CNN Coverage to Offer Viewers an On-the-Ground Experience from Political Conventions
Live from Multiple Locations in the Convention Halls and CNN Grills, Voters to Have Ringside Seats for RNC, DNC
CNN will offer viewers nonstop, unbiased programming across on-air and digital platforms at the Republican and Democratic National Conventions beginning later this month. The network’s robust political team will travel to Tampa, Fla. and Charlotte, N.C. for live programming and events from locations on the convention floors, sky booths and a studio integrated into the CNN Grills.Live from Multiple Locations in the Convention Halls and CNN Grills, Voters to Have Ringside Seats for RNC, DNC
CNN anchors Wolf Blitzer, Anderson Cooper, Erin Burnett, Piers Morgan, Candy Crowley, Soledad O’Brien, John Berman, Brooke Baldwin and Suzanne Malveaux will be on the ground in Tampa and Charlotte during the Republican and Democratic parties’ respective conventions to provide comprehensive coverage. Special evening programming will kick off each week and will be followed by daily programs beginning at 5 a.m. and continuing through prime time and a midnight broadcast with Piers Morgan. Chief national correspondent John King will be on hand in both convention cities with Magic Wall technology, in addition to chief political analyst Gloria Borger and senior political analyst David Gergen.
“As the only cable news channel that has not picked sides in this election, CNN has a unique lens with which to cover these conventions,” said Sam Feist, CNN Washington bureau chief and senior vice president. “In Tampa and in Charlotte, we will give both parties an opportunity to showcase their platforms while also asking tough questions of Republicans and Democrats. Coverage of the conventions will dominate our air over two weeks as CNN's deep bench of anchors, political reporters and analysts help Americans make an informed choice about their vote.”
A full breakdown of CNN’s programming over the course of the two convention weeks is below.
• Republican National Convention programming for the week of Aug. 26:
o Kicking off convention week on Sunday, Aug. 26, State of the Union with Candy Crowley will air live from Tampa at 9 a.m. Reliable Sources, hosted by Howard Kurtz, will air from Tampa 11 a.m.
o From 9:30 p.m. to 11 p.m. on Sunday, Aug. 26, America’s Choice 2012: Countdown to the Republican National Convention will air live from Tampa.
o Beginning Aug. 27, Early Start anchor John Berman will host the program live from the CNN Grill from 5 a.m. to 7 a.m. Co-anchor Zoraida Sambolin will be live from New York.
o Also live from the CNN Grill in Tampa, a special convention edition of Starting Point with Soledad O’Brien will air Monday, Aug. 27 through Thursday, Aug. 30. from 7 a.m. to 9 a.m. On Friday, Aug. 31, the program will be live from a local diner.
o CNN Newsroom anchor Brooke Baldwin will anchor CNN Newsroom from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. each convention day.
o On each convention day, lead political anchor Wolf Blitzer will anchor The Situation Room from the convention floor beginning at 4 p.m. On Friday, Aug. 31, Blitzer will take his program to Charlotte, in advance of the Democratic National Convention.
o At 7p.m., CNN will begin prime time coverage from locations inside the convention hall. Anchors Anderson Cooper, Erin Burnett and Candy Crowley will join Blitzer to lead coverage alongside chief national correspondent John King at the “Magic Wall.” Chief political analyst Gloria Borger and senior political analyst David Gergen will be on hand during coverage throughout each evening.
o A special midnight edition of Piers Morgan Tonight will air live from the CNN Grill, where newsmakers and convention attendees will be gathered to enjoy lively political conversation while staying plugged into the goings on at the convention.
o Throughout the week senior congressional correspondent Dana Bash and national political correspondent Jim Acosta will provide coverage from the convention floor. Chief White House correspondent Jessica Yellin will also be on the ground in Tampa to provide coverage of the convention. Senior correspondent Joe Johns will be on hand to cover protesters and security at the convention. Correspondent Tom Foreman will execute fact checks and take the temperature of Florida voters participating in focus groups at the CNN Grill.
• Democratic National Convention programming for the week of Sept. 2:
o On Sunday, Sept. 2, State of the Union with Candy Crowley will air live from Charlotte at 9 a.m. Reliable Sources, hosted by Howard Kurtz, will air from Charlotte at 11 a.m.
o Beginning on Labor Day, Monday, Sept. 3, Early Start anchor John Berman will host the program live from the CNN Grill from 5 a.m. to 7 a.m. Co-anchor Zoraida Sambolin will be live from New York.
o Also from the CNN Grill in uptown Charlotte, Starting Point with Soledad O’Brien will air live beginning Monday, Sept. 3 through Thursday, Sept. 6 from 7 a.m. to 9 a.m. On Friday, Sept. 7, the program will air live from a local diner.
o Beginning Monday, Sept. 3, CNN Newsroom anchor Suzanne Malveaux will anchor live from Charlotte from noon to 2 p.m. each convention day.
o A special edition of The Situation Room with Wolf Blitzer will air beginning Friday, Aug. 31 and continue through each convention day from the convention hall in Charlotte beginning at 4 p.m.
o From 7 p.m. to 8 p.m. and 9:30 p.m. to 11 p.m. on Monday, Sept. 3, America’s Choice 2012: Countdown to the Democratic National Convention will air live from Charlotte.
o At 7p.m. each convention day, CNN will begin prime time coverage from inside the convention hall. Anchors Anderson Cooper, Erin Burnett and Candy Crowley will join Blitzer to lead the coverage alongside chief national correspondent John King at the “Magic Wall.” Chief political analyst Gloria Borger and senior political analyst David Gergen will be on hand during coverage each day.
o A special midnight edition of Piers Morgan Tonight will air live from the CNN Grill in uptown Charlotte, where newsmakers and convention attendees will be gathered to enjoy lively political conversation while staying plugged into the goings on at the convention.
o Throughout the week of the convention White House correspondent Brianna Keilar and chief White House correspondent Jessica Yellin will be on the ground to provide the latest from the convention floor. Senior congressional correspondent Dana Bash will also be on the ground in Charlotte to provide coverage of the convention. .Senior correspondent Joe Johns will be on hand to cover protesters and security at the convention. Correspondent Tom Foreman will execute fact checks and takes the temperature of North Carolina voters participating in focus groups at the CNN Grill.
o On the final day of the convention, Thursday, Sept. 6, CNN’s anchors and correspondents will move to the Bank of America Stadium in Charlotte, North Carolina, where President Obama will accept his party’s nomination.
6 comments:
I'm really looking forward to the conventions and I'm sure CNN will do a great job and hope that they are #1 throughout the entire coverage and hopefully can hold on to being on top through election night. CNN made a good decision to not incorporate Piers Morgan within the convention, but instead to have him do a review show live at midnight. I think having shows broadcast from the CNN Grill and not just the convention floor are smart and attractive moves. I'm very optimistic about all this. Immediately following the conventions, CNN will debut a massive new Washington DC studio that will serve as the new CNN Election Center and home to the Situation Room as well as other Washington based programs.
Thankfully I don't see any annoying pundits during the convention hours. Gloria Borger and David Gergen are great enough as CNN's political analysts.
On a side note, I ran into OutFront last night and thank God John Avlon was not anchoring. He seriously is terrible. He annoyingly reads the teleprompter so slow with a period after each word. "Up next. Women rule. and. keep. America. on top. *smerk*."
I enjoyed seeing Ashleigh Banfield fill in instead. She is great in primetime. So is Soledad O'Brien. Hopefully CNN is testing something out.
In that previous CNN statement release about their upcoming reality shows, it did say in the full release by the New York Post:
"Anderson Cooper — CNN’s only claimant to real TV star power — appears to be the only one safe in the network’s primetime lineup, say those who have talked with programming officials there."
VERY interesting. Fire Erin Burnett and move Piers Morgan to weekends or CNN International.
@6:40AM, like you, I am looking forward to the convention coverage. This is CNN's opportunity to shine. Honestly though, my optimism is more guarded than yours. CNN has mucked things up so many times that I hate to get my hopes up and be disappointed. The plans look great and I hope the keep the talking head pundits to a minimum. The fact the so many shows will be anchored live from the convention or the grill is a great idea. I am rooting for CNN to get this right!
@7:05AM, I completely agree with your thoughts on the convention. I wish the political analysis were limited to just Gergen and Borger - no partisan hacks because we already know what they are going to say. It is smart the Piers is taken off the menu - his read on American politics is just bad. I'll be in bed by midnight so putting him on then is fine with me! I'm sorry I missed Banfield last night. I really like Ashleigh but I can't stand smug Burnett so I try to avoid her show like the plague. As an analyst, I think Avlon is fine but the few times I have seen him fill in on OutFront, he is TERRIBLE as an anchor. Poor guy, he just needs to stick to talking politics. I'll tune in tonight to see if Ashleigh is still filling in. I would watch her every night! I also think Soledad is doing a great job on AC360. Given how bad Anderson has been, I think I would rather Soledad replace him. She is a good anchor and a fierce interviewer. That little off-handed comment about Anderson being the only safe one in primetime must really make Burnett and Morgan nervous. I hope they fire them both. Although, I am still surprised they are investing so much in Anderson. He just doesn't seem like he wants to be there any more.
If David Gergen, John King and Borger curb their tendencies to side with right wingers, I might be tempted to watch, but really, I can't bear to watch the RNC, their entire platform is completely repugnant to me and Romney and Ryan disgust me to no end. I *might* watch the DNC coverage.
Gotta give kudos to Soledad O'Brien's awesome fact-checking segment with John Sununu, she didn't back down when he attacked her and she made him look ridiculous.
I think that having Ashleigh Banfield, Fareed Zakaria, Soledad O'Brien, and Anderson Cooper in prime time is great idea even though I don't think Anderson is really all that interested in staying at CNN any longer. Prime time should look like this:
4-6PM: Wolf Blitzer
6PM: Kate Baldaun
7PM: Ashleigh Banfield
8PM: Fareed Zakaria
9PM: Soledad O'Brien
10PM: Anderson Cooper
11PM: Isha Sesay
Isha Sesay would be better than a View type show at 11PM. She isn't a great fit at Evening Express. She's a much better journalist than to be on that show.
I also think that Soledad would be much better than Anderson. His lack of willingness to hold people accountable for their comments has been appalling. Soledad has the guts that Anderson should have in this regard. I get the feeling from him that it doesn't matter what people say about any topic---he won't challenge them. Drop him and put Soledad on. He has a daytime show, and that is where his interest lies.
Post a Comment