The first presidential debate: a viewer’s guide
This article was originally on a blog post platform and may be missing photos, graphics or links. See About archive blog posts.
Assuming it goes ahead as planned, Friday’s debate between presidential hopefuls John McCain and Barack Obama at the University of Mississippi is expected to be a major television event. It remains to be seen whether the audience will outstrip the 80 million who tuned in to watch Jimmy Carter face off against Ronald Reagan in 1980, the most-watched presidential debate since Nielsen Media Research started tracking viewership in 1976.
But there’s no question that this year viewers will have plenty of choices for news coverage and analysis. Every broadcast network except the CW and a slew of cable channels will be carrying the debate live. The 90-minute forum, moderated by PBS’ Jim Lehrer, begins at 6 p.m. Pacific time.
Broadcast networks, 6-8 p.m.:
• ABC: Charles Gibson, Diane Sawyer and George Stephanopoulos anchor coverage from New York. A special “20/20” about the candidates airs at 10 p.m.• CBS: Katie Couric helms the network’s on-air coverage from Oxford, Miss., followed by a 30-minute live webcast on CBSNews.com with interviews and analysis at 8 p.m.• Fox: Shepard Smith, on loan from Fox News Channel, anchors coverage from 6 p.m. to 7:30 p.m.• NBC: Anchor Brian Williams oversees coverage from Oxford.• PBS: With Lehrer serving as moderator, Ray Suarez anchors coverage with contributions from NPR campaign reporters.
Cable networks, various times:
• BBC America: Washington correspondent Katty Kay anchors coverage from Oxford from 6 to 8 p.m.• CNN: Coverage begins at 1 p.m. with a special edition of “The Situation Room,” followed by ongoing reporting led by anchors Wolf Blitzer, Campbell Brown and Anderson Cooper until 9 p.m.• Current TV: The network will display real-time Twitter messages from viewers on-screen throughout the debate, beginning at 5:45 p.m.• Fox News: Pre-debate analysis kicks off at 2 p.m. with a special edition of “America’s Election HQ.” Brit Hume anchors coverage of the debate until 8:15 p.m., followed by special editions of “Hannity & Colmes” and “On the Record.” • MSNBC: David Gregory anchors live coverage and analysis from 6 to 8 p.m., followed by special editions of “Countdown With Keith Olbermann,” “Hardball With Chris Matthews” and “The Rachel Maddow Show.”
-- Matea Gold