Mitt Romney Heads To Fox For First Sunday Show Interview Since 2010
NEW YORK -- Mitt Romney, who hasn't appeared on a Sunday morning political talk show since March 2010, will appear on "Fox News Sunday" on Dec. 18.
The Romney campaign has tried to limit the amount of national media interviews the candidate has done during the Republican primary -- and that's included the traditional Sunday morning pit-stops for presidential contenders.
Romney adviser Eric Fehrnstrom explained to The Huffington Post in October how the campaign's media strategy had changed from four years earlier.
"In 2008, Mitt Romney was new to the national stage and not very well-known outside of Massachusetts. There was an obvious benefit to doing a lot of earned media because it helped raise his profile, and we wanted to increase name awareness and recognition. The downside was that we often found ourselves at the mercy of the daily news cycle and answering questions about whatever happened to be in the headlines that day. One of the things we learned from that experience is that we had to do a better job of getting his message across in media interviews."
But during the 2012 campaign, Fehrnstrom added, Romney's advisers have been "generally more careful about when and where we put him out to do interviews."
Romney's strategy seemed wise when he was still the frontrunner in the race, but it has been called into question following a contentious interview last week with Fox News anchor Bret Baier and amid Newt Gingrich's surge in the polls.
On Friday, Time's Joe Klein blasted the Romney campaign's media strategy as "idiotic" after they did not provide him access for a cover story on the candidate, criticizing them for how they've handled engaging the national media. The New York Times Magazine also didn't get any time with the candidate for a cover story last week. Romney, however, has been willing to do policy-focused magazine interviews that showcase his softer side, such as with Parade and People.
Romney's reluctance to speak to the media got more attention this past weekend after New York Times reporter Jim Rutenberg tried unsuccessfully to reach him at Mike Huckabee's Fox News forum.
"Spotting the reporter," he wrote, "Mr. Romney’s aides sprang into action, asking where he worked and what he was doing there, and then insisting that he not physically approach Mr. Romney before or after he was questioned on television by the attorneys general and Mr. Huckabee."
It hasn't been lost on the media that Romney has so far avoided the Sunday shows.
In late Oct., "Fox News Sunday" host Chris Wallace even called out Romney for not accepting his invitations to come on the show.
Correction: This post originally stated that Romney was appearing on Dec. 11.
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First Posted: 12/06/11 01:58 PM ET Updated: 12/07/11 05:58 AM ET