Hillary Clinton hasn't held a news conference since December — but NPR has proven why it's not media blackout

Sure, one radio interviewer gave her an astrological reading, but you can't say she hasn't talked to the media

Published August 26, 2016 9:20PM (EDT)

FILE - In this Aug. 17, 2016 file photo, Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton speaks at campaign event at John Marshall High School in Cleveland.  (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster, File) (AP)
FILE - In this Aug. 17, 2016 file photo, Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton speaks at campaign event at John Marshall High School in Cleveland. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster, File) (AP)

One of the circulating scandals surrounding Hillary Clinton is that she hasn't held a news conference in 265 days (and counting!), leading to allegations that she has something to hide or is trying to "run-out the clock."

The Clinton camp denies this, and has begun to claim that she has given more than 300 interviews this year alone. To prove it, they provided NPR with a list of interviews through the end of July. NPR "made minor corrections after conferring with the campaign, and analyzed the results," finding some interesting things.

Clinton by far gave the most interviews to television (both national and local) and local radio. Those three account for 81% of the interviews she's given this year. Despite her affinity for television, she rarely appears on Sunday shows, usually considered a staple of a politician's press diet. (Trump, for reference, has appeared on twice as many Sunday shows as she has this year — 43 to 22.)

Most of her interviews only last for between three and eight minutes — short enough that the reporters don't have the time to ask follow-up questions or really press her on the issues. In nearly a fifth of the interviews she gave, they weren't with what NPR considers a journalist or reporter. One radio host gave her an astrological reading.

That radio host happens to host a show on an R&B station in Detroit, and the interview was given just before the Michigan primary, keeping in line with another of Clinton's media strategies: "Clinton turned frequently to broadcasters and targeted publications who reach Latino and African-American voters, both key elements of the Democratic electorate."


By Justine Morris

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2016 Donald Trump 2016 Elections 2016 Hillary Clinton Press Conferences