Tom Llamas, the new NBC Nightly News anchor, is telling people NBC is straight down the middle. We at NewsBusters love the concept of fair and balanced news. But that doesn't mean NBC News has achieved it nightly.
In an interview with Jeremy Barr, a Stelter disciple of sorts at the Washington Post, Llamas took a stand for neutrality.
BARR: Do you think down-the-middle, more traditional evening news broadcasts are still relevant, particularly in light of the broader polarization of media?
LLAMAS: I think that’s our brand, and I think if we try to do anything different, it’s going to hurt us, and I don’t think we would. At least it’s not going to happen under me. You need news right down the middle. You have got to be straightforward. … I think people need that. I think that people still want that. We live in some wild times — and you really need somebody to cut through and say, “This is what’s happening.”
When pressed further on restoring public trust in the media in a Deadline interview, Llamas hailed his predecessor Lester Holt as "the most trusted news anchor in America. He insisted "You got to be tough but fair. So if you’re tough on the Republicans, you got to be tough on the Democrats, but fair. NBC News has always done that. And then you have to report the news without fear or favor. And then at the end of the day, I think you earn the viewers’ trust by making sure they know that even though I work for NBC News, I really work for them, and I believe that. I’m there to help them. I’m there to make sure that their questions are answered."
It sounds good, but they don't live up to it. On June 10, 2024 fill-in anchor Tom Llamas began: “For the first time, the child of a sitting president facing a potential criminal conviction. Right now, a jury deliberating the fate of Hunter Biden, the sole surviving son of the president.” Hunter Biden was 54 and network anchors refer to him as a “child.”
Llamas claimed President Trump's willingness to submit to Meet The Press interviews with Kristen Welker, "it's because he knows he's going to get a fair shake." That's not true, but it's true that President Biden never submitted to a Welker interview. Trump is willing to undergo a hostile interview, but Biden couldn't handle a friendly one.
Geoff Dickens has a new piece on some of the worst of Tom Llamas. On the night of Trump's latest State of the Union in March, Llamas was anchoring live for NBC's streaming channel and asked former Trump press secretary Hogan Gidley about the president: “Since he’s not running for re-election, do you think that’s a superpower, or do you think that’s sort of a gateway to temptation to be incredibly reckless?”
NBC is not this tough on Democrats. Enjoy the podcast below, or wherever you listen to podcasts.
