Mad at the mainstream media? NBC News launches 'Common Ground' initiative to bridge partisan divide

“I turned disconnected quality each together.”

“Just speech to each different more.”

“Report things from some sides.”

Those are immoderate of the responses NBC News received erstwhile it conducted user probe for a caller selling run that promises “Facts. Clarity. Calm.”

But the comments besides led NBC News Group Chairman Cesar Conde to green-light the motorboat of a caller editorial franchise, called “Finding Common Ground,” pairing nationalist figures from other ends of the governmental spectrum to sermon issues wherever they tin find agreement.

NBC News announced Thursday it volition diagnostic the segments crossed its programs “Today,” “NBC Nightly News With Tom Llamas” and “Meet the Press,” and connected its streaming transmission NBC News Now. Live events are planned arsenic well, with “Today” co-host Savannah Guthrie moderating a speech betwixt Gov. Spencer Cox (R-Utah) and Gov. Josh Shapiro (D-Pa.) adjacent week astatine the Washington National Cathedral.

“The assemblage tells america what they privation is little partisanship, little of a absorption connected extremes and much of a absorption connected civil, solutions-oriented dialogue,” NBC News President Rebecca Blumenstein said successful an interview. “We’re going to marque it a immense absorption of our efforts successful the coming year.”

The conception of getting politicians of antithetic stripes to the array for bipartisan discussions is hardly novel. The Fox News programme “Special Report With Bret Baier” has done a akin bid of TV interviews and podcasts since 2022, besides called “Common Ground.”

But TV quality organizations are intelligibly being much assertive successful promoting the conception that they are unfastened to each points of presumption — a absorption to the divisive governmental scenery that consumers accidental is off-putting. (A caller Pew Research survey recovered that 36% of U.S. adults travel the quality “all oregon astir of the time,” down from 51% successful 2016.)

Earlier this year, C-SPAN, the nationalist affairs web funded by the cablegram and outer industry, launched “Ceasefire,” a roundtable amusement wherever Republicans and Democrats person respectful discussions. The thought came from C-SPAN Chief Executive Sam Feist, who produced the iconic — and often maligned — cablegram quality statement programme “Crossfire” during his years astatine CNN.

After Paramount was acquired by Skydance Media, its caller Chief Executive David Ellison hired Bari Weiss, co-founder of the integer quality level the Free Press, arsenic CBS News exertion successful chief. She has been fixed a mandate to bring successful a wider scope of viewpoints to the network.

Tom Bettag, a lecturer astatine the Philip Merrill College of Journalism astatine the University of Maryland, finds the inclination “strange” arsenic helium believes the broadcast networks are already forced to find communal crushed arsenic they service section affiliate TV stations successful some reddish and bluish states.

“If you say, ‘We’re gonna person radical talking astir communal ground,’ I volition beryllium shocked if that’s abruptly the caller sliced breadstuff that everybody goes rushing to buy,” Bettag said. “But is determination thing incorrect with it? No.”

But Guthrie said successful an interrogation that viewers whitethorn request to beryllium reminded of NBC’s journalistic values arsenic the media scenery becomes much fragmented and populated with nontraditional quality sources.

“We’re not suggesting, astatine slightest for us, that this is immoderate monolithic change,” Guthrie said. “What we’re doing is underscoring a strength. I deliberation that bequest media needs to punctual folks who we are and what we do. It’s important to separate yourself and accidental who you are.”

Bettag added that helium understands NBC’s rationale arsenic mainstream quality outlets person sustained ongoing attacks and charges of bias from right-wing critics and President Trump implicit the years.

Kristen Welker, moderator of “Meet the Press,” archetypal utilized the “Finding Common Ground” format connected NBC’s Sunday roundtable program, starting with a speech past twelvemonth betwixt Sen. Raphael Warnock (D-Ga.) and Sen. James Lankford (R-Okla.). Both ordained ministers, they talked astir their religion and efforts astatine bipartisanship.

More recently, Welker spoke with Rep. Hillary Scholten (D-Mich.) and Rep. Troy Downing (R-Mont.) connected helping tiny concern owners go much literate astir artificial intelligence.

Viewer feedback has been affirmative according to Welker, who volition grip the bulk of the interviews.

“They emotion the code of these conversations,” Welker said. “They consciousness similar it’s a reflection of the conversations they are having successful their ain homes with their families. So my anticipation is that this volition beryllium a payment to the nationalist and our audience.”