Tag: Margaret Brennan

Margaret Brennan, a 2002 University graduate and moderator of CBS’s Face the Nation, spoke to a crowd of more than 170 students, faculty and community members in Garrett Hall Wednesday evening as a part of the Batten School and the Center for Politics’ “Democracy in Perilous Times” series. Brennan talked about her career as a journalist and her experiences prominently covering the White House and hosting a broadcast news program during the Trump administration. After studying foreign affairs, Middle Eastern studies, and Arabic while at the University, Brennan began working for CNBC covering Wall Street, later moving to Bloomberg Television to continue her financial reporting as an anchor. “And Wall Street is shorthand for how the world functions often … so I brought that and I brought my background covering national security policy, and those are things that are often on my front burner and headlines that catch my attention.” In her talk, Brennan noted the fast-paced nature of a television newsroom and explained the process of booking political figures for the Face the Nation broadcast, which airs Sunday mornings. “We try to make Face the Nation look like the nation,” Brennan said. “We try to incorporate more diversity of thought and perspective … People ask you these big picture questions of what things have changed, and I think that the storytellers have also changed. I think perspectives need to be more informed as well. You can’t just have the same point of view reflected and repeated all the time.” When an audience member asked what a news organization’s responsibility is in response to claims of fake news, Brennan described the dual responsibility of news outlets to provide accurate, comprehensive coverage and of media consumers to carefully choose which sources to watch, listen to and read. Read the paper and watch the news. And then I was looking at this idea of how to explain to people the roots of why things happen, the context for why things happen.

The friendship of two Louisiana congressmen -- Republican Steve Scalise and Democrat Cedric Richmond -- should be an example for their fellow lawmakers at a time when many in the United States sit at odds with one another, the two men told Margaret Brennan during an interview for "Face The Nation," which aired on CBS on Sunday (June 17). "The division in this country right now, I believe, is at one of the highest peaks during my generation, and hopefully we can start to bridge that divide by leading by example," Richmond said when Brennan asked the congressmen whether their friendship or the national divisions are "more reflective of where we are as a country." "There's no excuse, it's completely unacceptable, to resort to violence to try to resolve some kind of disagreement when you have somebody with -- that you have with them politically," he said. While the interview remained largely cordial, with both Scalise and Richmond advocating the other's abilities to lead, the congressmen did not hide where their differences lie. Immigration, tax cuts and healthcare are just a few of the issues the two do not agree on -- as well as what the House will look like come November. Scalise has been named as a possible successor for current Speaker of the House Paul Ryan, and Richmond said he supports his colleague. I just want him to be in the minority." In response, Scalise said Richmond would make a "great minority leader." He went on to say he believes both himself and Richmond will be reelected, but that the Republican Party will still hold the majority. The "Face the Nation" interview was filmed the day before the annual congressional baseball game, where Richmond pitched the Democrats to victory, 21-5 Scalise was visibly limping during the game, a year after the 52-year-old congressman was shot in the hip while practicing for the 2017 Congressional Baseball Game for Charity.