Highlights:
- “NBC Nightly News” Anchor Tom Brokaw will again host a daily program from 4-4:30 p.m. ET
- From NBC Sky Box, Joe Scarborough and Ron Reagan return as late night hosts of the network’s popular “After Hours” program, 12-2 a.m. ET
- MSNBC will feature several specials leading into the convention Sunday, August 29 including “Brian Williams Reports George Bush: The Father’s Footsteps” 9-10 p.m. ET
- Complete Live Gavel-To-Gavel Coverage On MSNBC.com
Press release:
MSNBC will kick off its coverage of the Republican National Convention Sunday, August 29 from MSNBC convention headquarters at historic Herald Square Park. Blocks from Madison Square Garden, Herald Square Park is one of the most famous pedestrian crossroads in New York City, providing convention participants as well as the general public the opportunity to participate in MSNBC’s coverage, just as they did at the Democratic National Convention at Boston’s Faneuil Hall.
MSNBC election anchor and host of “Hardball,” Chris Matthews will lead the network’s comprehensive coverage of the convention, which will also include live coverage of all key convention events as well as interviews with other convention newsmakers, including Senator John McCain, who is scheduled for Monday night.
“MSNBC is dedicated to bringing its viewers the most comprehensive coverage of the Republican National Convention,” said executive producer Tammy Haddad. “We are building upon our successful DNC coverage by giving people a chance to walk up and give their opinions of events as they are happening.”
The network’s contributors will feature MSNBC anchor and host of “Scarborough Country,” Joe Scarborough, MSNBC Analysts Pat Buchanan and Ron Reagan. Network contributors will also include former members of Congress J.C. Watts (R-OK) and Susan Molinari (R-NY), former New Jersey Governor and Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Christie Todd Whitman and Ron Silver, an accomplished actor and political activist, as well as NBC News’ Chief Foreign Affairs Correspondent Andrea Mitchell, “Weekend Today” co-anchor Campbell Brown, and Newsweek’s Howard Fineman & Jon Meacham, former presidential advisor David Gergen and presidential historian Douglas Brinkley.
Sunday, August 29 is a full day of pre-convention coverage with specials and live programs from MSNBC and NBC News anchors. From 4-6 p.m. ET Chris Jansing will anchor live from Herald Square with guests and MSNBC analysts. At 6 p.m. ET Jansing and Chris Matthews anchor a live convention preview show. At 7 p.m. Matthews hosts “Hardball,” and immediately following, MSNBC presents three hours of convention-themed specials: From 8-9 p.m. is “,” hosted by Matthews and Tom Brokaw: From 9-10 p.m. is “Brian Williams Reports, George Bush: The Father’s Footsteps” a one-hour documentary tracing the intertwining political careers of President Bush, George Herbert Walker Bush and his father, Prescott Bush; and, from 10-11 p.m. Chris Jansing hosts “.”
On Monday, August 30, MSNBC coverage will continue from Herald Square Park. Monday through Thursday, the daily schedule will include a two hour show from 12-2 p.m. ET hosted by Chris Jansing, a two hour “Scarborough Country” from 2-4 p.m. ET, “Brokaw in New York” from 4-4:30 p.m., and a special edition of “Countdown with Keith Olbermann” from 5-6 p.m. ET. Primetime coverage begins at 6 p.m. ET with Chris Matthews hosting until midnight along with the Hardball Election Team and guests. MSNBC’s convention coverage continues from midnight to 2 a.m. ET, with Joe Scarborough and Ron Reagan hosting “After Hours,” a live wrap-up of the day’s events with panelists and guests analyzing convention highlights and previewing what is to come.
Beginning Monday, August 30, the MSNBC convention schedule is as follows (All times Eastern):
- 9-12 noon MSNBC Live: Battle for the White House coverage including updates from Herald Square and Madison Square Garden:
- 12-2 p.m. Chris Jansing anchors from Herald Square with a preview of what is to come in the night ahead – the highlights and the issues
- 2-4 p.m. Joe Scarborough hosts from Herald Square with interviews of newsmakers and convention participants
- 4-4:30 p.m. “Brokaw in New York” from the NBC sky box at Madison Square Garden will include interviews with key convention players and opinion leaders
- 4:30 p.m. Continuing Convention Coverage
- 5-6 p.m. A special edition of “Countdown with Keith Olbermann”
- 6-midnight “Hardball: Battle for the White House” live primetime convention coverage with Chris Matthews hosting, featuring major speeches from the convention hall, reporting from the NBC News team of correspondents, live guests and convention analysis, all from Herald Square
- 12-2 a.m. “After Hours” live late night convention coverage analyzing the day’s developments, hosted by Joe Scarborough and Ron Reagan from Herald Square
MSNBC’s Weblog, the “Hardblogger,” which debuted July 23 prior to the Democratic National Convention, will continue during the RNC and will include daily postings from MSNBC anchors and analysts and is located at hardblogger.msnbc.com.
MSNBC.com (Politics.MSNBC.com) will again provide live, gavel-to-gavel streaming video coverage of the convention. Launching with the RNC is a new interactive feature, the “New York Minute” that provides users a quick look at what they need to know each day with a mix of offbeat items, video, live votes and slideshows.
Newsweek’s Howard Fineman will again provide his “Digital Dispatches” using his text pager to send comments to the site to create a virtual blog. The NBC daily political memo, “First Read” will expand to include a look at some of the lesser-reported but frequently discussed events and happenings at the convention. MSNBC.com political reporter Tom Curry will be on the scene to provide analysis on the week’s events.
Chris Matthews anchors MSNBC’s coverage of the 2004 Presidential election and hosts “Hardball with Chris Matthews,” a nightly hour of in-depth political analysis and debate, Monday through Friday, 7-8 p.m. ET on MSNBC. Matthews also hosts “The Chris Matthews Show,” a syndicated weekly news program produced by NBC News and distributed by NBC Universal Television Distribution.