MSNBC kicks off coverage of “Decision 2004,” anchored by Chris Matthews, with live coverage beginning from “Democracy Plaza,”—an interactive exhibition at Rockefeller Plaza on the history of democracy and citizenship in the United States—Sunday, Oct. 31, Monday, Nov. 1 and through the night Election Day, Tuesday, Nov. 2, with comprehensive coverage of election results and analysis on Wednesday, Nov. 3.
Coverage begins Sunday, Oct. 31, with live coverage all day and a full night of political debate and analysis live from “Democracy Plaza,” starting with a special edition of “Scarborough Country,” 6-7 p.m. ET, followed by “Hardball with Chris Matthews,” 7-8 p.m., “Countdown with Keith Olbermann,” 8-9 p.m., and a special two hour edition of “Hardball” 9-11 p.m. Monday, Nov. 1, coverage begins at 9 a.m. live at “Democracy Plaza.” MSNBC continues live coverage throughout the day on Monday, and concludes its primetime lineup with a special two-hour “After Hours,” 11 p.m.-1 a.m., hosted by MSNBC host Joe Scarborough and MSNBC political analyst Ron Reagan.
Tuesday, Nov. 2, MSNBC’s Election Night coverage begins at 6 p.m. ET, with MSNBC Election Anchor Chris Matthews leading a panel of political experts and analysts, including NBC News Correspondent Andrea Mitchell, Newsweek’s Jon Meacham, Scarborough and Reagan. MSNBC anchor Keith Olbermann will report live on Election Night from MSNBC headquarters with analysis of election returns as they come in, as well as House and Senate election results. NBC News’ Brian Williams will report on the exit polls from around the nation.
NBC News Correspondent Chip Reid will anchor the “Making Your Vote Count” desk at “Democracy Plaza,” reporting on voting issues and any possible problems around the country, while MSNBC anchor Natalie Morales reports from the “Making Your Vote Count” center in Philadelphia, Pa. NBC News Chief Legal Correspondent and host of MSNBC “The Abrams Report” Dan Abrams will report on the legal issues surrounding the election, while Democratic election attorney David Boies and former Bush campaign attorney Ben Ginsburg provide analysis. MSNBC anchor and NBC “Weekend Today” co-host Lester Holt will be live at the NBC News decision desk, explaining to viewers how the network makes the decision to call states for either candidate as returns come in.
The “Hardball” Opinion Panel of pundits and politicos will include former Clinton White House press secretary Dee Dee Myers, MSNBC analyst Pat Buchanan, former San Francisco mayor Willie Brown, former Congressman JC Watts, and former Democratic presidential candidate Rev. Al Sharpton with debate and analysis of the election returns throughout the evening, with additional analysis from Newsweek’s Howard Fineman and Jonathan Alter and Congressional Quarterly’sCraig Crawford.
MSNBC will have in-depth reports from battleground states across the country, including MSNBC Correspondent Chris Jansing reporting from Ohio and “Hardball” Election Correspondent David Shuster in Florida. NBC News Correspondents David Gregory and Norah O’Donnell report live from the White House, while Carl Quintanilla and Kelly O’Donnell report from the Kerry campaign headquarters in Boston, Mass.
MSNBC Political Analyst Joe Trippi will be joined by Ana Marie Cox of “Wonkette” and John Hinderaker of “Powerline” for up-to-the-minute analysis of what’s happening on the web from the MSNBC Bloggers’ Cafe at “Democracy Plaza.” Online, the MSNBC blogging team, led by Trippi, will produce four live blogs for MSNBC.com, covering every key aspect of Election Day. MSNBC’s Bloggers’ Cafe at TV.MSNBC.com will host Chris Matthews’ Hardblogger which will cover all things Presidential while Keith Olbermann’s blog, Bloggermann, focuses on Senate, House and gubernatorial races, and key state propositions. Joe Scarborough’s blog, Congressman Joe, will put the media in the spotlight. Dan Abrams’ blog, Sidebar, will cover voting issues and the legal angles surrounding the election. Each blog will showcase not only Trippi’s blogging team and MSNBC talent but will introduce new contributors to MSNBC.com—Citizen Journalists. The Citizen Journalists will be viewers and netizens helping us document this historical day through their own personal blogging. The Citizen Journalists will report from their areas on what they personally see happening at the polls and on the streets on Election Day.
Following is a program schedule for MSNBC’s coverage of the 2004 Presidential Election:
Sunday, Oct. 31
8 a.m.-6 p.m. MSNBC live news coverage
6-7 p.m. “Scarborough Country”
7-8 p.m. “Hardball with Chris Matthews”
8-9 p.m. “Countdown with Keith Olbermann”
9-10 p.m. “Decision 2004: What’s at Stake?”
Monday, Nov. 1
9 a.m.-4 p.m. MSNBC live news coverage from “Democracy Plaza”
4-6 p.m. “Lester Holt Live”
6-7 p.m. “The Abrams Report”
7-8 p.m. “Hardball with Chris Matthews”
8-9 p.m. “Countdown with Keith Olbermann”
9-11 p.m. “Hardball with Chris Matthews”
11 p.m.-1 a.m. “After Hours”
Tuesday, Nov. 2
9 a.m.-4 p.m. MSNBC live news coverage from “Democracy Plaza”
4-6 p.m. “Lester Holt Live”
6 p.m.-3 a.m. MSNBC Coverage of “Decision 2004” Anchored by Chris Matthews
Wednesday, Nov. 3
3 a.m.-12 p.m. MSNBC continuing coverage of “Decision 2004,” anchored by Randy Meier and Amy Robach
12-6 p.m. MSNBC continuing coverage of “Decision 2004,” anchored by Lester Holt
6-7 p.m. “The Abrams Report”
7-8 p.m. “Hardball with Chris Matthews”
8-9 p.m. “Countdown with Keith Olbermann”
9-10 p.m. “Hardball with Chris Matthews”
10-11 p.m. “Scarborough Country”
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.
Tammy Haddad is the executive producer of “Hardball with Chris Matthews”. Phil Griffin is Vice President, Primetime Programming, MSNBC. Mark Effron is Vice President, News Daytime Programming, MSNBC. Rick Kaplan is the President, MSNBC and executive producer, MSNBC’s 2004 Presidential Election coverage.