Fox News’ Peter Doocy had a somewhat tense exchange Wednesday during a press conference with White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre over the documents found at Biden’s former office. At one point, he asked Jean-Pierre, “How can President Biden be trusted moving forward with America’s secrets?”
Jean-Pierre answered that Biden didn’t know the documents were there and that they were turned over as soon as the documents were discovered.
The Daily Beast’s Justin Baragona pointed out that South Carolina Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham later said on air to Fox News’ Martha MacCallum, “Well, No. 1, thank God for Peter. You got a room full of reporters and he was the only person to ask the administration (about the documents). Peter was the only guy.”
That is an outright lie.
In fact, Doocy’s exchange might not have even been the most confrontational.
The first reporter called upon by Jean-Pierre on Tuesday, the Associated Press’ Zeke Miller, asked about the documents with the second question of the press conference. He followed up with two additional questions about the documents.
That was just the start. The next three reporters — all from various news outlets — asked questions about the documents, including CBS News’ Ed O’Keefe. The exchange between an especially persistent O’Keefe might have been the most contentious of the day with O’Keefe seemingly taking a verbal jab at Jean-Pierre and her obligation to answer for the president.
That led Jean-Pierre to interrupt O’Keefe to say, “Ed, we work very well together. We don’t need to have this kind of confrontation. Ask your question and I will answer it the best that I can.”
O’Keefe then followed up with several more questions about the documents. Later, several more reporters, including NBC News’ Kristen Welker, asked questions about the documents before Doocy was called upon.
Yet, Graham insisted Doocy was the only one asking questions.
But that didn’t stop Graham from also saying on Fox, “… you can’t find this story anywhere really but on Fox.”
Again, not true.
Media Matters’ Audrey McCabe and Jasmine Geonzon reported that from 5 p.m. Monday (when the news broke) to 11 p.m. that night, CNN dedicated 1 hour and 47 minutes to the story, while Fox News had 29 minutes of coverage. MSNBC had 14 minutes.
Every major outlet continues to cover the story, but most are doing so responsibly — not making it out to be more than it is based on what we know right now. And while Jean-Pierre might not have liked all the questions she received Wednesday, most were necessary. And her answers, at times, were vague, which led to more questions.
The questions about comparing Biden to Trump seem like chasing a butterfly off in the distance instead of sticking to the trail. But the questions about the details of the documents were responsible. And should continue.
Following up
One more note about Graham’s appearance on Fox News. Credit MacCallum for correcting Graham in real time that Doocy was not alone in asking questions about the documents. She said, “To be fair, there were other reporters in the room who did ask questions …”
MacCallum also asked Graham about the point that the Biden documents and the Trump documents appear to be two very different scenarios. Graham dodged the question, but at least MacCallum asked.
Big news at NBC News
Here’s a big media move that was announced Wednesday: Rebecca Blumenstein, a deputy managing editor at The New York Times, has been named the president of editorial for NBC News. She takes over for Noah Oppenheim, who has been president of NBC News the past five-plus years.
The New York Times’ Benjamin Mullin and Michael M. Grynbaum wrote, “At NBC, she will inherit many of the responsibilities of Noah Oppenheim, who has been president of NBC News since 2017. He has struck a production deal with NBCUniversal, working on film and TV projects for the company. With the appointment, Cesar Conde, who oversees NBCUniversal’s news division, is turning over major parts of his marquee news brand to a highly decorated print and digital journalist, but one with little experience in television.”
They added, “In a reorganization led by Mr. Conde, who as chairman of NBCUniversal News Group also runs CNBC and MSNBC, Ms. Blumenstein will oversee household-brand shows like ‘Meet the Press’ and ‘Dateline.’ Some significant parts of NBC News overseen by Mr. Oppenheim will now report directly to Mr. Conde, including the network’s flagship program, ‘NBC Nightly News,’ and the lucrative ‘Today’ franchise of morning programming. The cable channels MSNBC and CNBC do not fall under Mr. Oppenheim’s portfolio and will continue to be led by their own presidents.”
In a note to staff, Oppenheim said, “I leave with enormous pride in all that we’ve accomplished together.” He called NBC News the “gold standard” and wrote, “Sharing this front-row seat to history with the smartest, most committed and most compassionate colleagues has been a tremendous privilege.”
At the Times, Blumenstein, 56, oversaw the news outlet’s recruiting operations. She joined the Times in 2017 after working at the Wall Street Journal, where she worked as foreign correspondent and, then, as deputy editor in chief.
Mullin and Grynbaum have more of the details.
In addition, Conde also announced that Libby Leist has been named Executive Vice President, TODAY and Lifestyle and Janelle Rodriguez has been named Executive Vice President, NBC News NOW.
One more media move of note: Newsday has named Rochell Bishop Sleets as its next managing editor, making her second in charge of the newsroom. She has been the news director at the Chicago Tribune, where she has worked for the past 16 years.
New gig
CNN’s Pamela Brown is getting a new role at the network. She will become CNN’s chief investigative correspondent and anchor. In this new role, Brown will join the network’s investigative team, while continuing as an anchor, filling in throughout the week.
Most recently, Brown anchored the weekend primetime edition of “CNN Newsroom.” She also has been a senior Washington correspondent and covered the Trump administration as the network’s senior White House correspondent.
CNN’s news lineup
CNN is shuffling its daytime lineup. The new schedule has John Berman, Kate Bolduan and Sara Sidner hosting from 9 a.m Eastern to noon. “Inside Politics” with anchor John King will continue in its noon to 1 p.m. slot. The 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. block will be anchored by Brianna Keilar, Boris Sanchez and Jim Sciutto.
CNN’s Oliver Darcy wrote, “As a result of the programming changes, ‘CNN Newsroom’ anchors Victor Blackwell and Alisyn Camerota will transition to new roles. Blackwell will move back to hosting the network’s weekend morning show from Atlanta. Camerota, the network said, will focus on the 10 p.m. program, a time slot she has been guest hosting with Laura Coates for months. Coates, CNN said, will focus solely on anchoring the 11 p.m. hour.”
There is no official start date just yet for the new schedule, but it should happen in the next few months.
Great news
Actually, make it incredible news. Buffalo Bills safety Damar Hamlin was discharged from a Buffalo hospital on Wednesday — just nine days after he collapsed on the field and needed to be resuscitated by CPR. He has been cleared to continue his rehabilitation at home, but full recovery could take several months.
Bills head coach Sean McDermott told reporters Wednesday, “We're obviously grateful first and foremost that he's home and with his parents and his brother, which is great. I'm sure it's felt like a long time since he's been able to be home naturally there, and I'm sure it's a great feeling.”
The Bills host the Miami Dolphins on Sunday in the first round of the playoffs.
That leads me to this excellent story from “CBS Evening News” anchor Norah O’Donnell …
Valuable reporting
