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
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.
