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

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“I turned off news all together.”“Just talk to each other more.”“Report things from both sides.”Those are some of the responses NBC News received when it conducted consumer research for a new marketing campaign that promises “Facts.Clarity.

Calm.” But the comments also led NBC News Group Chairman Cesar Conde to green-light the launch of a new editorial franchise, called “Finding Common Ground,” pairing public figures from opposite ends of the political spectrum to discuss issues where they can find agreement.NBC News announced Thursday it will feature the segments across its programs “Today,” “NBC Nightly News With Tom Llamas” and “Meet the Press,” and on its streaming channel NBC News Now.Live events are planned as well, with “Today” co-host Savannah Guthrie moderating a conversation between Gov.

Spencer Cox (R-Utah) and Gov.Josh Shapiro (D-Pa.) next week at the Washington National Cathedral.“The audience tells us what they want is less partisanship, less of a focus on extremes and more of a focus on civil, solutions-oriented dialogue,” NBC News President Rebecca Blumenstein said in an interview.

“We’re going to make it a huge focus of our efforts in the coming year.”The concept of getting politicians of different stripes to the table for bipartisan discussions is hardly novel.The Fox News program “Special Report With Bret Baier” has done a similar series of TV interviews and podcasts since 2022, also called “Common Ground.” But TV news organizations are clearly being more aggressive in promoting the notion that they are open to all points of view — a reaction to the divisive political landscape that consumers say is off-putting.

(A recent Pew Research study found that 36% of U.S.adults follow the news “all or most of the time,” down from 51% in 2016.) Hollywood Inc.

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