WSRE Press Room
WSRE TO PROVIDE COMPLETE, LIVE, PRIME TIME, GAVEL TO GAVEL COVERAGE OF 2008 DEMOCRATIC AND G.O.P. NATIONAL CONVENTIONS
The NewsHour with Jim Lehrer, one of the nation’s most honored newscasts, and WSRE will present America’s only complete, primetime, network television coverage of the 2008 Democratic and Republican National Conventions. Jim Lehrer, will anchor gavel-to-gavel coverage from the PBS Skybox at the Pepsi Center in Denver throughout the Democratic National Convention from August 25 through August 28, and also provide live coverage of the acceptance speech of presumptive Democratic nominee Barak Obama from Invesco Field on Thursday, August 28.
Joining Lehrer will be The NewsHour’s team of seasoned senior correspondents: Gwen Ifill, Ray Suarez, Margaret Warner and Judy Woodruff. “We have one of, if not the, most experienced teams on television to bring this story in all its dimensions to our viewers,” said NewsHour Executive Producer Linda Winslow. “We will deploy them throughout the proceedings to give our viewers a comprehensive look at both conventions.”
In addition to the correspondents, political analysis and perspective will be provided by New York Times columnist David Brooks; syndicated columnist Mark Shields; presidential historian Michael Beschloss; Richard Norton Smith, scholar in residence at George Mason University; Peniel Joseph, professor of history and African-American studies at Brandeis University; and Andy Kohut, President of the Pew Research Center, in Washington, DC.
The NewsHour will begin coverage at 7 p.m. each evening of the conventions and continue the broadcast live until the conclusion of the proceedings at approximately 10 p.m.
Lehrer and The NewsHour team will cover the Republican National Convention in St. Paul, MN throughout the first week of September from a skybox overlooking the convention floor within the Xcel Energy Center.
While PBS convention coverage will be interspersed with analysis, interviews and commentary, The NewsHour will focus its coverage on podium activities to provide viewers with a real sense of what is going on inside the convention halls.
“This is a most important presidential election,” said Jim Lehrer, executive editor and anchor of The NewsHour. “Much is at stake. We see it as our duty to bring viewers as much of the convention experience as possible, so they can hear and see first hand what the political parties and the candidates represent.”
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