PRESS RELEASE from NPR
Contact:
Anna Christopher, NPR

NPR NEWS “ELECTION 2008” TO PROVIDE EXTENSIVE LIVE COVERAGE ON-AIR AND ONLINE OF DEMOCRATIC AND REPUBLICAN NATIONAL CONVENTIONS

NPR Covering Conventions with Team of 60 Journalists in Denver and St. Paul

Nightly Specials from Convention Floor; Call-In Specials on August 28 and September 4


August 7, 2008; Washington, D.C. – NPR News will continue its extensive multimedia coverage of “Election 2008” with live, comprehensive broadcast and webcast coverage of the Democratic National Convention in Denver, CO, from August 25-28, and the Republican National Convention in St. Paul, MN, from September 1-4.

During the conventions, NPR will have a team of more than 60 journalists offering in-depth news, interviews and analysis across all of NPR’s newsmagazines and at www.NPR.org All coverage will air on NPR Member stations across the country; for local stations and broadcast times, visit www.NPR.org/stations NPR’s special convention coverage will also be streamed free and live from www.NPR.org

NPR News’ coverage of the conventions will be the most extensive in its history, and include the following elements:

Nightly News Specials: The cornerstone of NPR’s coverage will be live, nightly news specials featuring key speeches, interviews with newsmakers and delegates and analysis of the day’s events. The specials will air from 8:00PM (ET) to 11:00PM (ET) from August 25-28 and September 1-4, and will be anchored by Andrea Seabrook, host of the weekend edition of NPR’s All Things Considered.

Joining Seabrook will be members of NPR News’ “Election 2008” team: Audie Cornish, Debbie Elliot, Ina Jaffe and David Welna reporting from the convention floors; Robert Smith and Linda Wertheimer providing in-depth features coverage; and Jeff Brady and Martin Kaste covering protests, labor disputes and other issues happening outside of the convention halls in Denver and St. Paul. Washington editors Ron Elving, Mara Liasson and Ken Rudin will provide analysis, and correspondents Don Gonyea and Scott Horsley will report from the Obama and McCain campaigns.

Call-In Specials: On the final days of the Democratic and Republican National Conventions – August 28 and September 4, respectively – a one-hour call-in special hosted by Neal Conan of Talk of the Nation will give listeners a chance to express their views on the issues and the candidates. The call-in specials will begin immediately following the acceptance speeches from Senator Barack Obama and Senator John McCain, at approximately 11:00PM (ET). Questions can be submitted by calling 800-989-8255 or through email at: talk@npr.org

NPR Newsmagazine Coverage: Convention news, interviews and analysis will air across all of NPR’s newsmagazines and talk programs. In addition, hosts Michele Norris and Robert Siegel of All Things Considered; Farai Chideya of News & Notes; and Michel Martin of Tell Me More will contribute to NPR’s special coverage, and report on the conventions during their respective programs.

Take Me To Your Leader: For the first time, NPR will take its convention coverage on the road, when White House Correspondent David Greene asks voters to “Take Me To Your Leader.” As he road-trips from Obama’s hometown of Chicago, to McCain’s hometown of Phoenix, Greene will find out what voters are talking about this election year. Greene will frequently call-in from the road, and file a “Take Me To Your Leader” travelog at www.NPR.org.
NPR.org, which will live webcast all special convention coverage, is a repository of original journalism, blogs, special series and reports about the conventions and Election 2008:

Secret Money Project: Launching this week is the “Secret Money Project,” an initiative of NPR News and the Center for Investigative Reporting to track the hidden cash in the election, and report on the new crop of independent groups influencing both the presidential and congressional races. Reports in this series will air on NPR, and will also be available online at www.NPR.org Voters are encouraged to notify NPR if they encounter the influence of these outside groups through push-polling, robo-calls and other marketing and outreach by emailing: secretmoney@npr.org

“Vox Politics” Blog and NPR.org: The NPR News “Election 2008” team will live blog the conventions at its “Vox Politics” blog at www.NPR.org/blogs/politics During the conventions, NPR media correspondent David Folkenflik will provide daily analysis of how media are covering the conventions. NPR.org is also the destination for information about the candidates’ views on key issues; the latest VEEPstakes predictions from Ken Rudin; and the “Political Junkie” and “Watching Washington” columns.

NPR-The NewsHour Interactive Map: Co-produced by NPR and PBS’s Online NewsHour, this interactive election map provides in-depth election news and features aggregated from resources across public media, including contributions from NPR and PBS Member stations. The map also provides historical voting information for each state and links to state-by-state local stories through Member stations’ websites, and allows users to predict state-by-state winners.

Get My Vote: In partnership with NPR Member stations, NPR’s Get My Vote at www.NPR.org/GetMyVote encourages Americans to reflect on how life experiences have shaped their political values, actions and ideas. In an election process often focused on personalities and polls, Get My Vote invites audiences to speak out on the political issues and aspirations that matter to them most.

NPR’s coverage of the Democratic and Republican National Conventions follows more than 30 hours of live NPR News "Election 2008” special programming to date, including seven hours on Super Tuesday, live special coverage of primaries and caucuses and seven call-in specials following key primary contests. NPR News and NPR.org will continue to offer in-depth journalism and information about the presidential race through Election Day, with live coverage on November 4, 2008, to be announced.