Category Archives: Reporting

Trump Meets the Press

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This goes on my list of most memorable television interviews. And I have seen many.

Donald Trump sat for an interview with Kristen Welker, host of NBC’s Meet the Press. I have no idea why. Welker announced that she and her crew had been invited to follow Trump to a rally in Wisconsin, where Trump addressed farmers, one of his most supportive constituent groups. Why they continue to overwhelmingly support him is something else I don’t understand. His policies have crippled their export markets and put them on government subsidies, welfare, and threatened their livelihood. Still, he found himself addressing a friendly crowd. Then he sat down with Welker in a barn in the midst of a pouring rainstorm. As the interviewed progressed, the storm moved inside.

You can find both the transcript and the full video here. You should really see it for yourself.

It began as most Trump interviews do. They spoke about the war with Iran, the “anti-weaponization” fund, and the economy. Trump told his usual lies and Welker just moved on. Then something happened. When Welker moved on to talk about elections, including the recent primary in California, and Trump repeated his lies, Welker followed up and demanded proof. That is a rare event. Welker asked the president for any evidence on the gubernatorial race being fraudulent. He responded by accusing the reporter of being “crooked”. “They’re crooked, just like you’re crooked, your press is crooked. And Meet the Press is crooked,” said Trump.

Welker then defended herself and tried to ask additional questions, with Trump replying: “You’re either crooked or you’re stupid. You play right into their hands with this crap. You know that these elections are rigged. Your network knows that they’re rigged.” Trump then brought up previously repeated false claims that he won the 2020 US presidential election.

When Welker tried to ask additional questions, Trump continued to assert that NBC was “crooked” and ended the interview. “Let’s call it quits because I’ve had enough,” said Trump, taking off his microphone. “Thank you, darling. Have a good time.” He stomped on the microphone as he left. These broadcast-standard microphones typically cost between $350 and $450.

I’ve seen interview subjects walk out on interviews before. But never a president. Some mental health experts have analyzed the walkout through the lens of political psychology. They argue that his sudden exit and verbal attacks (e.g., calling the interviewer and networks “crooked”) illustrate his inability to cope with objective pushback. Professionals point out that because he is used to an environment where his statements are frequently accepted without challenge, being confronted with factual discrepancies causes significant volatility.

Here are the last few minutes from NBC’s transcript:

KRISTEN WELKER:

This $1.8 billion so-called anti-weaponization fund that’s going to compensate people who say the federal government weaponized the legal system against them. It’s been blocked by the courts, met with opposition from Republicans –

PRES. DONALD TRUMP:

And Democrats.

KRISTEN WELKER:

– in Congress, and Democrats.

PRES. DONALD TRUMP:

Most, excuse me, mostly Democrats.

KRISTEN WELKER:

Mostly Democrats and some Republicans.

PRES. DONALD TRUMP:

Some. Very few Republicans.

KRISTEN WELKER:

Just to be very clear, are you backing off the fund completely as your acting Attorney General Todd Blanche has said, or are you looking for another avenue to revive the fund?

PRES. DONALD TRUMP:

So let — let me explain what the fund is. People have been hurt so badly by radical left lunatics that worked for the Biden administration and Sleepy Joe. They’re vicious. They’re violent, what they did to people. And of course they went after me more than anybody else. They raided Mar-a-Lago and all the other things. But people have been badly hurt. They’ve committed suicide. They’ve lost their jobs. They’re lost their families. They’ve lost their wives. They’ve lost everything. They’ve lost everything over a fake weaponization of government. Now, let me just tell you –

KRISTEN WELKER:

So are you looking for a way to revive it?

PRES. DONALD TRUMP:

Well, look. If it was up to me, I’d pay them the kind of money that they deserve. People have been destroyed. Lives have been destroyed. Many suicides, think of it. People have committed suicide because a bunch of thugs went after them.

KRISTEN WELKER:

You don’t –

PRES. DONALD TRUMP:

So me, personally, I think the weaponization fund is a great idea, and so do many other Republicans. You have to get it approved. If they get it approved, that’s great. If they don’t get it approved, I’d be disappointed.

KRISTEN WELKER:

All right. We’re going to motor through this.

PRES. DONALD TRUMP:

But you have to understand, people have — have been destroyed by crooked politicians, and they should be reimbursed for that.

KRISTEN WELKER:

Do you think anyone who attacked police officers on January 6th should get taxpayer money?

PRES. DONALD TRUMP:

I wouldn’t be inclined to say so, but I have to see it. I can tell you this: 97% of those people, you look at them, the FBI or whoever it was, cause you had a lot of crooked cops, you had dirty cops. Comey was a dirty cop.

KRISTEN WELKER:

Well, there is no evidence to –

PRES. DONALD TRUMP:

A guy like Bolton was a dirty cop –

KRISTEN WELKER:

But there is no evidence that– but there’s no evidence that people who –

PRES. DONALD TRUMP:

Wait a minute, wait a minute. Oh, you think Comey was a straight cop?

KRISTEN WELKER:

We had 170 people who pleaded guilty to assaulting police officers.

PRES. DONALD TRUMP:

Comey was a dirty cop.

KRISTEN WELKER:

No, no, but the people who assaulted police officers.

PRES. DONALD TRUMP:

They had FBI — listen to me. They had FBI agents ushering them into the building. They had FBI “Go into the building.” Those people are walking around, they’re looking, “Oh, isn’t this nice?” They weren’t in– they were being ushered into the building.

KRISTEN WELKER:

There’s no evidence of that, sir. There’s no evidence of that.

PRES. DONALD TRUMP:

You had a bunch of dirty cops, and frankly, what they did was weaponization of our government.

KRISTEN WELKER:

But sir, there– there’s no evidence of that. More than a thousand people pleaded guilty to crimes –

PRES. DONALD TRUMP:

No, well, yeah, no, there’s none. You know what they do?

KRISTEN WELKER:

Would you –

PRES. DONALD TRUMP:

Try looking at the tapes one time.

KRISTEN WELKER:

Would you take it off the table?

PRES. DONALD TRUMP:

Look at the tapes one time.

KRISTEN WELKER:

Okay, but 172 people did plead guilty to assaulting police officers.

PRES. DONALD TRUMP:

You know why they pled guilty?

KRISTEN WELKER:

Should they be exempt –

PRES. DONALD TRUMP:

Because they told they were going to jail for 15 years –

KRISTEN WELKER:

– from receiving funds?

PRES. DONALD TRUMP:

– if they didn’t.

KRISTEN WELKER:

Should they –

PRES. DONALD TRUMP:

They pled guilty because they were frightened. They went down. They were ushered into a building. Many of them were arrested without even going into the building.

KRISTEN WELKER:

You’d be okay with them receiving taxpayer dollars?

PRES. DONALD TRUMP:

The people were destroyed by dirty cops and by weaponization. Many of those people should be compensated. Now, with that being said, the, as I understand it, the weaponization fund was going to set up a group of people, people that could be picked by anybody, fair people, smart people, and they will go on an individual case basis.

KRISTEN WELKER:

Okay.

PRES. DONALD TRUMP:

Now, I don’t know what’s going to happen with the weaponization fund. I love the idea, because people like you, the fake dirty press, the crooked press, people like stupid Biden, he’s not smart enough to know what’s going on, but people that surrounded him, surrounded his beautiful Resolute Desk in the Oval Office, what they did to the lives of people, they destroyed people. They sent people to jail who did nothing wrong.

KRISTEN WELKER:

All right, this is, just to be very clear, there’s no evidence of what you’re saying, but let me ask about Todd Blanche.

PRES. DONALD TRUMP:

There’s a lot of evidence.

KRISTEN WELKER:

Let me ask about Todd Blanche.

PRES. DONALD TRUMP:

Listen — listen to me — listen to me.

KRISTEN WELKER:

Let’s talk about Todd Blanche.

PRES. DONALD TRUMP:

There’s tremendous evidence. There’s nothing but evidence.

KRISTEN WELKER:

Well, it’s not been presented in a court of a law.

PRES. DONALD TRUMP:

The election was rigged. It was a dirty election.

KRISTEN WELKER:

Mr. President –

PRES. DONALD TRUMP:

And it’s happening again right now in California.

KRISTEN WELKER:

— you’ve never presented evidence –

PRES. DONALD TRUMP:

It’s happening right now in California

KRISTEN WELKER:

– that the 2020 election was rigged.

PRES. DONALD TRUMP:

Right now, it’s look at what’s happening in California.

KRISTEN WELKER:

Where’s the evidence to that?

PRES. DONALD TRUMP:

It’s four days –

KRISTEN WELKER:

The Republicans are doing well in California.

PRES. DONALD TRUMP:

In California, it’s, no they’re not. They’re dropping fast because it’s a rigged election. Let me tell you, it’s four days and they aren’t even close to coming up with the –

KRISTEN WELKER:

That’s how they count the votes in California.

PRES. DONALD TRUMP:

Do you know why they’re doing that? Because they’re cheating on the election.

KRISTEN WELKER:

There’s — What? Do you have evidence to support that?

PRES. DONALD TRUMP:

It’s– all I have to do is look. All I have to do is look.

KRISTEN WELKER:

But that’s not evidence.

PRES. DONALD TRUMP:

And I listen. And I listen to people. And let’s see what happens.

KRISTEN WELKER:

But sir, that’s not evidence, and that’s how they count the votes in California–

PRES. DONALD TRUMP:

Do you think it’s appropriate that they have an election and five days later, they’re nowhere close to picking a winner?

KRISTEN WELKER:

State and local officials acknowledge they are slow. They’re urging–

PRES. DONALD TRUMP:

No, they’re crooked.

KRISTEN WELKER:

– they’re urging the votes to be counted quickly. That’s how they vote in California.

PRES. DONALD TRUMP:

They’re crooked just like you’re crooked, your press is crooked. And Meet the Press is crooked.

KRISTEN WELKER:

To be fair, I’m not crooked. But let’s continue.

PRES. DONALD TRUMP:

Really? Well, you play right into their hands then.

KRISTEN WELKER:

Let’s continue.

PRES. DONALD TRUMP:

You’re either crooked or you’re stupid.

KRISTEN WELKER:

Let’s continue.

PRES. DONALD TRUMP:

You play right into their hands with this stuff. You know that these elections are rigged. Your network knows that they’re rigged. Do you know that I won an election in a landslide and I got 94% bad press.

KRISTEN WELKER:

But Mr. President –

PRES. DONALD TRUMP:

You know why I got that?

KRISTEN WELKER:

– you’ve never presented –

PRES. DONALD TRUMP:

Because you have no credibility.

KRISTEN WELKER:

-evidence. But you’ve never presented evidence it was rigged. Let’s keep talking about, I want to talk about Todd Blanche.

PRES. DONALD TRUMP:

You have more evidence, there’s more evidence than ever presented.

KRISTEN WELKER:

Let’s talk about–

PRES. DONALD TRUMP:

Your elections in this country –

KRISTEN WELKER:

– you went to court.

PRES. DONALD TRUMP:

We’re like a third world country.

KRISTEN WELKER:

But sir –

PRES. DONALD TRUMP:

Your elections are crooked and you’re crooked, and Meet the Press is crooked.

KRISTEN WELKER:

But Mr. President–

PRES. DONALD TRUMP:

And so is ABC and CBS and CNN.

KRISTEN WELKER:

But Mr. President–

PRES. DONALD TRUMP:

You’re a one-sided crooked network. Sorry. Let’s call it quits because I’ve had enough. Thank you, darling. Have a good time.

KRISTEN WELKER:

Mr. President, let’s — please, I traveled all the way to Wisconsin.

PRES. DONALD TRUMP:

I’ve sat in the rain with you–

KRISTEN WELKER:

I traveled all — I know. I traveled all the way–

PRES. DONALD TRUMP:

I sat in the rain with you for an hour.

KRISTEN WELKER:

–to Wisconsin.

PRES. DONALD TRUMP:

On and off in the rain, and I’ve given you enough time. You ought to straighten out your press, because you know what?

KRISTEN WELKER:

Mr. President–

PRES. DONALD TRUMP:

A country can never be great with a dishonest press.

KRISTEN WELKER:

– we traveled all — listen. We traveled all the way to Wisconsin for this interview.

This is one for the record books.

#####

Funerals at CBS

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There are two funerals on tap this week at CBS, Inc., the company where I spent the first decade of my professional career. When I joined it in 1974, it had recently changed its name from the Columbia Broadcasting System to better reflect its position as a major media company, not just a broadcaster. Its four core lines of business were Broadcasting (TV and radio), Records (music), Publishing (books and magazines), and Musical Instruments/Toys.

One thing it did not change was its leadership. William S. Paley was the legendary media tycoon who built CBS from a small, struggling 16-station radio network into a multi-billion-dollar global broadcasting and entertainment empire. He is widely regarded as one of the founding fathers of modern American broadcasting. Paley entered the picture in September 1928, when his wealthy family bought a majority stake a struggling radio company. He was subsequently named president at just 26 years old, going on to transform the then tiny network into a media empire. In 1974, he was firmly in control.

I can’t imagine what he would think of today’s CBS. Faced with a business climate which seems to value size over all else, CBS has gone from owner to owner in the post Paley years. Today it is owned by Paramount Skydance (formally known as Paramount, a Skydance Corporation). The network’s ownership structure underwent a massive shift when Skydance Media, led by tech heir and filmmaker David Ellison, officially completed an $8 billion merger with CBS’s previous parent company, Paramount Global, on August 7, 2025. Ellison’s takeover of the storied broadcasting was aided by a cash guarantee from his father Larry. Larry Ellison, the billionaire co-founder of Oracle, played the critical role of primary financial bankroller and majority equity owner in the Skydance acquisition of Paramount Global (and by extension, CBS).

Which brings us to this week’s funerals. Not unplanned deaths. These are self-inflicted executions.

The Late Show with Stephen Colbert

First to die will be The Late Show with Stephen Colbert. It will air its final episode on May 21. The Late Show franchise originally began on August 30, 1993, when David Letterman launched the inaugural Late Show with David Letterman. It was a bold attempt for CBS to compete in the late-night hours, where NBC’s Tonight Show had reigned supreme seemingly since the beginning of time. I remember gathering with my dormmates around the communal television after a long day of classes and studying to relax with Johnny Carson. When Carson retired, Letterman, who had a program which followed Carson, seemed the heir apparent. NBC instead chose comedian Jay Leno, leaving Letterman free. CBS swooped in.

When Letterman retired in 2015, after hosting for 22 years, CBS selected Stephen Colbert, host of his own show on the Comedy Central channel, to succeed him. In the picture above you can see Letterman and Colbert, together last week to throw their own wake. What better way than by gleefully tossing CBS office furniture, including a desk chair and sofas, plus watermelons — a signature Letterman gag — off the side of the building, aimed at the target below: a giant CBS logo.

The official reason provided by CBS for canceling The Late Show is financial, though the decision is heavily shadowed by a massive corporate and political timing controversy. CBS did not reveal detailed financial information. For many the show’s cancellation carries the stench of suspected political interference. Publicly, media critics, industry insiders, and even former host Letterman have vehemently rejected the financial excuse, calling CBS executives “lying weasels” and accusing them of political cowardice.

In July 2025, Paramount paid a $16 million legal settlement to Donald Trump after he sued over how 60 Minutes edited an interview with Kamala Harris. Days later, Colbert ruthlessly mocked his own parent company on air, calling the payout a “big fat bribe”. At the exact moment Colbert made these comments, Paramount was desperately seeking crucial regulatory approval from the Trump administration’s FCC for its $8 billion merger with Skydance Media. Just days after Colbert’s monologue, CBS stunned the industry by canceling the show. Weeks later, the FCC approved the multibillion-dollar Skydance merger. Trump later gloated publicly on social media, bragging that Colbert had been “fired.”

CBS Radio News

The second funeral will be held at the end of the Friday. On that day CBS permanently shuts down CBS News Radio, brining a historic 99-year era of American broadcasting to a sudden end.

Sometime when I was in grade school, I set my clock radio to wake me up at 7AM Chicago time. The radio was tuned to WBBM, the CBS owned station. At that time, I heard The CBS World News Roundup. I have started my day with that broadcast most days since. That is something in the neighborhood of 65 years. But the CBS News Roundup, and the CBS News Hourly reports at the top of every hour of every day, can trace their history back to 1928. This shutdown, ordered by Larry Ellison’s pick as Editor-in-Chief of CBS News, Bari Weiss, completely dismantles the original foundation of William Paley’s media empire and eliminates all remaining jobs within the radio news division.

Finances again are blamed. Legacy media has been heavily battered by years of declining advertising revenue and shifting listener habits as audiences steadily migrated toward podcasts, social media, and digital streaming platforms. But creative leadership could have explored options. The audio medium of radio is perfect for podcasts and streaming. The new bosses at CBS clearly had their eye only on the issue of paying down the Ellison’s debt. The shutdown functions as part of a larger 6% staff reduction across the entire CBS News workforce under the network’s new Paramount Skydance corporate ownership.

There was a time when the government insisted broadcasters devote time to news and public affairs. And they insisted content be fair and balanced and provide opportunities for differing viewpoints to be heard. This was the price one paid for the privilege of controlling one of the limited number of broadcast channels available, as the words of the Communications Act read, “In the public interest, convenience, and necessity.” There were also station owners who took that requirement to heart, desiring to serve their communities and their nation. Those visionaries are long gone.

The CBS Radio Network’s sudden exit leaves roughly 700 local affiliate stations nationwide without their primary hourly national news feeds. Major local all-news stations, like KNX in Los Angeles, WBBM in Chicago, and WWJ in Detroit, had to immediately assure listeners that local reporting would continue while they frantically negotiated new contracts with national syndication competitors like ABC News, Fox News, or NBC News.

Media historians and former network legends have reacted with grief, with former CBS Evening News anchor Dan Rather lamenting, “It’s another piece of America that is gone”. Until this final week, CBS News Radio was the absolute last of the three original national U.S. radio networks (alongside NBC and the Mutual Broadcasting System) still operating under its original parent brand.

The World News Roundup was the longest-running continuous program in broadcast history. And the network famously invented modern wartime reporting with Edward R. Murrow’s London Blitz broadcasts.

I will have to find another way to start my day.

#####

Ted Turner 1938-2026

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Some people are visionaries. Some people are great leaders. Few people can do both at the same time. Ted Turner was one of those special people.

In the wake of his death on May 6 at the age of 87, much has been written about his brash in-your-face style. I never met or worked for him. But I have many friends and colleagues who did. To a person, they sing his praises as a tough but fair leader. That he was a visionary is clear when you consider his impact on media in general and journalism in particular.

I remember sitting in the WBBM-TV newsroom in Chicago in 1979, when Turner announced his plans for CNN, the Cable News Network. I was a writer and producer at the CBS owned station and most of the people in our newsroom though Turner’s idea was crazy. I thought otherwise.

Turner has already had a major impact on the media landscape. The 1970s saw the spread of cable television systems across the nation. These stations repeated the broadcasts of the TV stations in their markets, offering better TV pictures but little else. Turner saw an opportunity. That’s what visionaries do.

Operating out of Atlanta, in 1970 Turner bought WJRJ-TV, a struggling UHF station launched in 1967. He renamed it WTCG (Turner Communications Group), jokingly claiming it stood for “Watch This Channel Grow”. On December 17, 1976, Turner used a satellite to beam WTCG’s signal nationwide, creating the first nationally distributed independent station. He allowed the cable companies to use it for free. He made money selling what was now advertising for a nation-wide audience. In 1979, the call letters were changed to WTBS. Over the years, it used various brands like “SuperStation WTBS,” “TBS Superstation,” and finally just “TBS”.

That was just the start.

Turner’s defining achievement was CNN, the Cable News Network. which he launched in 1980. At a time when television news was confined to fixed evening broadcasts, he gambled that audiences would want a constant stream of reporting, and he was right. CNN’s live coverage of the Persian Gulf War made the network a global force and helped normalize the modern era of 24-hour news.

He was never content with one success. Turner expanded into entertainment with TNT, Cartoon Network, and Turner Classic Movies after acquiring valuable film and animation libraries. He also bought the Atlanta Braves, giving the city a beloved team and tying his name to Atlanta’s rise as a major sports and media center.

Turner’s public image was as memorable as his business record. He was outspoken, impatient with convention, and comfortable being controversial. That directness earned him the nickname “The Mouth of the South,” but it also reflected a confidence that helped him bet on ideas others dismissed.

Beyond media, Turner devoted much of his later life to philanthropy and conservation. He gave about $1 billion to establish the United Nations Foundation, co-founded the Nuclear Threat Initiative, and used his land holdings to support wildlife restoration, especially bison conservation.

He also became one of the country’s great landowners and a passionate advocate for the natural world. His ranches, herds, and preservation efforts made him a larger-than-life figure in environmental circles, while projects like Captain Planet reflected his desire to teach younger generations about stewardship.

In his final years, Turner lived with Lewy body dementia, which he disclosed in 2018. Even as his health declined, his influence remained visible in the media world he helped create and in the institutions that grew from his philanthropy. He is survived by his children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren. Turner had three wives, including the Oscar winning actress Jane Fonda. They all survive him.

Turner’s life was marked by audacity, reinvention, and outsized effect. He turned cable television into a global platform, made philanthropy part of his public identity, and left behind a media landscape that still bears his imprint. For better or worse, much of modern television carries the stamp of Ted Turner. He was one-of-a-kind.

####

The Cowardly Broadcasting System

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I remember how proud I was the day I reported to work at WBBM-TV, the CBS owned and operated station in Chicago. It was in October 1974. I was to start my first “real,” that is, “post school,” job. My position was “Assistant Political Analyst.” That was a fancy title for an entry level job more commonly known in newsrooms as a “legman.” Legmen, and legwomen, assist senior reporters and columnists as needed. One of the station’s anchors also had the title of “Political Analyst” and I was to help him in everything from researching and producing his stories to doing his expense account and picking up his laundry.

But here I was at bottom of the ladder at the company where Walter Cronkite presided over the evening newscast. The same newscast I had been watching for most of my life. Yes, I felt proud.

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It is a Nice Idea

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Free speech is a pain in the rear. Always has been. Always will be.

It is a nice idea. If you have freedom of speech, you have the right to say whatever is on your mind without fear of repercussions. But there is a rub. It also means the guy standing next to you has freedom of speech. That means he can say whatever is on his mind, even if you find it to be abhorrent, disgusting, threatening and maybe even dangerous.

The men who designed our government met in secret and wrote a historic document detailing the structure of the national state and enumerating the powers and responsibilities of its parts. When the document was made public, the people were not pleased. They demanded a guarantee of their rights be written into the document.

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24 Years

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It is hard to believe it is 24 years since the 9-11 attack. In many ways, it seems to be ancient history. Many of my students were not yet born on that day. But in other ways, it seems like just yesterday.

I have written about my experience on that day before, and I will not repeat that lengthy reflection now.

But I will share, I think for the first time, the video of my interview that day which appeared on public television. I apologize. The video is a little choppy and grainy.

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It’s Still the Economy, Stupid

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One thing the political polls agree on is the number one concern on the minds of voters. It’s the economy. It is ALWAYS the economy.

The problem, at least for Vice President Harris, is that what voters call the economy is not what economists call the economy. What voters mean when they say economy is prices as in, the price of a gallon of gasoline, the price of a bottle of milk, the price of a dozen eggs. Those prices are up. And as is usual, the incumbent gets the blame.

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