FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact:
Allison L Gollust
AMERICA'S NO. 1 NETWORK NEWS ORGANIZATION FOR
POLITICAL COVERAGE ANNOUNCES PLANS LEADING UP TO ELECTION DAY
NBC UNIVERSAL TO OFFER A TRIBUTE TO
AMERICA'S DEMOCRACY THROUGH "DEMOCRACY PLAZA"
NBC News president Neal Shapiro announced today wide-ranging plans for
political coverage across all NBC News platforms leading up to Election
Day. In addition to programming across the many platforms of NBC
Universal (including NBC News, MSNBC, MSNBC.com, CNBC, WNBC,
Telemundo/WNJU, NBC Mobile, NBC News Radio, and the owned and operated
stations of NBC), much of NBC News' political coverage of "Decision
2004" will be set against the backdrop of "Democracy Plaza" at
Rockefeller Center in New York City -- an interactive exhibition
focused on the history of democracy.
"Democracy Plaza" was
conceived by NBC, will be produced by Tishman Speyer Properties and
sponsored by Bank of America. A variety of NBC News programs will
use
"Democracy Plaza" as a broadcast location in the two weeks before
Election Day.
"Our goal is to continue the tradition of NBC
News' commitment to quality journalism in our reporting of politics and
elections, providing coverage across the wide-ranging platforms of NBC
News," Shapiro said. "Special features, like our 'Making Your
Vote
Count' initiative, will highlight the one issue that we can all agree
on in this election: that every single vote should count.
In
addition, our network's commitment to what is at the center of all of
this -- the right to vote -- sets the stage for what will be an
unprecedented night of coverage on November 2."
Following are
specifics of many of the aspects of NBC News' plans through Election
Night. Please note that more information about NBC News' plans
for
Election Night specifically, will be announced in the coming weeks.
"DEMOCRACY PLAZA:"
Conceived
by NBC and sponsored by Bank of America, "Democracy Plaza" is a
celebration of American democracy and citizenship. The exhibition
includes historical artifacts, photo and video displays, and themed
elements that speak to America's unique tradition of citizenship,
democracy and election politics. It will be open to the public ? free
-- and involve all the public spaces of Rockefeller Center beginning on
October 20 and ending on November 5. (Please see companion press
release for more information about "Democracy Plaza.")
Highlights
of the "Democracy Plaza" exhibition include: an original signed
Declaration of Independence, extensive photo exhibits, mementos and
historical artifacts from five noteworthy presidential elections; a
Teddy Roosevelt "whistle-stop" era replica railroad car; examples of
many voting-booth technologies now used in the United States, including
the infamous "chad" voting booth used in Florida; replica of the Oval
Office; replica of an Air Force One fuselage; a video presentation
focusing on the Presidential elections since 1960 -- drawing from the
broadcast archives of NBC -- and great moments from televised
Presidential debates, election night coverage and notable excerpts from
inaugural addresses; interactive exhibits promoting voter registration
and other takeaway value for citizens; and a Scholastic "Democracy for
Kids" pavilion, produced by the children's publishing, education and
media company, with activities and displays geared to children K-12.
Many
of NBC News' programs -- including "Today," "NBC Nightly News," "Meet
the Press," "Weekend Today," and MSNBC's "Hardball," -- as well as
WNBC, NBC's flagship station in New York City, will broadcast live from
"Democracy Plaza" in the weeks and days leading up to Election
Night.
On November 2, "Democracy Plaza" will serve as home base to the
networks of NBC News, as each covers Election Night in its own
way.
NBC's
programming in the weeks leading up to November 2 will also include a
special broadcast for children, anchored by Brian Williams in
conjunction with "Democracy Plaza" education partner Scholastic, which
will air on the Saturday before the election.
MSNBC will
originate from its outdoor location in "Democracy Plaza" at Rockefeller
Center in the days leading up to the election on November 2.
Building
on the success and momentum of its live coverage during the national
conventions and the presidential debates, MSNBC's lead election anchor
Chris Matthews will be joined by a live crowd and his "Hardball"
election team of analysts and contributors including MSNBC's Joe
Scarborough and Ron Reagan, NBC News' Andrea Mitchell and Newsweek's
Jon Meacham, among others.
CNBC's "Capital Report" will originate live (7:00 ? 8:00 p.m., ET) from
"Democracy Plaza" from November 1-3.
From
October 25-November 3, Telemundo's "Noticiero Telemundo" (6:30 p.m.
ET/PT) will originate from "Democracy Plaza." Pedro Sevcec will
anchor
the broadcast live each evening. Telemundo will also provide
extensive
coverage on the network and its local station in New York, WNJU, on
opening day of "Democracy Plaza," October 20.
WNBC will report
extensively from "Democracy Plaza" beginning with the launch on October
20 and continuing throughout the buildup to Election Night. The
station will use "Democracy Plaza" as a backdrop for numerous live and
taped reports, when appropriate, and will anchor all of its newscasts ?
"Today in New York," "Live at Five," and "NewsChannel 4 at 6 & 11
p.m." -- from its "Democracy Plaza" anchor desk two days before the
election and on Election Day itself.
Beginning Thursday, October
7 on www.MSNBC.com, there will be a special "Democracy Plaza" section
that will include information about, and images of, the exhibition, a
schedule of events at "Democracy Plaza" and video events that will take
place during the two weeks of the exhibition. In addition,
MSNBC.com
will present an "Images of Democracy" slide show, in conjunction with a
request for essays about the images, of which the best will be chosen
and posted on the Web. There will also be MSNBC.com computer
kiosks
located in a special "Making Your Vote Count" booth at "Democracy
Plaza," which will provide opportunities for voter registration, and
information about different voting machines. A staffed desk
accompanying the kiosks will help visitors with questions about voting
or those needing help registering to vote.
"MAKING YOUR VOTE COUNT:"
Given
the controversies that surrounded the vote count in Florida and
elsewhere in 2000 and the dramatic increases in recent voter
registration, one of the centerpieces of NBC News' "Decision 2004"
political coverage will be "Making Your Vote Count." This
includes
on-going reporting from now through Election Day about whether voter
procedures and facilities in every state are ready for Election
Night.
Led by NBC News' Chip Reid and a team of researchers, reports are
airing on MSNBC, "Today," and "NBC Nightly News," MSNBC.com and on the
NBC stations.
In addition, NBC will exclusively broadcast the
analysis from a nationwide toll free voter alert line that will allow
voters to quickly report voting problems to election officials anywhere
in the country.
Voters throughout the country will be able to
call the MYVOTE1 Voter Alert Line (1-866-MYVOTE1) and report
irregularities at their local polling location. The alert will
automatically patch callers to their local election offices as well as
give voters an opportunity to record a brief description (in either
English or Spanish) for NBC News of the problems they are facing.
Voters who call the MYVOTE1 Voter Alert Line will also be able to
receive information about their local polling location.
Infovoter
Technologies -- a bipartisan joint venture representing VoterLink Data
Systems and Chesapeake Enterprises -- will manage the voter contact
technology along with a team of bipartisan analysts at the National
Constitution Center, located on historic Independence Mall in
Philadelphia, Pa.
The team of analysts will be assisted by
graduate students from the University of Pennsylvania Fels' School of
Government and will examine the volume and the location of the calls
and will analyze the content of individual calls for insight into
local, regional or nationwide voting problems. NBC News' Natalie
Morales will report on the issue from the Constitution Center in
Philadelphia, with additional coverage from locations around the
country.
The Voter Alert Line is funded by a range of
non-partisan organizations and academic institutions including:
The
Common Cause Education Fund, The University of Pennsylvania Fels'
School of Government, The Reform Institute, and The Hispanic Voter
Project at Johns Hopkins University.
The "Making Your Vote Count" site on MSNBC.com
(<http://vote.msnbc.com/>)
will highlight reporting from all the NBC News programs, as well as
provide voter registration information and sign up, voter technology
interactive applications and the latest headlines on voting
issues. On
Election Day, MSNBC.com will show data collected through the Voter
Alert Line, displaying "hot spots" with a high volume of calls
reporting voting problems. Users will be able to view information
on
national, state and congressional district levels.
NBC NEWS/DECISION 2004:
In
addition to its comprehensive election coverage, the networks of NBC
News have committed time and resources to providing candidate-centered
discourse leading up to Election Day on all its platforms.
"NBC
Nightly News with Tom Brokaw," is devoting considerable time to "The
Truth Squad," segments in which Brian Williams and Lisa Myers analyze
candidate discourse for accuracy and context. Other on-going
"Nightly
News" political coverage includes "The Message," in which candidates
speak in their own words, "Assignment America," where Brian Williams
reports from the battleground states on what issues matter most to
voters and "Divided We Stand," a look at two different perspectives on
major political issues facing voters today. Tim Russert will
provide
his perspective and analysis on "NBC Nightly News" and "Today"
throughout the course of the campaign.
"Dateline NBC" will report on the issues leading up to the final days
of the 2004 election with Tom Brokaw.
NBC
News' "Today" and "Weekend Today" will continue to offer comprehensive
coverage leading up to Election Day. On the week day edition,
"What's
at Stake, Today?" will continue to look at the issues that viewers
voted on as the most crucial in this year's race. "Today" will
also
offer extensive information on the key senate races and state-by-state
contests.
In addition to the very latest in-depth interviews
and analysis on the race for the White House, "Meet the Press with Tim
Russert" will continue to devote a portion of its broadcast to a
special series of Senate Debates with candidates from some of the most
interesting and competitive races. The debates are moderated by
Tim
Russert and originate live, from the NBC studios in Washington, D.C.
Since
Labor Day, NBC's owned and operated stations have aired a minimum of
five minutes per day of comprehensive coverage on the November 2004
elections. This coverage is in addition to the day's breaking
political news and includes candidate-centered discourse, in-depth
newscast segments covering the national and local candidates' policy
positions, reports on the issues facing the electorate, information on
"Making Your Vote Count," debates between local candidates and live
interviews with local candidates running for various positions.
Coverage airs Monday - Sunday within the stations' various local news
broadcasts. In addition, weekend public affairs programs
have devoted
a significant amount of time to candidates and election issues, and the
owned stations' individual websites are providing users with extensive
information about the upcoming election.
NBC COVERAGE ON CABLE:
MSNBC:
MSNBC's
continuing "Battle for the White House" coverage includes in-depth
reporting and analysis throughout its dayside and primetime lineup ?
"Hardball with Chris Matthews" (7:00-8:00 p.m. ET), "Countdown
with
Keith Olbermann" (8:00-9:00 p.m. ET), "Deborah Norville Tonight"
(9:00-10:00 p.m. ET) and "Scarborough Country," (10:00-11:00 p.m.
ET).
The combined resources of NBC News and MSNBC cover the candidates and
the issues with reports from NBC's Andrea Mitchell, David Gregory,
Campbell Brown, Carl Quintanilla, Ron Allen and Norah O'Donnell, as
well as MSNBC's Chris Jansing, David Shuster, Pat Buchanan and Ron
Reagan.
Every Friday, a special edition of "Hardball,"
"Hardball: The Horserace," focuses exclusively on the election with
analysis of the campaigns, the newest ads, the latest polls and a look
around the country at the local races with national impact.
MSNBC
will also continue working with Knight/Ridder on a series of voter
surveys in key states that measure voter opinions and track the
candidates' progress as they race toward the finish line. Two
sets of
state-by-state polls are scheduled for release in late October.
CNBC:
On
NBC's business news network CNBC, CNBC Washington Bureau Chief Alan
Murray will anchor five election updates each day from the "Capital
Report" set in Washington. Murray's updates ? covering the latest
hits, runs and errors from the campaign trail ? will also report the
latest prices from the two "markets" dealing in Political
Futures.
"Capital Report" will continue each night between now and Election
Night with co-hosts Gloria Borger and Alan Murray.
Correspondent
Diana Olick will provide "Fact Checks," which will examine claims and
charges made by the candidates regarding economic and business
issues.
Olick will ferret out the truth and share it with CNBC viewers.
In
addition, CNBC will air a series of reports from Rob Reynolds focusing
on the major economic issues of this election. The reports, which
have
been shot in key swing states, will compare and contrast Bush's and
Kerry's proposals for fixing: Healthcare, Prescription Drugs,
Energy,
Jobs, Wages, the Deficit, Taxes, and Social Security.
NBC COVERAGE ON THE INTERNET: MSNBC.COM:
As
Election Day nears, MSNBC.com invites news consumers to try their hand
at running a campaign. The "Big Picture: Campaign Manager," an
interactive, multi-media feature, will begin to roll-out Oct. 18.
In
it, users can apply to be a fictional campaign manager for President
Bush or Senator Kerry, using poll data to set the candidate's key
messages, developing a spending strategy, and even creating a campaign
television ad. Users can also take the Campaign Manager challenge and
compare strategies such as their platform to generic platforms created
by the sum of viewers taking on the competitor role. In addition,
users building a TV campaign ad can email it to friends for feedback on
whether it hits the mark.
MSNBC.com also hosts "Hardblogger,"
a political blog updated by anchors and analysts from MSNBC TV as well
as Chris Matthew's "Hardball HorseRace" which includes various
multi-media modules to help the viewer fully understand the state of
the race. MSNBC.com brings the NBC News feature "Making Your Vote
Count" online with information to help voters avoid pitfalls at the
voting booth.
"First Read," NBC News' on-line political
newsletter -- published by the NBC News Political Unit -- will continue
daily, with special editions during the run up to Election Day.
NBC RADIO:
Political
coverage will be a key part of NBC News radio's 17 daily one-minute
newscasts beginning at 6:00 a.m. until 10:00 p.m. Coverage
include
reports from Tom Brokaw, Tim Russert, Brian Williams, Andrea Mitchell,
and the NBC News correspondents reporting from the campaign trail --
including David Gregory, Kelly O'Donnell, Carl Quintanilla and Norah
O'Donnell.
NBC MOBILE:
NBC Mobile produces NBC News
coverage for cellular phone users. Newscasts are reported daily
at
8:00 a.m., 10:00 a.m., Noon, 4:00 p.m., 8:00 p.m. and at 11:00 p.m. and
are reported by NBC News anchors and correspondents in New York,
London, Moscow, Washington, Los Angeles and Atlanta.
Mark Lukasiewicz is the executive producer of NBC News' "Decision 2004"
political coverage.
Please note: Images of "Democracy Plaza" can be found on NBC's
Media Village website at www.nbcmv.com.
Press Contacts:
Allison Gollust, NBC News Communications
Barbara Levin, NBC News Communications
Jeremy Gaines, MSNBC Communications
Amy Zelvin, CNBC Communications
Cherylynne Crowther, MSNBC.com Communications
Gerardo Oyola, Telemundo Communications
NBC News New York, October 6, 2004