Pence Praises Broadcast Efforts During Harvey

Vice President Mike Pence, himself a former broadcaster, had high praise for TV and radio stations in the wake of Hurricane Harvey.

In an interview with KTRK-TV Houston, the Vice President said: "[L]et me thank this station, and all the great local media that has been working, I know, around the clock, to get real time information to those that are struggling in the aftermath of landfall for Hurricane Harvey and now dealing with the historic flooding."

Then, in a subsequent interview with radio station WOAI San Antonio, the former talk radio host said: "Thank you so much for the way that this station has leaned into this effort to provide timely information to people all across the region. It’s the very best of public service, and we commend you for it. We truly do."

Related: FCC's Pai: News Outlets Play Critical Role in Harvey Aid

News/talk WOAI is home to syndicated talk shows from Rush Limbaugh, Sean Hannity and other conservative hosts, familiar territory for Pence, who once hosted his own conservative syndicated talk radio program, The Mike Pence Show, as well as a weekly TV public affairs show, gaining the name and face recognition that helped him get elected in Indiana to six terms in Congress and a stint as governor.

The White House initially attributed the KTRK interview to KHOU in sending out the transcript—Pence had also been interviewed by that station—but later sent out the corrected transcript correctly attributed to KTRK.

Jessika Walsten

Jessika is an analyst for TVREV and Fabric Media. She previously served in various roles at Broadcasting + Cable, Multichannel News and NextTV, working with the brands since 2013. A graduate of USC Annenberg, Jessika has edited and reported on a variety of subjects in the media and entertainment space, including profiles on industry leaders and breaking news.