Add NewsNation to the growing list of television news outlets hoping to air a presidential debate between former President Donald Trump and Vice President Kamala Harris.
In messages sent to each candidate's campaign staff on Sunday that were reviewed by diverse, Nexstar CEO Sean Compton, who oversees NewsNation for parent company Nexstar Media Group, suggested both sides consider the television outlet after Trump said Saturday he would not participate in an already scheduled event with ABC News on Sept. 10 and instead proposed an event with Fox News on Sept. 4.
“I would like to offer an alternative that would satisfy the candidates — not to mention the American public — a fair, respectful and equitable debate on NewsNation, co-sponsored by The Hill,” Compton said, referring to the political news outlet also owned by Nexstar. “We are certainly flexible about the timing, format and location of the debate, though we certainly anticipate it will be held in a battleground state like Pennsylvania.”
Nexstar executives were not immediately available for comment.
NewsNation’s campaign highlights the growing interest from news outlets in getting a piece of the action leading up to the 2024 presidential election. Some of this is driven by Democrats and Republicans’ willingness to eschew the debate format long held by the Commission on Presidential Debates, and some of it is driven by a desire to stage exclusive live events that can generate large audiences in an era when more TV viewers have moved to streaming sessions with Netflix, Hulu and other broadband outlets.
NewsNation has one of the smallest audiences among cable news outlets. The highly anticipated debate between Trump and President Joe Biden that aired in June drew 51.27 million viewers across a wide range of networks, with CNN, which ran the event and allowed others to stream it, drawing 9.53 million viewers. Fox News drew 9.28 million viewers and ABC News drew 9.21 million viewers. NewsNation drew some of the 3.45 million who also watched across Scripps News, Univision, BET, Newsmax and PBS.
NewsNation remains a nascent presence in the news landscape, having launched in 2021 as Nexstar hopes to provide an alternative to its more partisan-leaning competitors. The network has hired anchors and producers known for their stints at Fox News Channel, ABC News and elsewhere, while also leveraging newsrooms that are part of Nexstar’s vast local holdings. The event drew 2.5 million viewers across NewsNation and its corporate sister network, the CW.
Harris has already proposed appearing with ABC News on September 10, when Trump and Biden are scheduled to debate, and Fox News has proposed a September 17 debate in Pennsylvania moderated by Bret Baier and Martha McCallum.
“As you know, the journalists at NewsNation and The Hill pride themselves on being nonpartisan,” Compton said. “Unlike some media outlets, we don’t identify as favoring Democrats or Republicans. That’s why NewsNation and The Hill are the perfect platform for intelligent conversation about the critical issues facing America as we head into the election.”
The executive did not specify which anchors might moderate the proposed discussion. News Nation staffers include Vargas, Chris Cuomo, Dan Abrams, Ashleigh Banfield and Leland Vittert.
