CNN allowed one pool reporter entry into the debate hall only when the first of two commercials aired, which gave the candidates and moderators a bit of a break. For Kelly O’Donnell, this tiny allowance was laughable. “That is not sufficient in our view and diminishes a core principle of presidential coverage,” she said (via the New York Post). What that pool reporter witnessed was also a big nothing burger — there was no argument between Donald Trump and Joe Biden over whose hair was the most tragic, nor did they exchange niceties when the cameras weren’t rolling. According to VOA, the reporter witnessed the pair doing and saying nothing.
In responding to criticism of its decision to limit the reporter’s debate access so severely, CNN did not explain why it felt that it was important to do so. Instead, it suggested that the video feed members of the press pool would have access to was sufficient and added, “Following our traditional approach, CNN is providing access to the debate studio for a tight pool of photographers for the duration of the event and a larger group of photographers during a commercial break.” But photographers are not reporters, and their lenses don’t capture everything.
