January 7, 2009
PBS and The NewsHour to provide coverage and analysis of the inauguration of Barack Obama as the 44th President of the United States of America Tuesday, January 20, 2009


Jim Lehrer anchors, with analysis from Mark Shields and David Brooks as well as historians Peniel Joseph, Ellen Fitzpatrick and Richard Brookhiser


History will be made on Tuesday, January 20, 2009 when Barack Obama is sworn in as the first African-American President of the United States and PBS will be there to provide complete coverage and analysis of the official inaugural ceremonies. Beginning at 11am ET, Jim Lehrer anchors PBS’ inauguration coverage with The NewsHour’s balanced reporting, as well as political analysis from Mark Shields & David Brooks, and historical context from Peniel Joseph, Ellen Fitzpatrick and Richard Brookhiser. Details from the inaugural planning committee are still forthcoming; however PBS plans to include coverage of Barack Obama’s arrival at the White House, excerpts of the church service and Barack Obama’s speech to the nation from the Capitol steps.

Joining Lehrer will be:

» Mark Shields, syndicated columnist
» David Brooks, New York Times columnist
» Ellen Fitzpatrick, presidential historian and professor at the University of New Hampshire
» Peniel Joseph, professor of history and African-American studies at Brandeis University
» Richard Brookhiser, senior editor at National Review and author of a series of biographies on America’s founders, including: Alexander Hamilton and George Washington.

The NewsHour’s inauguration coverage extends beyond the NewsHour broadcast on PBS. The Online NewsHour will produce a page dedicated to inauguration coverage that includes:

·» Live, streaming video of PBS and The NewsHour’s inauguration coverage
» A map of inaugural events that details city preparations, historical information and much more
» A historical timeline of notable inaugurations of the past
» Streaming video, text, audio and analysis of Barack Obama’s inaugural speech
» Insider Forums where viewers can pose questions to experts on civil rights history and other subjects
» Photo and text updates on inauguration events via Twitter and Flickr

TWITTER
http://twitter.com/newshour

FLICKR
http://flickr.com/newshour

Photos of NewsHour correspondents are available at PBS Pressroom here:
http://pressroom.pbs.org/programs/the_newshour_with_jim/gallery

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, Pacific Life and Grant Thornton, 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.

Contact: Anne Bell 703.998.2175, Rob Flynn 703.998.2174.