The co-hosts of “PBS NewsHour” had a stark warning for the media in the wake of the attempted assassination of former President Donald Trump: Don’t get ahead of the current story.
“I think one of our key guiding principles, whether it’s a huge story like the assassination attempt on a former president or any other story, is to not get ahead of ourselves. A few days ago, the big story was the future of the Democratic ticket. In the last 48 hours, you’ve seen that story take a backseat,” Amna Nawaz said during a panel for the series on the first day of the PBS Television Critics Association’s 2024 Summer Tour.
“There is a sense that things are changing in real time and one of the worst mistakes we could make would be to try to get ahead of it,” he continued.
Nawaz also called Saturday’s events “one of the biggest stories we’re covering this year.” He also admitted that he has “no idea” how this story will play out, adding, “We’re just trying to keep up with things.”
While the stakes of this particular story are incredibly high, co-anchor Geoff Bennett assured the room that it hasn’t changed the “overall approach” of “PBS NewsHour.”
“The fundamentals of how we cover the news don’t change at all,” he said.
Discussing the failings of the media as a whole, Bennett also said the media needs to be more transparent in how news is reported in order to rebuild audience trust. “I think we need to be more transparent than ever … that we have a dog in the race. That’s certainly something we care deeply about at ‘NewsHour.’”
Bennett and Nawaz, who joined TCA via video, also reported on the overall tone of the Republican National Convention. The two will report from the Milwaukee, Wisconsin, event, which began Monday. Bennett noted that security at the RNC is “tight” and the overall feeling among Republican attendees is one of relief “that President Trump has not been more seriously injured.”
The pair further explained their news show’s audience, noting that their audience is “one-third, one-third, one-third,” and that those three-thirds comprise Republican, Democratic, and independent viewers. Additionally, the series averages 2 million viewers a night, which Bennett said “far outpaces our friends on cable.” He also boasted that the show has 6 million monthly live streams and 34 million monthly views on YouTube.
“You won’t find a television audience with that makeup anywhere else,” Bennett said. “Our content resonates. There’s an audience that’s desperate for the kind of news programming we offer.”
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