CBS News unveils extensive, multi-platform coverage plans for 2016 conventions
NEW YORK -- CBS News on Monday unveiled its extensive, multi-platform coverage plans for the 2016 Republican and Democratic National Conventions.
The Republican National Convention will be held in Cleveland, Ohio, from July 18-21 at the Quicken Loans Arena, known locally as "The Q." Presumptive Republican nominee Donald Trump has promised to fill it with a star-studded cast of speakers, and is taking place earlier in the year than it has been in previous cycles, this time with the intention of unifying the party more divided than its been in a generation.
The Democratic National Convention will take place in Philadelphia, Pa., from July 25 through 28, at the Wells Fargo Center.
Protesters are also expected to attend both conventions.
In both Cleveland and Philadelphia, CBS News will redefine traditional convention coverage and the way it is presented. CBS News journalists will broadcast from or near the floor of both convention halls with reporters deployed both inside and outside the venues to ensure coverage from where news occurs.
Coverage will be led by "CBS Evening News" anchor and managing editor Scott Pelley, "CBS This Morning" co-hosts Charlie Rose, Norah O'Donnell, and Gayle King, and "Face the Nation" anchor and CBS News political director John Dickerson.
Pelley, Rose, O'Donnell, King and Dickerson will lead the primetime coverage from Cleveland and Philadelphia on all four nights of both conventions July 18 through 21 and July 25 through 28 from 10 p.m. to 11 p.m. ET on the CBS Television Network. They will be positioned at or near the convention floor and in prime locations throughout the hall to provide original reporting and interviews with key news-makers.
CBS News will also present wall-to-wall coverage of both conventions featuring the full breadth of the CBS News reporting team on CBSN. CBSN's coverage will be live on Twitter in addition to the CBSNews.com homepage and the CBS News apps for mobile and connected TV devices each day from gavel-to-gavel and will be enhanced with live, convention-related tweets. CBSN anchors and correspondents Josh Elliott, Elaine Quijano and Vladimir Duthiers will originate the CBSN coverage from the convention hall in both cities.
Twitter and CBS News announced on Monday a partnership to stream CBSN's live coverage from the Republican and Democratic National Conventions on Twitter.
"Twitter is the fastest way to find out what's happening in politics and to have a discussion about it," said Anthony Noto, Twitter's chief financial officer. "By bringing the live discussion of the Republican and Democratic national conventions together with CBSN's live video stream of the proceedings, we believe we're giving people around the world the best way to experience democracy in action."
CBS News is also partnering with The Atlantic in both cities and will have a physical presence in The Atlantic's Convention HQ, where journalists from both organizations will participate in each other's events and broadcasts.
CBS News will bring the full strength of its resources to its coverage by originating its broadcasts and CBSN's live stream from Cleveland and Philadelphia for the duration of the conventions. The coverage plans include:
- John Dickerson launches CBS News' coverage from both cities with special, live editions of "Face The Nation" broadcast from the floor of the convention halls in Cleveland on July 17 and in Philadelphia on July 24.
- "60 Minutes" is prepared to cover the conventions and candidate-related news on its July 17 and July 24 editions.
- "CBS This Morning" broadcasts live each day from the convention cities. Co-hosts Charlie Rose, Gayle King and Norah O'Donnell anchor "CBS This Morning" live from the floor of the convention hall in Cleveland on July 18 through 21 and live from the National Constitution Center in Philadelphia on July 25 through 28.
- Scott Pelley anchors a special, one-hour edition of the CBS Evening News with Scott Pelley from 6 to 7 p.m. ET from the floor of the convention halls, in Cleveland on July 17 and in Philadelphia on July 24. He also anchors the "CBS Evening News with Scott Pelley" from 6:30 to 7 p.m. live from both cities on July 18-21 and July 25-28.
- CBSN presents wall-to-wall convention coverage and real-time reporting from both cities, which will be available on all CBS News Digital platforms and also on Twitter as part of a new partnership. Josh Elliott, Elaine Quijano and Vladimir Duthiers anchor CBSN's live coverage from Cleveland and Philadelphia, with primetime coverage beginning at 7 p.m. ET, each night. Coverage will span from inside to outside the convention halls to give audiences deep reporting of the events and issues involved in the nominating process.
- CBS News Digital provides coverage across CBSN, CBSNews.com, CBS News' social accounts including @cbsnews and @cbspolitics on Twitter, and the CBS News apps for mobile and connected TV platforms.
- CBS Radio News provides gavel-to-gavel coverage of both conventions including live anchored coverage, updates and special reports, feeds of all major events, and local station interviews with correspondents on the scene. CBS Radio News will also simulcast the network's primetime coverage and CBSN's coverage throughout the day from Cleveland and Philadelphia.
- CBS Newspath, the network's 24-hour television newsgathering service for CBS stations and broadcasters around the world, offers comprehensive coverage of both conventions. CBS Newspath Correspondents Weijia Jiang, Kenneth Craig and Craig Boswell will report from Cleveland; Jamie Yuccas, Don Champion and Danielle Nottingham will report from Philadelphia.