Hartman’s Primary Mission: “To Bring Smart of the World Home to Americans”

Joining us on the Menu podcast today was noted non-Twitterer Rome Hartman.

The BBC World News America EP explained the appeal of his network. “What we’re really trying to do is bring sophisticated coverage of international issues and events to an American audience that frankly has a hard time finding that on a consistent basis from the American networks,” he said. “The BBC aspires to cover the world. And it has a newsgathering infrastructure that’s really unparalleled.”

We talked about the popularity of emo-anchors. “Anchors are human beings, and if something is real and emotion is real, and frankly the events or news that produces that emotion are real, it’s hugely powerful, and it’s appropriate,” says Hartman. “Where I have a problem with it is when it’s manufactured more to draw an audience or as part of a business plan…I aspire to never have anyone cry on our program ever again. If it happens and it’s real, fine.”

Also discussed: An update on what Hartman thinks of Twitter, the main “miscalculation” of American networks and the reason he usually does poorly in NCAA bracket pools.

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