Margaret Brennan, the moderator of Face the Nation and CBS News chief foreign affairs correspondent, recently traveled with Secretary of State Antony Blinken to China in an effort to ease tensions between the two countries. However, securing a visa for the trip was no easy feat. “Until I had that in hand, I wasn’t sure I was going to be able to get on the Secretary of State’s plane,” Brennan said. “That’s all we could get, and that is something we consider ourselves fortunate to get, because the Chinese government hasn’t been allowing in journalists who weren’t already living in the country.”
Despite the challenges, Brennan believes it’s important for journalists to have a presence in China to accurately report on the complex relationship between the US and China. “Often in the American frame of reference, the Cold War with the Soviet Union is seen as the ultimate clash,” she said. “And this is more complicated, more complex and potentially more dangerous. And I don’t think America fully understands that. The Soviet Union just didn’t have the heft that China has.”
Brennan has been moderating Face the Nation for the past five years and has seen success in total viewership and the 25-54 demo. She will soon have a new broadcast rival in Kristen Welker, who is taking the helm of NBC News’ Meet the Press in the fall.
In a recent interview, Brennan discussed the challenges of reporting in China and the concerns about press freedoms. She also touched on the potential ban of TikTok and the cautious language used by diplomats like Blinken. “For diplomats, words matter to the extreme, because there is such risk in being misunderstood,” she said.
Despite the difficulties, Brennan believes it’s important for journalists to have a presence in China to accurately report on the complex relationship between the US and China. “That firsthand experience is so important,” she said. “It would reflect a certain amount of confidence on behalf of the Chinese government if they would allow for that. So we will see if this opens up, and I know CBS would love to be able to go back.”
