CNN’s John King went on Steve Malzberg’s radio show today. Malzberg, often a guest on cable news, asked King whether he would have done what NBC’s Brian Williams did the other day — use interview time for a late night comedy bit.
Malzberg: You’re sitting down with the President. You have unlimited access, or, or great access to him like Brian Williams had the other day. Do you then ask him to do a promo for an upcoming CNN show the way they did for the Conan O’Brien show? Is that appropriate?
King: The answer on that would be no. No. Never. No.
AdvertisementMalzberg: Okay, well that’s simple. To the point. Boom, boom, boom. I love it. Hey, John…
King: It’s my school of journalism, it may not be everyone else’s school of journalism, but it’s my school of journalism is that I interview all these guys with respect. I respect the office, I respect the people, I respect anybody that puts themselves out there like that. But, I, you know, I need to protect myself and my integrity and my credibility, and the President of the United States, you know, God bless him, God bless the one before him, and God bless the next 200 to come. I’m not going to ask them for an endorsement or a product endorsement. I think that’s way over the line.