CHICAGO — Three weeks after launching to tepid ratings, WGN America’s “News Nation” said it has landed an interview with President Donald Trump that could raise the profile of the nascent cable newscast.
It may also test whether the network can live up to its motto of unbiased reporting.
“News Nation” co-anchor Joe Donlon is set to do the one-on-one interview with Trump at the White House Tuesday morning, with the segments airing in prime-time beginning at 7 p.m. central time, the network said in a news release Monday.
The interview, which comes amid the heat of a presidential election and days after the death of Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, is potentially a defining moment for “News Nation,” and a reason for some regular CNN, MSNBC and Fox TV viewers to find WGN America on the cable grid.
“This puts us in the big time,” Sean Compton, executive vice president of WGN America, told the Tribune. “This proves to the world that we’re legit, when the White House is willing to take our call and put us front and center, right after such an important event.”
WGN America launched “News Nation” Sept. 1, a three-hour nightly newscast that pledges to deliver unbiased reporting. The mission is to take a bite out of CNN, MSNBC and Fox News.
The network reaches 75 million homes, but early ratings have hovered above 100,000 viewers each night — roughly where the network was at when it was airing sitcom reruns in August.
Compton said Monday the newscast is off to a “respectable start,” but he’s looking to the president to give it a major boost. He said “News Nation” has also extended an interview request to Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden.
“One of the reasons we wanted President Trump and one of the reasons we want Vice President Biden, is to help build awareness, because there’s no question they get eyeballs when they’re on,” Compton said.
The interview came about in part because Compton has a working relationship with Trump. From 2004 to 2008, he produced a daily 90-second radio commentary from Trump carried by hundreds of stations when Compton was vice president of programming for Clear Channel Broadcasting.
On Sept. 1, the day “News Nation” launched, Trump tweeted, “Good luck to Sean Compton, a winner at everything he does!”
Compton said he reached out to Trump last week and the president agreed to do the interview. A White House spokesman Monday declined to comment.
“He doesn’t like to do MSNBC or CNN,” Compton said. “He thinks our product is a lot like local broadcast, which is much fairer.”
Compton said there are no restrictions to the questions for Tuesday’s interview, but topping the list will be Trump’s plans to fill the vacant Supreme Court seat during the waning months of his first term.
Less pressing questions will focus on personal subjects that Compton said will “humanize” Trump, such as his favorite food or movie.
WGN America plans to air the interview with minimal editing. While a 15- to 20-minute segment has been blocked off the president’s schedule, there is no time limit, Compton said.
Nexstar Media Group bought WGN America last year as part of its $4.1 billion acquisition of Chicago-based Tribune Media — the former broadcast parent of Tribune Publishing — which created the nation’s largest local TV station group. In January, Dallas-based Nexstar announced plans to turn the former superstation into a prime-time cable news network.
In addition to Chicago-based anchors, producers, editors and researchers, “News Nation” will leverage the resources of Nexstar’s 110 TV newsrooms and 5,400 journalists across the country to provide live national coverage.
While Compton said his relationship with Trump helped secure the interview, he is not concerned it will politicize the network, which touts its unbiased format multiple times an hour on the air.
He said Donlon is “not going to hold back on asking tough questions,” but at the same time will treat the president respectfully, the formula he hopes sets “News Nation” apart from other cable news networks.
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