PBS is only network to provide complete, live, broadcast coverage of proceedings
July 6, 2004 - PBS' THE NEWSHOUR WITH JIM LEHRER will present the nation's only complete, live, gavel-to-gavel broadcast coverage of the Democratic and Republican national conventions this summer.
"The political conventions are the only nationally shared campaign experiences we have in this country outside of the presidential debates," said NEWSHOUR anchor and executive editor Jim Lehrer. "The conventions mark the point at which the public effectively focuses on the presidential race. Our coverage of these events is an important public affairs function."
The NEWSHOUR will offer live coverage of the 2004 convention proceedings as part of PBS' Election 2004 "By The People" political coverage. PBS will broadcast three hours of primetime coverage from 8:00 p.m. - 11:00 p.m. ET each evening of the Democratic National Convention from the FleetCenter in Boston (July 26-29) and of the Republican National Convention from Madison Square Garden in New York City (August 30-September 2).
NEWSHOUR anchor and executive editor Jim Lehrer will anchor the PBS coverage, which will include in-depth interviews, analysis and discussion. NEWSHOUR senior correspondents Gwen Ifill, Ray Suarez, Margaret Warner and Terry Smith will join Jim Lehrer, and will report from the convention floor as well as the NEWSHOUR skybox.
The NEWSHOUR's regular political analysts, syndicated columnist Mark Shields and New York Times columnist David Brooks, will provide nightly commentary. Presidential historians Michael Beschloss and Richard Norton Smith will offer additional perspective.
The NEWSHOUR's regular one-hour evening program will continue to air during its regularly scheduled local times throughout the weeks of the Democratic and Republican national conventions and will be broadcast live from the convention sites in Boston and New York City.
THE NEWSHOUR WITH JIM LEHRER is seen five nights a week on more than 300 PBS stations across the country. The program is produced by MacNeil/Lehrer Productions and WETA, Washington, DC, in association with Thirteen/WNET in New York. Funding for THE NEWSHOUR is provided by the Archer Daniels Midland Co.; CIT; SBC Communications, Inc.; The William and Flora Hewlett Foundation; the Corporation for Public Broadcasting and public television viewers.
PBS is a private, nonprofit media enterprise that serves the nation's 349 public noncommercial television stations, reaching nearly 90 million people each week. Bringing diverse viewpoints to television and the Internet, PBS provides high-quality documentary and dramatic entertainment, and consistently dominates the most prestigious award competitions. PBS is the leading provider of educational materials for K-12 teachers, and offers a broad array of educational services for adult learners. PBS' premier kids' TV programming and Web site, PBS KIDS Online (pbskids.org), continue to be parents' and teachers' most trusted learning environments for children. More information about PBS is available at pbs.org, the leading dot-org Web site on the Internet. PBS is headquartered in Alexandria, Virginia.
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