Wisconsin radio station admits it edited Biden interview before airing at campaign's request

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‘The Five’: Biden campaign accused of spoon-feeding questions to radio host

‘The Five’ co-hosts discuss the radio host that was fired after being sent pre-approved questions from the Biden campaign for an interview with President Biden.

A Wisconsin progressive radio network said it made two edits to an interview last week with President Biden at his campaign's request, in a decision the station said violated "journalistic interview standards."

Civic Media released a statement on Thursday admitting that after an interview of Biden by host Earl Ingram recorded on July 3, the Biden campaign "called and asked for two edits to the recording before it aired." The interview aired the following day with two brief portions excised, including one where Biden made an incorrect remark about the "Central Park Five" case.

"On Monday, July 8th, it was reported to Civic Media management that immediately after the phone interview was recorded, the Biden campaign called and asked for two edits to the recording before it aired," the network said. "Civic Media management immediately undertook an investigation and determined that the production team at the time viewed the edits as non-substantive and broadcast and published the interview with two short segments removed."

The station has posted the two edited segments and the full, unedited interview, the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel first reported.

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President Biden walks across the South Lawn of the White House in Washington, D.C., on Sunday, after returning from a trip to Pennsylvania. (AP/Susan Walsh)

"Given the gravity of the current political moment, the stakes in this election, and the importance of public scrutiny of public officials in the highest office, we believe it is important to share this information," the station said, later adding, "With a high-profile interview comes a listener expectation that journalistic interview standards will be applied, even for non-news programming. We did not meet those expectations."

According to the station, the first edit came at 5 minutes and 20 seconds into the 18-minute interview, removing Biden claiming, "…and in addition to that, I have more Blacks in my administration than any other president, all other presidents combined, and in major positions, cabinet positions."

The removed portion came while he was boasting about his record of diversity in his administration and appointments, such as the confirmation of the first Black woman to the Supreme Court, Ketanji Brown Jackson.

The second edit came at 14 minutes and 15 seconds, where he was roasting former President Trump's call for the death penalty in 1989 for the "Central Park Five," the name for the wrongfully convicted Black and Latino youths in the rape of a New York jogger.

"He's falsely accused the Central Park Five, those guys who were arrested, he said they should all be convicted," Biden said. He went on to say in the short portion that was excised, "I don’t know if they even call for their hanging or not, but he, but they said convicted of murder."

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A Biden campaign spokesperson told Fox News Digital, "Hosts have always been free to ask the questions and air the segments they think will best inform their listeners." (Joe Biden on MSNBC screenshot)

The victim in the infamous Central Park case, however, survived the brutal assault. It appeared the campaign wanted to remove Biden's gaffe that he thought she had been killed.

A Biden campaign spokesperson told Fox News Digital, "Hosts have always been free to ask the questions and air the segments they think will best inform their listeners."

Civic Media scolded the show for agreeing to the changes but said it "unequivocally stands by Earl Ingram and his team."

"Earl is an invaluable voice for Milwaukee and Wisconsin, and remains a crucial member of the Civic Media organization," the station said. "The decision to make the requested edits to the interview was made in good faith. While we disagree with the decision, we stand by our team. This has been a learning experience and we will do better moving forward."

Ingram, a Biden supporter, was one of two radio hosts last week that received suggested questions from the Biden campaign for the interviews. Another, Andrea Lawful-Sanders of WURD in Philadelphia, parted ways with her station after the revelation. 

Radio hosts Earl Ingram, left, and Andrea Lawful Sanders, right, were given questions to ask President Biden before their interviews last week. (Screenshot/CNN)

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"The interviews were scheduled in an effort to reassure voters of the president's abilities. But the revelation that both hosts were given questions ahead of time has raised doubts about the confidence the president has in navigating unscripted conversations," the Journal-Sentinel reported.

In statements given to ABC News, Ingram confirmed that he was given five questions to ask Biden during their chat and wasn’t able to get through all of them before the interview ended.

The interviews came on the heels of Biden's brutal debate performance last month that raised serious doubts within the Democratic Party about his ability to defeat Trump. Biden has repeatedly insisted he is staying in the race amid mounting calls by Democratic lawmakers and media allies to step down.