Milwaukee radio station says it edited Biden interview after campaign request
By Hadas Gold, CNN
(CNN) — A Milwaukee radio station agreed to make two edits to an interview it recorded with President Joe Biden earlier this month at the request of his campaign, the station’s owner, Civic Media, said Thursday.
The July 3 interview with WAUK-AM host Earl Ingram was one of Biden’s first media engagements following his poor performance at the June 27 CNN Presidential Debate.
The revelations of the requested edits come as the press corps, frustrated by how the White House has handled their questions about Biden’s health and acuity, is about to face Biden for the first time since the debate at a press conference Thursday during the NATO summit.
On Thursday, Civic Media, a Wisconsin-based radio network, posted the edited clips and the entire unedited interview on its website.
The edited clips, it said, included Biden saying: “…and in addition to that, I have more Blacks in my administration than any other president, all other presidents combined, and in major positions, cabinet positions.”
Another clip included the removal of a reference to former President Donald Trump’s call for the death penalty for the so-called Central Park Five. “I don’t know if they even call for their hanging or not, but he–but they said (…) convicted of murder,” Biden said.
A Biden campaign spokesperson acknowledged it had asked the station to edit the interview.
“Hosts have always been free to ask the questions and air the segments they think will best inform their listeners,” the spokesperson said.
Civic Media CEO Sage Weil said in a statement that the station was made aware on Monday that “immediately after the phone interview was recorded, the Biden campaign called and asked for two edits to the recording before it aired.”
“Given the gravity of the current political moment, the stakes in this election, and the importance of public scrutiny of public officials in the highest office, we believe it is important to share this information,” Weil said.
Weil said management determined that “the production team at the time viewed the edits as non-substantive and broadcast and published the interview with two short segments removed.”
He added that “Civic Media disagrees with the team’s judgments in the moment” and that they are clarifying their internal polices “to ensure that everyone in the organization understands the standards we expect for live and pre-recorded interviews.”
Despite the edits, Civic Media “unequivocally stands by Earl Ingram and his team,” saying that the edits were made in “good faith” even if leadership at Civic Media “disagree with the decision.”
Earlier this week, another radio host, Andrea Lawful-Sanders, resigned from the Philadelphia station WURD after she told CNN that her post-debate interview with President Joe Biden included questions that were pre-selected by Biden’s campaign team. WURD later said they had parted ways with Lawful-Sanders over the incident.
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