Republican and Democratic leaders have often agreed that it helps Democrats to have Mr. Trump at the political fore. Mr. Biden has signaled his plans to highlight Mr. Trump’s efforts to subvert his loss in the 2020 election, invoking the attack on the Capitol and Mr. Trump’s revisionist history of what happened.

Persons: Donald J, Trump, codifying, —, he’d, Haiyun Jiang, ”, David Axelrod, Barack Obama, “, victimhood, Mr, Trump’s, Axelrod, Biden, Maansi Srivastava, Liam Donovan Organizations: Fox News, Republican, Trump, Republican Party, The New York, Democratic, Republicans, New, New York Times Democrats, Capitol, Washington Post, University of Maryland Locations: New York, Iowa, Florida, Des Moines, Hampshire, Clive , Iowa, New Hampshire, Washington, mattering

☆ This Again? In Frozen Iowa, the Press Corps Ponders a Slog of a Campaign.
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-15 | by ( Michael M. Grynbaum | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: 1 min

Maybe it was the apocalyptically cold weather, with wind chills reaching minus 43 Fahrenheit. Or the winnowed field of candidates and an anxiety-addled electorate that is dreading the prospect of the first rerun election since the Dwight Eisenhower and Adlai Stevenson rematch of 1956. For whatever reason, the usual media circus that accompanies the Iowa caucuses has felt smaller this year, literally and spiritually. The number of credentialed journalists fell to 1,200, from 2,600 four years ago. The attenuated vibe was best summed up by a T-shirt on sale in the hotel gift shop:“Election 2024: Welp, I Guess We’re Doing This Again.”

Persons: Dwight Eisenhower, Adlai Stevenson, ” Organizations: Des, Des Moines Marriott Downtown Locations: Iowa, Des Moines, Washington, Manhattan

☆ News Outlets Declared Trump the Winner as Iowans Still Caucused
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-15 | by ( Michael M. Grynbaum | More About Michael M. Grynbaum | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

A mere half-hour of Monday’s Iowa caucuses had elapsed when CNN projected former President Donald J. Trump as the night’s winner. The Associated Press declared Mr. Trump the victor one minute later, and soon every major network had followed suit. Ron DeSantis of Florida, who accused the news media of biasing caucusgoers who had yet to cast their votes. “Are you kidding me?” Representative Chip Roy of Texas told reporters at a DeSantis event in West Des Moines. VoteCast,” its proprietary voter survey system that the outlet said “showed Trump with an insurmountable lead.”

Persons: Donald J, Trump, —, Ron DeSantis, biasing caucusgoers, Chip Roy, ” Organizations: CNN, Associated Press, Gov, New York, Trump Locations: Iowa, Florida, Texas, West Des Moines

☆ U.K. Opens Inquiry Into Jeff Zucker’s Emirati-Backed Bid for The Telegraph
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-30 | by ( Michael M. Grynbaum | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Jeff Zucker’s re-entry into the global news business has hit a snag. The announcement capped a week of growing outcry in Westminster over Mr. Zucker’s use of roughly $1 billion in Emirati money to acquire the news organizations, which are hugely influential in British conservative politics. Tories lined up to denounce the proposed deal, warning that the Emiratis’ involvement could lead to undue foreign influence over The Telegraph’s coverage. The review, announced by Britain’s culture secretary, does not necessarily end Mr. Zucker’s chance of success. Since then, Conservative Party eminences have lined up to denounce his bid — often in essays published by newspapers controlled by Mr. Zucker’s rivals — and Tory members of Parliament urged regulators to consider the constraints on press freedoms in the Middle East.

Persons: Jeff Zucker’s, Zucker, Zucker’s, Rupert Murdoch, Lord Rothermere, Murdoch, — Organizations: CNN, The Daily Telegraph, The Spectator, Tories, The Daily, The, Conservative Party Locations: Westminster

☆ Jeff Zucker Nears Major Deal to Re-enter the News Business
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-21 | by ( Michael M. Grynbaum | More About Michael M. Grynbaum | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +2 min

After a series of financial maneuvers, RedBird IMI would assume ownership and management of The Telegraph and The Spectator. Redbird IMI said its Emirati partner would be a passive investor. Mr. Zucker declined to comment, citing the pending negotiations. Mr. Zucker does not plan to oversee day-to-day news coverage, the person said. RedBird IMI is a joint venture between RedBird Capital, a private-equity firm, and a private investment fund that Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed al Nahyan, an Emirati royal, runs.

Persons: Barclay, Rupert Murdoch, Lord Rothermere, Zucker, Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed al Nahyan Organizations: Telegraph, London’s Daily Mail, RedBird IMI, IMI, The Telegraph, RedBird, Conservative, IMI “ Locations: Abu Dhabi, United States, London

Gruesome photographs of Palestinian children killed in rocket strikes and Israeli infants murdered by terrorists. Digitally doctored images that whip around social media before they can be verified. Accusations — since rejected by multiple news outlets — that photojournalists had advance knowledge of the Hamas surprise attack on Oct. 7. “In every war, there is a war of narratives,” said Jonathan Levy, the executive editor of Sky News. Among the factors is how much horror a viewer or reader can tolerate, and whether an image sensationalizes or trivializes violence.

Persons: photojournalists, ”, Jonathan Levy, “ You’ve, “, Greg Headen, Headen, they’re Organizations: Hamas, Sky News, Fox News, “ Locations: Israel, United States, Europe

☆ Megyn Kelly Will Moderate the Next G.O.P. Debate, on NewsNation
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-09 | by ( Michael M. Grynbaum | More About Michael M. Grynbaum | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Former President Donald J. Trump, who famously clashed (and later made up) with Ms. Kelly during the 2016 election, is unlikely to attend. The debate will be hosted by the upstart television network NewsNation, a 24-hour cable news station that Nexstar Media Group owns. Ms. Kelly will be joined at the moderators’ desk by Elizabeth Vargas, a NewsNation anchor, and Eliana Johnson, editor in chief of The Washington Free Beacon, a conservative news site. The Free Beacon and SiriusXM, which airs Ms. Kelly’s radio show, are sponsors of the debate. The event will also be shown on digital platforms and local affiliates of the CW, the broadcast network that Nexstar owns.

Persons: Megyn Kelly, NBC —, Donald J, Trump, Kelly, Elizabeth Vargas, Eliana Johnson Organizations: Fox News, NBC, Nexstar Media Group, Republican Party, MSNBC, The Washington Free, CW, Nexstar Locations: Tuscaloosa, Ala, SiriusXM

☆ Who Are the Moderators for Wednesday’s Republican Debate?
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-08 | by ( Michael M. Grynbaum | More About Michael M. Grynbaum | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Three experienced moderators will lead Wednesday’s meeting in Miami of the remaining Republican presidential candidates, although former President Donald J. Trump will again be absent. Lester Holt and Kristen Welker, two lead anchors at NBC News, which is overseeing the debate’s production and editorial process, will serve alongside Hugh Hewitt, a conservative radio host who works for a co-sponsor of the debate, Salem Media Group. Mr. Holt, the anchor of “NBC Nightly News,” was the sole moderator of Mr. Trump’s first general-election debate with Hillary Clinton, in September 2016. Mr. Holt took a minimalist approach that evening, sometimes allowing the candidates to argue between themselves, although his lack of interruption granted viewers an unfiltered view of the candidates’ rhetorical styles. Ms. Welker, the host of “Meet the Press,” was the sole moderator of Mr. Trump’s final debate against Joseph R. Biden Jr., in October 2020.

Persons: Donald J, Trump, Lester Holt, Kristen Welker, Hugh Hewitt, Holt, ”, Trump’s, Hillary Clinton, Welker, Joseph R, Biden, Carole Simpson Organizations: NBC News, Salem Media Group, Mr, NBC Nightly, “, Press Locations: Miami

☆ A Fox News Debate That Skimped on ‘the Elephant Not in the Room’
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-24 | by ( Michael M. Grynbaum | More About Michael M. Grynbaum | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

The candidates were clashing and the Milwaukee crowd was getting rowdy. After an hour of policy discussion, the first Republican primary debate of 2023 had turned chaotic when the Fox News moderators brought up “the elephant not in the room.”Donald J. Trump was not onstage on Wednesday, but the mere mention of his name created fireworks. Chris Christie, the former New Jersey governor, urged Republicans “to stop normalizing” the former president’s conduct. His rival Vivek Ramaswamy responded that Mr. Trump was “the best president of the 21st century.” A sleepy debate had yielded to a gloves-off battle over the future of the Republican Party. As the audience drowned out Mr. Christie with boos, Bret Baier, one of the moderators, paused and turned in his chair.

Persons: ” Donald J, Trump, Chris Christie, “, Vivek Ramaswamy, Christie, Bret Baier, ” Organizations: Milwaukee, Fox, New, Republican Party Locations: New Jersey

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