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Alright, who's in the mood for a #thread about the DUELING TOWN HALLS problem?
First things first: TV networks are always competing to host town halls. It's not primarily about "ratings." Trump's town hall on ABC only had 3.8 million viewers! News divisions are proud of these events, proud to connect voters with the candidates, etc. It's in the TV news DNA.
NBC produced a town hall with Biden last week. Trump was offered the same opportunity. Even though he attacks NBC so much that some journos have been placed in danger... even though he calls it "Concast..." even though he lies incessantly... tenets of journalistic fairness apply.
When the 10/15 debate was scrapped, NBC execs and the Trump campaign plotted a town hall, and NBC's top priorities were 1) Covid safety 2) parity with Biden. Parity meant: Trump gets the same outdoor venue in Miami, the same 8 p.m. time slot, the same 60-minute amount of time.
BUT this brings us to the reason for this thread: ABC announced a town hall with Biden almost a week ago! So why in the world did NBC schedule Trump at the exact same time? Hang with me, there are reasons... wonky and unsatisfying reasons, perhaps, but... https://www.cnn.com/2020/10/14/media/nbc-trump-town-hall-biden-abc/index.html
When ABC announced the Biden town hall, it did not specify a time slot. Execs at NBC expected that ABC would schedule Biden at 9pm, since ABC's TRUMP town hall had started at 9. NBC planners eyed the 8pm hour for Trump, since that's when their BIDEN event took place.
On Sunday, ABC said Biden would be on from 8 to 9:30pm. Reason: It had been planning to do pre-debate coverage at 8 that night. So the news division had blocked off the time. At this point, NBC was still in talks w/ the Trump camp, and could have shifted to 9/9:30/10, but didn't.
Why? The best answer I've heard from sources today is "parity:" Biden was on NBC at 8, so Trump will be on NBC at 8. But some NBC staffers are perturbed: "We're giving Trump exactly what he wants," a made-by-TV rivalry between the prez and the former VP https://www.cnn.com/2020/10/14/media/nbc-trump-town-hall-biden-abc/index.html
Did the Trump campaign demand the head-to-head time slot? I don't know. Last Friday, Trump senior adviser Jason Miller said "we're actually going to be on multiple networks at the same time" and "we're gonna have a much bigger audience than Joe," so that quote speaks for itself.
Will ABC News shift Biden's time slot? A rep declined to comment. But let's be clear -- ABC announced its plans several days before NBC did. Moving one of the town halls to a different day is not seen as a viable option, given the crowded schedules of the candidates, BTW.
Why don't ABC and NBC just re-air each other's events? I've asked. I know I'm a big TV news nerd but I think it would be epic and pro-viewer. Now, it is worth noting that both town halls will be available on-demand, so voters can watch whenever they want.
1 aspect of NBC's town hall that most people are missing: It will be the most substantive interview of Trump since he came down with COVID. He has been calling into pro-Trump shows but has steered clear of the press corps. @SavannahGuthrie will have plenty of time to ask him Q's.
Oh, and why is Biden's town hall on ABC 90 minutes while Trump on NBC is 60 minutes? Because Trump on ABC last month was 90 min. And Biden on NBC last week was 60 minutes. Parity. Balance.
This is prob the end of the thread but who ever knows anymore
http://www.cnn.com/2020/10/14/media/nbc-trump-town-hall-biden-abc/index.html
This is prob the end of the thread but who ever knows anymore
http://www.cnn.com/2020/10/14/media/nbc-trump-town-hall-biden-abc/index.html
