Yahoo News Biden Reelection Campaign Adds Late Night TV Veteran as Research Director
Can experience generating viral moments on late night TV translate to a political campaign? The Biden-Harris reelection effort is betting that it can.
President Biden’s 2024 campaign operation has hired late night TV veteran Andy Crystal as its research director, The Hollywood Reporter has learned.
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Crystal was most recently lead research producer on the Apple TV+ series The Problem with Jon Stewart, and before that worked as a senior news producer on the Netflix series Patriot Act with Hasan Minhaj.
Crystal is expected to combine the traditional campaign research approach with creative tactics like viral videos and investigative reporting meant to cut through the clutter of social platforms, per campaign officials.
It’s a skillset that Jim Margolis, the executive producer and showrunner of Patriot Act, believes will translate well.
“Andy’s vision, vast intellect and passion for finding and reporting important stories drove our most memorable episodes,” Margolis says. “He has an uncommon ability to quickly process huge amounts of information, to make complex stories understandable and to put a human face on issues that matter. His brain is a firehose of smart and interesting ideas, and he was always the person we turned to make sure we had the story right. Andy is as impressive, reliable and inspiring as his beloved New York Mets are not.”
A lawyer by training (he went to Cornell for undergrad and has a J.D. from St. Johns University in New York), Crystal previously worked in research for Hillary Clinton’s 2016 campaign, and helped the team running the Democratic National Committee’s rapid response efforts.
He will report to Biden-Harris 2024 communications director Michael Tyler.
“We’re excited to welcome Andy to the already talented and fierce communications team working to reelect Joe Biden and Kamala Harris,” Tyler says.
The worlds of late night TV (a format now increasingly found on streaming services), investigative journalism, and politics have been colliding for years, with political and journalism veterans frequently landing jobs on shows like HBO’s This Week with John Oliver, CBS’ Late Show with Stephen Colbert or NBC’s Late Night with Seth Meyers. Stewart was early to the game, hiring former journalists and campaign veterans when he fronted Comedy Central’s The Daily Show, and continuing the tradition with his Apple program.
As it happens, Stewart’s Apple show ended late last year despite receiving a third season pickup. Sources told THR at the time that there was “tension” between the creative team and Apple over certain topics that they hoped to address, including artificial intelligence and China.
The thorough research that late night shows produce often finds a way to break through on platforms like YouTube, Instagram and TikTok, with many younger consumers increasingly getting their news and entertainment from those platforms rather than via traditional TV.
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