Debate network disputes Fetterman camp’s claims closed captioning didn’t work as planned
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Nexstar Media Group is disputing claims from Lt. Gov. John Fetterman’s (D) campaign that the closed-captioning system used to help him in the Pennsylvania Senate debate due to the effects of a May stroke was faulty.
The local television conglomerate said the technology worked as expected and that Fetterman only used one of two rehearsal opportunities it provided for the candidates to get used to working with the transcription system.
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“It is unfortunate that Mr. Fetterman is now criticizing the closed captioning process employed by Nexstar during tonight’s debate,” Nexstar communications chief Gary Weitman said in a statement. “Both candidates agreed to the technical set-up for the closed captioning process weeks ago, which was implemented at the request of the Fetterman campaign. Both candidates were offered the opportunity for two full rehearsals with the same equipment used in tonight’s debate; Mr. Fetterman chose to do only one.”
Weitman added that the Nexstar team “went to extraordinary lengths to ensure the effectiveness of the closed captioning process, and to accommodate several last-minute requests of the Fetterman campaign. The closed captioning process functioned as expected during rehearsal and again during tonight’s debate. We regret that Mr. Fetterman and his campaign feel otherwise.”
Fetterman’s camp blamed delays with the closed-captioning system in the debate against Republican Dr. Mehmet Oz for his stumbling performance.
“We are thrilled with John’s performance,” Fetterman’s campaign said in a statement shortly after the debate ended. “He did remarkably well tonight — especially when you consider that he’s still recovering from a stroke and was working off of delayed captions filled with errors.”
Fetterman’s recovery from his stroke has been front and center as he slowly returned to the campaign trail. His campaign tried to set lower expectations for the debate in a memo to reporters Monday, pointing out that television plays to Oz’s advantage as a former talk show host. Still, some felt that his performance was “worse than expected.”
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“I spoke to Fetterman recently, and I expected him to be very bad tonight. But he was much much worse than I expected (and much worse than in our one-on-one conversation.),” Times reporter Charlotte Alter said Tuesday night.
Pennsylvania’s Senate race is one of the critical contests that will decide which party controls the upper chamber next year. Republicans need a net gain of just one seat in order to flip the Senate.
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Tags: John Fetterman, Dr. Oz, Pennsylvania, Pennsylvania Senate race, Debates, Campaign, News
Original Author: Virginia Aabram
Original Location: Debate network disputes Fetterman camp’s claims closed captioning didn’t work as planned