Media

NewsNation to host town hall with RFK Jr. 

Cable news channel NewsNation is slated to host a town hall style event with 2024 presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. later this month.

The event, moderated by host Elizabeth Vargas, will be held in Chicago and broadcast live June 28.

Kennedy will take questions in front of an audience comprised of voters “in partnership with the New Hampshire Institute of Politics at Saint Anselm College,” as well as voters “in the key states of South Carolina and New Hampshire,” the network said.

RFK Jr., a longtime anti-vaccine activist, filed paperwork in April to run for president as a Democrat.

His candidacy has sparked debate among Democrats on how much attention to pay to his long-shot candidacy and has forced media organizations to weigh how to cover his staunchly anti-vaccine rhetoric.

ABC News notably edited a recent interview it aired with Kennedy to exclude false claims he made about coronavirus vaccines. YouTube, similarly, last week removed an interview he gave to commentator Jordan Peterson for violating its guidelines against vaccine misinformation.

The event with NewsNation will be Kennedy’s first town hall with a national news network since announcing his presidential bid.

NewsNation is a cable news network owned by Nexstar Media Group, which has poured millions of dollars into the channel over the last several months to expand its programming and roster of hosts and contributors. The network has signed notable names known for their work at other media organizations — like Vargas, who for years worked at ABC, and ex-CNN host Chris Cuomo.

Nexstar Media Group also owns The Hill, which it purchased in 2021.

Updated: 11:41 a.m.