PRESS RELEASE
from PBS via PRNewswire-USNewswire
PBS and The NewsHour
With Jim Lehrer Will Provide Viewers the
Only Complete
Primetime Broadcast Television Coverage of Both Conventions
BROADCAST COVERAGE
ANCHORED BY JIM LEHRER, WITH MARK SHIELDS AND DAVID BROOKS
RAY SUAREZ TO
ANCHOR EXTENSIVE ONLINE COVERAGE
EDUCATIONAL
RESOURCES INCLUDE REPORTS BY STUDENT JOURNALISTS AND DAILY LESSON PLANS
FOR TEACHERS
ALSO ON PBS,
"TAVIS SMILEY" SHOW BROADCASTS LIVE FROM THE CONVENTIONS
ARLINGTON, Va., Aug. 18 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- When this summer's
national political conventions take place (Democratic National
Convention in Denver, CO; August 25 to 28; Republican National
Convention in St. Paul, MN; September 1 to 4), The NewsHour with Jim
Lehrer and PBS will be the only nationally televised over-the-air
broadcast to air complete, primetime coverage of podium activities and
speeches.
Jim Lehrer, Executive Editor and Anchor of The NewsHour with Jim
Lehrer, will anchor the convention coverage from skyboxes in the
convention halls, where he will be joined by The NewsHour's regular
analysts: syndicated columnist Mark Shields and New York Times
columnist David Brooks. Senior Correspondents Judy Woodruff and Gwen
Ifill will be reporting from the convention floors, as well as
interviewing delegates and newsmakers on the scene; Senior
Correspondents Margaret Warner and Ray Suarez will also be conducting
interviews and moderating analysis panels at both Conventions. In
addition, Suarez will anchor The Online NewsHour's extensive web
coverage.
Details of PBS & the NewsHour's extensive broadcast and online
coverage follow:
DATES & LOCATIONS:
Democratic Convention, August 25 - 28, 2008 in Denver, CO
Republican Convention, September 1 - 4, 2008 in St. Paul, MN
HOURS:
8:00 - 11:00pm., ET (or until the convention ends), each night,
broadcast by PBS.
BROADCAST COVERAGE:
Extended uninterrupted coverage of podium activities and speeches;
reports and interviews from the convention floor by Judy Woodruff &
Gwen Ifill; NewsMaker interviews; panel discussions with political
leaders and campaign representatives; conversations with historians to
provide perspective and context; ongoing political analysis provided by
Mark Shields and David Brooks.
ANCHOR:
Jim Lehrer, executive editor and anchor of The NewsHour
SENIOR CORRESPONDENTS:
Judy Woodruff, The NewsHour's political editor and a veteran journalist
who has covered politics for NBC, CNN and PBS
Gwen Ifill, former reporter for the New York Times and NBC, NewsHour
senior correspondent since 1999 and moderator of PBS' Washington Week
with National Journal.
Ray Suarez, NewsHour senior correspondent since 1999 and former host of
NPR's Talk of the Nation. Suarez will also anchor The NewsHour's
extensive online coverage.
Margaret Warner, NewsHour correspondent since 1993 and former White
House correspondent for Newsweek.
POLITICAL ANALYSTS:
Mark Shields, syndicated columnist.
David Brooks, New York Times columnist.
Michael Beschloss, prolific writer and award-winning historian of the
U.S. Presidency.
Richard Norton Smith, scholar in residence at George Mason University.
Peniel Joseph, professor of history and African-American studies at
Brandeis University.
Andy Kohut, president of the Pew Research Center.
ONLINE COVERAGE:
Reporter's Notebook -- NewsHour senior correspondents Judy Woodruff and
Gwen Ifill will file daily video reports at the beginning and end of
each day with a preview of and reaction to the day's events.
Insider Forum -- Ray Suarez will pose viewers' questions in video
interviews with key political leaders, candidates and delegates to
discuss the state of the race and the ongoing conventions.
2pm News Summary -- Ray Suarez will anchor a special mid-day news
summary highlighting the top stories from inside and outside the
convention hall as well a preview of that night's NewsHour coverage.
Multimedia Slideshows -- daily audio and video slideshows of
significant events and key moments from the conventions.
Twitter/Flickr -- live quotes, reactions, photos and updates from
behind the scenes of the NewsHour editorial operations, as well as from
events like delegate meetings, convention events and major speeches.
http://twitter.com/NewsHour
http://www.flickr.com/photos/newshour
Convention Blog -- continuous coverage by NewsHour web reporters
throughout the convention halls will provide brief and timely updates
that will tie-in with the NewsHour Twitter coverage.
EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES:
Student journalists - NewsHour Extra, the NewsHour's web resource for
high school students and teachers will partner with Children's
Pressline (CPL) and create unique reports geared to what's important to
kids. CPL is a media organization based in New York City that trains
kids (ages 8-18) to be journalists. These young journalists will attend
the conventions, interview participants and file reports online and via
podcast about events at the convention, what they reveal about this
year's candidates and the political process itself.
Lesson Plans - NewsHour Extra offers lesson plans covering a wide range
of issues related to the election at: http://www.pbs.org/newshour/extra/
Daily Convention Lesson Plans - NewsHour Extra will provide teachers
tools to incorporate NewsHour convention coverage in their daily
civics, social studies and or current events lesson plans. Each day,
Extra will offer a lesson plan composed of a 5-10 minute video with
suggestions for a warm up activity, select quotes and discussion
questions to spark debate and critical thinking.
http://www.pbs.org/newshour/extra/teachers/blog/
THE NEWSHOUR:
In addition to anchoring PBS' complete convention coverage, Jim Lehrer
will anchor the week-nightly NewsHour broadcast from the PBS Skybox
within the convention hall in Denver and St. Paul.
EXECUTIVE PRODUCER:
Linda Winslow
The NewsHour with Jim Lehrer is seen five nights a week on more than
315 PBS stations across the country (check local listings) and is also
available online, via public radio in select markets and via podcast.
The program is produced by MacNeil/Lehrer Productions, in association
with WETA, Washington, DC and Thirteen/WNET in New York. Corporate
funding for The NewsHour is provided by Chevron and Pacific Life, along
with major funding from the Atlantic Philanthropies, the William &
Flora Hewlett Foundation the National Science Foundation, the
Corporation for Public Broadcasting and public television viewers.
TAVIS SMILEY
In addition to the NewsHour's nightly conventions coverage, the PBS
series TAVIS SMILEY will be live each night (check local listings) in
both Denver and St. Paul reporting from the Democratic and Republican
conventions. On Monday-Thursday, August 25-September 4, TAVIS SMILEY
will have full analysis of each night's primetime convention activities
plus in-depth conversations with party leaders, elected officials and
high-profile supporters from both parties. On Friday night in both
cities, Tavis and a diverse panel will re-cap the week. During the
coverage of both the Democratic and Republican conventions, TAVIS
SMILEY on PBS will continue to fulfill its promise to "introduce
Americans to each other" by offering stimulating conversations with a
diverse mix of trendsetters and opinion-makers from the worlds of
politics and media.
PBS VOTE 2008
PBS goes behind the headlines throughout the summer and fall with the
"PBS Vote 2008" election line-up, offering Americans a unique
opportunity to explore the Presidential elections. PBS' trusted news
brands and personalities bring viewers in-depth information and insight
into the issues and candidates. PBS' election coverage will be led by
THE NEWSHOUR WITH JIM LEHRER, WASHINGTON WEEK WITH GWEN IFILL AND
NATIONAL JOURNAL, NOW ON PBS, BILL MOYERS JOURNAL and TAVIS SMILEY, and
enhanced by programming from other trusted PBS sources, including
AMERICAN EXPERIENCE, FRONTLINE, NIGHTLY BUSINESS REPORT and P.O.V..
PBS.org's election hub page, pbs.org/vote2008, provides further
perspectives. The site aggregates video from PBS, features syndicatable
content from across public media and highlights innovative Web-only
projects from PBS producers and stations.