July 24, 2007
ABC News NOW to Kick-Off “Vote 2008” with Coverage of Presidental Debates in Iowa
Sam Donaldson, David Chalian, and Rick Klein to Lead Political Coverage On ABC's Digital Channel
ABC News Now will kick-off its coverage and original programming for the 2008 presidential election at the two "This Week" and ABC5 News live debates in August 2007. ABC News Correspondent Sam Donaldson, Political Director David Chalian and Senior Political Reporter Rick Klein, will lead News Now's coverage of "Vote 2008."
The debates will begin at 8am CT and air across the country as a special edition of "This Week with George Stephanopoulos." The 90-minute forums moderated by ABC News' George Stephanopoulos with additional questioning from David Yepsen of The Des Moines Register will be held at Drake University. The Republican debate is on Sunday, August 5, 2007 and the Democratic debate, co-sponsored by the Iowa Democratic Party, is on Sunday, August 19, 2007. All Democratic and Republican presidential candidates have confirmed their attendance in the Iowa debates.
ABC News Now will re-air the full debates beginning at 3pm ET on Sunday, August 5 and Sunday, August 19. ABC News Now will take a behind-the-scenes look at the Iowa presidential debates with Rick Klein, author of the ABC News Note, the daily morning tipsheet that is a must-read for political junkies. Klein will blog on the breaking news blog "Political Radar" on ABCNEWS.com, and will give an inside look at the preparations and excitement in the lead up and the wind down at the debates. Klein will continue his backstage vlogs for ABC News Now through the political season up to and including major events such as the Democratic and Republican Conventions.
Original programming for ABC News Now's coverage of the Iowa debates will include:
"Talk Back" to the Candidates -- Rick Klein will take audience submitted video and email questions and put them to the 2008 presidential candidates and their campaign staffers who will respond directly, on-air. "Talk Back" on ABC News Now allows viewers to join in the discussion and connect directly with newsmakers. It's an open forum with just one degree of separation between viewers and the biggest names in the presidential races. Viewers can submit their questions and upload their videos directly at ABCNewsNow.com.
Special Editions of "The Issues" following the debates on Monday, August 6 and Monday, August 20. Political reporters from ABC News will analyze how the candidates handled the issues in the Iowa debates. This political roundtable will feature the perspectives of ABC News' off-air reporters who will weigh in on the 2008 presidential hopefuls.
Special Editions of "Politics Live" following the debates on Monday, August 6 and Monday, August 20 will focus on a post-debate analysis of the candidates' performances and the issues most important in the election. Co-anchored by Sam Donaldson and David Chalian, "Politics Live" will include an analysis of candidates, strategies and trends. Expect frequent appearances by the team of producers and reporters assigned to each candidate.
There will be additional announcements further detailing plans of ABC News Now's political coverage in the coming weeks.
ABC News Now delivers live breaking news, headlines every half-hour, original programming featuring the latest from on politics, entertainment, health and technology, and highlights from your favorite ABC News shows. ABC News Now offers video-on-demand programming from all ABC News broadcasts including "World News with Charles Gibson," "Good Morning America," "Nightline," "20/20" and "Primetime."
ABC News Now, the 24-hour news and information network, is currently available to more than 31 million users across cable, broadband, and mobile. Key partners include RCN, Comcast, Sprint, Verizon, Charter, AOL, and MobiTV.
Jessica Stedman Guff is the Executive Producer of ABC News Now.
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ABC News Media Relations:
Natalia Labenskyj (212) 456-4396; natalia.a.labenskyj@abc.com