Headline Roundup • October 22nd, 2020
Debate Previews Focus on Moderator Kristen Welker of NBC
Summary from the AllSides News Team
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Poynter
NBC News’ Kristen Welker will moderate tonight’s debate. Her name has been in the news a lot the past few days, mostly because President Donald Trump keeps running her down, calling her “terrible” and “totally partisan.” But she’s a well-respected journalist, even earning praise from Trump adviser Jason Miller, who called her “very fair.”
She is especially well respected inside NBC News. When she was named a moderator, NBC News President Noah Oppenheim told his staff, “The selection of Kristen as a moderator is a testament to her talent, skill,...
The pressure is building for NBC News’ Kristen Welker to address the ongoing scandal surrounding a laptop purportedly belonging to Hunter Biden and containing damning emails, texts and photos during Thursday night’s final presidential debate as the mainstream media has essentially dismissed the story. "This is a moment of truth for Kristen Welker and NBC News, in which they are caught between doing their job or protecting Joe Biden,” Cornell Law School professor and media critic William Jacobson told Fox News.
The smear campaign against Kristen Welker—who is moderating Thursday’s second and final presidential debate between Donald Trump and Joe Biden—began last Saturday with a hit piece by Trump-friendly New York Post reporter Jon Levine.
“Kristen Welker, upcoming presidential debate moderator, has deep Democrat ties,” screamed the headline, while Levine insinuated that the longtime NBC White House correspondent, a registered independent, must not only embrace the same politics as her parents—generous donors to Democratic causes and candidates—but that she also allows her parents’ beliefs to steer her journalism.
