Add NewsNation to the growing list of TV-news outlets hoping to telecast a presidential debate between former President Donald Trump and U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris.
In letters to sent to each candidate’s campaign staff Sunday that were reviewed by Variety, Nexstar executive Sean Compton, who oversees the NewsNation for parent Nexstar Media Group, proposed that both sides consider the cable outlet after Trump said Saturday he would not take part in an event already scheduled with ABC News for September 10 and instead proposed one with Fox News for September 4.
“I’d like to offer an alternative that would satisfy both candidates — not to mention the American public — a fair, respectful and even-handed debate on NewsNation, co-sponsored by The Hill,” said Compton, referring to the political-news media outlet also owned by Nexstar. He added: “We of course are flexible on the timing, format and location of the debate, although we certainly expect it would be held in a battleground state such as Pennsylvania.”
Nexstar was unable to make executives available for immediate comment.
The NewsNation pitch spotlights growing interest from news outlets in landing some part of the events leading up to the 2024 presidential election. Some of that is fostered by Democrats’ and Republicans’ willingness to skirt the debate system long orchestrated by the Commission on Presidential Debates, and some of it is spurred by the intense desire for exclusive live events that can generate sizable audiences in an era when more TV viewers have migrated to one-on-one streaming sessions with Netflix, Hulu and other broadband outlets.
NewsNation offers one of the smaller audiences among TV-news outlets. A much-anticipated debate between Trump and President Joe Biden that was broadcast in June reached drew 51.27 million viewers across a wide array of networks, with CNN, which moderated the event and let others broadcast it, attracting 9.53 million viewers. Fox News snared 9.28 million viewers and ABC News lured 9.21 million. NewsNation drew some portion of 3.45 million who also watched via Scripps News, Univision, BET, Newsmax and PBS.
NewsNation remains an upstart presence on the news scene, having launched in 2021, with Nexstar hoping to provide an alternative to rivals that tilt partisan. The network has hired anchors and producers known for tenures at Fox News Channel, ABC News and other places, while also utilizing the newsrooms that are part of Nexstar’s vast local-station holdings. The event drew 2.5 million viewers across NewsNation and its corporate sibling, the CW broadcast network.
Harris has already proposed appearing with ABC News on September 10, when a debate was to have taken place between Trump and Biden. Fox News has made a pitch for a debate to be held on September 17 in Pennsylvania moderated by Bret Baier and Martha MacCallum.
“As you know, the journalists at NewsNation and The Hill pride themselves on being nonpartisan,” said Compton. “Unlike some media outlets, they are not identified as favoring either Democrats or Republicans. That’s why NewsNation and The Hill are the perfect platform for an intelligent conversation about the crucial issues facing America as we head into the election.”
The executive did not identify anchors that might moderate the proposed debate. Some of NewsNation’s best-known staffers are Vargas; Chris Cuomo; Dan Abrams; Ashleigh Banfield; and Leland Vittert.
