CBS News
August 11, 2020

CBS NEWS ANNOUNCES PLANS FOR THE 2020 DEMOCRATIC AND REPUBLICAN NATIONAL CONVENTIONS

COVERAGE TO BE ANCHORED BY NORAH O’DONNELL JOINED BY JOHN DICKERSON, MARIA ELENA SALINAS, JAMAL SIMMONS, LESLIE SANCHEZ AND A TEAM OF CBS NEWS CORRESPONDENTS AND CONTRIBUTORS

FORMER WHITE HOUSE OFFICIALS REINCE PRIEBUS AND VALERIE JARRETT WILL ADD ADDITIONAL INSIGHT TO CONVENTION COVERAGE

CBSN WILL PROVIDE LIVE STREAMING COVERAGE EACH NIGHT AND DELIVER THE LATEST POLITICAL NEWS SURROUNDING THE CONVENTIONS

CBS News announced today its coverage plans for the upcoming Democratic and Republican National Conventions, to be featured across all broadcasts and platforms beginning next week. The Network’s formidable team of political journalists and contributors will deliver original reporting, analysis and insight, plus newsmaker interviews and the most in-depth polling with CBS News’ Battleground Tracker. While the conventions are happening this year in a virtual setting due to the COVID-19 pandemic, CBS News’ commitment to giving viewers context and depth remains unchanged, with coverage spanning across the Network in primetime and on CBS THIS MORNING, the CBS EVENING NEWS with NORAH O’DONNELL, CBSN, CBS News’ free 24/7 streaming news service, CBS News Radio, CBS Newspath and CBSNews.com.

CBS News will dedicate one hour in primetime on the CBS Television Network (10:00-11:00 PM, ET) to comprehensive coverage on each night of both conventions: August 17-20 for the Democrats and August 24-27 for the Republicans. CBS EVENING NEWS anchor and managing editor Norah O’Donnell will lead the coverage from CBS News’ new state-of-the-art studio in Washington, D.C. and will be joined by 60 MINUTES correspondent and CBS News political analyst John Dickerson and CBS News contributors María Elena Salinas, Jamal Simmons and Leslie Sanchez.

CBS News’ coverage of the conventions will feature unrivaled context and reporting from its deep bench of correspondents, who have been rigorously covering the election and the issues that matter to voters, including CBS News political correspondent Ed O’Keefe on former Vice President Joe Biden’s campaign to win the White House; FACE THE NATION moderator and CBS News senior foreign affairs correspondent Margaret Brennan on foreign interference into U.S. elections and misinformation; CBS News chief Washington correspondent Major Garrett on the challenges of voting and identifying voting irregularities during a pandemic; CBS News White House correspondent Weijia Jiang and correspondent Nikole Killion on President Trump’s reelection campaign; and CBS News chief justice and homeland security correspondent Jeff Pegues on race and policing in America.

CBS News’ coverage will include live analysis from notable experts, such as Valerie Jarrett, the White House senior advisor to President Barack Obama; Reince Priebus, the former White House chief of staff for President Donald Trump, former Hillary Clinton 2016 campaign manager Robby Mook; Democratic strategist Joel Payne; and former 2016 Marco Rubio campaign manager Terry Sullivan, as they discuss the latest developments from the conventions and what they mean for the future of the country and its political parties.

Coverage of the conventions will also be fueled by insights from Anthony Salvanto, CBS News’ elections and surveys director, and his team’s robust polling via CBS News’ Battleground Tracker polls, the Network’s leading source of information to understand what has mattered to voters over the past months and as they head to cast their ballots. Read more about CBS News’ Battleground Trackers and latest polls here.

Leading up to, during, and beyond the conventions, CBS News’ team of campaign reporters and correspondents will continue to cover key storylines out of the 2020 election, including Joe Biden’s pick for vice president; whether this cycle will be a referendum on President Trump; how the pandemic and race relations have exacerbated fissures in America; voting access and election integrity; and the efforts against election misinformation online and on social media. Follow the latest coverage from CBS News’ campaign reporters and the political unit on Twitter here, and stay on top of the latest political news @cbspolitics.

CBSN will provide in-depth live coverage of the Democratic National Convention and Republican National Convention each night beginning at 5:00 PM, ET with “Red & Blue,” anchored by Elaine Quijano. Quijano will continue coverage at 8:30 PM, ET with pre-convention analysis.

CBSN’s streaming coverage of the conventions will include CBS EVENING NEWS anchor and managing editor Norah O’Donnell, John Dickerson and others from the CBS News political team. CBSN will also be talking with the intrepid 2020 CBS News campaign reporters joining from across the country.

Throughout each evening, Quijano will be joined by a slate of guests reporting on the major issues impacting voters in 2020, including CBS News politics reporter Caitlin Huey-Burns, CBS News’ director of surveys and elections Anthony Salvanto, CBSN contributors, representatives from each party and campaign, as well as reporters nationwide as part of CBSN’s “Local Matters” series.

CBSN will simulcast the Network’s primetime special reports from 10:00-11:00 PM, ET each night of the conventions and provide live analysis and reporting afterwards. CBSN is available live, 24/7 via CBSNews.com/live and on all CBS News mobile apps. Stream CBSN anytime, anywhere on your phone, tablet or connected device for iOS, Android, Apple TV, Roku, Amazon Fire TV and game consoles like Xbox and PlayStation.

Additional coverage plans include:
  • CBS News Digital will offer complete coverage of both conventions at CBSNews.com and the CBS News mobile app. CBSNews.com’s live blog coverage will start each day at 5:00 PM, ET and include updates and analysis of all major convention speeches. Miss a notable moment from our coverage? Highlights of CBS News and CBSN will be shared on the Network’s Twitter and Facebook during the conventions.
  • CBS News Radio will provide live anchored coverage and short-form special reports by Steven Portnoy, Steve Futterman and Peter Maer with analysis from Leonard Steinhorn. The CBS Weekend Roundup will also feature coverage anchored by Allison Keyes.
  • CBS Newspath, CBS News’s newsgathering organization providing news and information to 200+ affiliates nationwide and to broadcasters around the world, will feature extensive coverage and digital content on both conventions. Ed O’Keefe, Weijia Jiang, Nikole Killion, Natalie Brand and Skyler Henry will offer reporting from Washington, D.C. and Wilmington, Del.

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About CBS News:

CBS News is the news and information division of CBS, a ViacomCBS property, dedicated to providing the highest quality journalism under standards it pioneered and continues to set in today’s digital age. CBS News has bureaus across the globe and produces influential, critically acclaimed programs providing original reporting, interviews, investigations, analysis and breaking news 24 hours a day, seven days a week. CBS News provides news and information for the CBS Television Network, CBSNews.com, the CBS Audio Network and CBS Mobile. CBS News is home to the nation’s #1 news program, 60 MINUTES, CBSN, the 24/7 digital streaming news network, and the award-winning broadcasts CBS THIS MORNING, the CBS EVENING NEWS WITH NORAH O’DONNELL, CBS SUNDAY MORNING, 48 HOURS and FACE THE NATION.

About CBS News Digital:

CBSN is CBS News’ 24/7 digital streaming news service featuring live, anchored coverage available for free across all platforms. Launched in November 2014, the service now averages more than one million streams per day with a median viewer age of 37, and is a premier destination for breaking news and original storytelling from the deep bench of CBS News correspondents and reporters. CBSN features the top stories of the day as well as deep dives into key issues facing the nation and the world. CBSN has also expanded to launch local news streaming services in major markets across the country. CBSN is currently available on CBSNews.com and the CBS News app across more than 20 platforms, as well as the CBS All Access subscription service.

Follow CBS News on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram, and listen to podcasts at CBS Audio.

 

Press Contacts:
Lance Frank
Hugo Rojo