The End Of Media As We Know It?

WE'VE MOVED! Democratic Convention Watch is now at http://www.DemocraticConventionWatch.com

In looking at the 2008 election cycle, it is certainly true that use of the internet, texting, and cell phones helped successful campaigns in ways that were not possible in earlier cycles. In addition, there is a good chance that use of the blogosphere (especially the left-wing blogosphere) was very helpful in fundraising, up and down the tickets.

The cost of this has been to the MSM, that “good-old” main stream media: print newspapers, local news on TV, network news on TV and to a certain extent cable TV and print magazines. There are many who say that they are dinosaurs, and good riddance. My guess is that the younger you are, the more likely you are to see no need for this old-time journalism model.

We know that newspaper circulation numbers are down, advertising dollars are down, local news anchors are being axed, and fewer people are watching local and network news than ever before. To wit:

Slightly more than half of the population watches local news regularly, according to the Pew Research Center for People and the Press, while only 34 percent read a newspaper each day and 29 percent watch a network evening newscast.

But the ratings for the broadcasts have gradually eroded over the years. The typical late newscast now reaches 12 percent of viewers watching TV in a given market, down from 21 percent 10 years ago.

As the number of people watching/reading declines, so do the ad rates that can be charged. Eventually, the number of companies willing to advertise declines as well. Super Bowl ads command millions per minute because so many people watch the game, while virtually anyone can afford an ad on one of the more obscure cable networks. (Kinoki footpads, anyone?)

Companies will always advertise to reach their target audience if at all possible. So, many are shifting. Internet advertising is up, reflecting the emerging potential market available to advertisers.

The question becomes, though, is losing the MSM news media all good? It used to be that the networks, and the major papers, had large news gathering operations, as did AP, Reuters and UPI. They had bureaus in multiple cities, they pooled coverage when beneficial, and they had sources on the ground. “Modern” thought may say that this has become unnecessary since ‘everyone’ has a cell phone with a camera and video. Plus, there is the perceived benefit of the immediacy of “news” being available 24/7 whenever one wants it.

There are a lot of people who contend that this is good, and that a new business model will arise to support “news”. I’m not so sure. Who will pay for news gathering once the MSM is dead? Certainly, it is possible to use modern technology to disseminate certain types of information. For example, the text of a speech.

But what about press conferences? Sure, the people holding them can put up a camera and film the presser, and then packet that out to the internet. But once the MSM is no longer showing up, who will ask the questions? Once the cameras are owned and operated by those handing out the information, what happens to a “free press”?

I can hear you saying that there’s no problem, we have a blogosphere, and those people are certainly capable of asking questions, and of knowing what to ask. The question is: who will pay the bloggers to show up at “the news”? Collecting news is a 24/7 undertaking, and most bloggers hold regular jobs, and blog in their off hours. Imagine what it would cost to get news online if you had to pay to support the people who collect and analyze it. Would you be willing to pay $25/month, or more, to each site from which you receive your news? Would you be willing to pay more for targeted news with no advertising?

And what about analysis and framework? Being able to record something on tape or camera does not mean you understand it, nor necessarily know its context. That's the thing with long term professionals, they have a 'sense' that others may not. Not because they are better than other people, just that they've been doing it a long time. In addition, years of experience have led these folks to have sources: people who can clue them in to what is going to happen, and what certain things mean.

Sure, the internet can take over in some ways: analysis takes smarts, with is not limited to the MSM, sources can be developed, and targeted blogs can specialize based on material or geography. But that "whole world" view will be very hard to come by because of the finances involved.

What of journalistic ethics? There is a Society of Professional Journalists, and they have a code of ethics for their members. In their preamble, they state:

The duty of the journalist is to further those ends by seeking truth and providing a fair and comprehensive account of events and issues. Conscientious journalists from all media and specialties strive to serve the public with thoroughness and honesty. Professional integrity is the cornerstone of a journalist's credibility.

The four major points (to which DCW subscribes, although we are not professional journalists) are:

• Seek Truth and Report It
• Minimize Harm
• Act Independently
• Be Accountable

You can read the code, and while you can certainly find examples of when the MSM has faltered, for the most part, the vast majority of members adhere to that code. The same cannot be said for all bloggers, nor some infamous 527s (think "Swift Boat").

I don't know what the answer is, nor what the business model will morph into. E-Bay and Amazon changed retailing, the iPod and MP3s changed music business models, and the internet has certainly changed politics. Some of those changes are good, but certainly something is also lost in translation.

Stephen Colbert Visits The Early Show

WE'VE MOVED! Democratic Convention Watch is now at http://www.DemocraticConventionWatch.com

Watch CBS Videos Online

Obama to give first YouTube Radio Address

WE'VE MOVED! Democratic Convention Watch is now at http://www.DemocraticConventionWatch.com

Another example of Obama taking the Presidency into the 21st Century

Today, President-elect Obama will record the Weekly Democratic Radio Address on video and radio. The address will be turned into a youtube video which we will post on www.change.gov when the embargo ends on Saturday. The audio portion will still be distributed as it normally is. President-elect Obama will continue to record and make available the Democratic radio addresses on video when he is in the White House. No President-elect or President has ever turned the radio address into a multi-media opportunity before. This is just one of many ways that President-elect Obama will communicate directly with the American people and make the White House and the political process more transparent.

Washington Post writer Jose Antonio Vargas wrote a story on the radio/video address

The YouTube Presidency

By Jose Antonio Vargas
The White House has gone YouTube.

Today, President-elect Obama will record the weekly Democratic address not just on radio but also on video -- a first. The address, typically four minutes long, will be turned into a YouTube video and posted on Obama's transition site, Change.gov, once the radio address is made public on Saturday morning.

The address will be taped at the transition office in Chicago today.

"This is just one of many ways that he will communicate directly with the American people and make the White House and the political process more transparent," spokeswoman Jen Psaki told us last night.

In addition to regularly videotaping the radio address, officials at the transition office say the Obama White House will also conduct online Q&As and video interviews. The goal, officials say, is to put a face on government. In the following weeks, for example, senior members of the transition team, various policy experts and choices for the Cabinet, among others, will record videos for Change.gov.

Yesterday, transition co-chairman Valerie Jarrett recorded a two-minute video that summarized the goings-on in the past week. "President-elect Obama adopted the most sweeping and strict ethics rules that have ever been in place in the course of a transition," said a bespectacled Jarrett, looking directly at the camera in a video that's yet to be posted. -MORE-

Vargas interviewed me at the start of the convention in August. My boss still doesn't know (I think).

Networks may hint early

WE'VE MOVED! Democratic Convention Watch is now at http://www.DemocraticConventionWatch.com

The networks may let the truth speak tonight:

A senior vice president of CBS News, Paul Friedman, said the prospects for Barack Obama or John McCain meeting the minimum threshold of electoral votes could be clear as soon as 8 p.m. — before polls in even New York and Rhode Island close, let alone those in Texas and California. At such a moment, determined from a combination of polling data and samples of actual votes, the network could share its preliminary projection with viewers, Mr. Friedman said.

“We could know Virginia at 7,” he said. “We could know Indiana before 8. We could know Florida at 8. We could know Pennsylvania at 8. We could know the whole story of the election with those results. We can’t be in this position of hiding our heads in the sand when the story is obvious.”
...
When asked how Katie Couric, who is leading CBS’s coverage, might present the network’s projection to viewers, Mr. Friedman said he could imagine her saying, for example, “Given what we know about the results, or the projected results in various states, it’s beginning to look like it will be very difficult for John McCain to put together enough votes to win this election.” - NY Times.

New bells and whistles to be debuted on Election Night.

WE'VE MOVED! Democratic Convention Watch is now at http://www.DemocraticConventionWatch.com

From MediaBistro:

A tipster sent along an internal memo from NBC News which gives us a sneak peak at how NBC will use the HD "wings" on either side of the screen Tuesday night. The wings will accommodate a list of states and their electoral votes & poll closing times, and later in the night, the vote for president and the votes for congressional races.

And over at CNN... holograms.

CNN will have 44 cameras and 20 computers in each remote location to capture 360-degree imaging data of the person being interviewed. Images are processed and projected by computers and cameras in New York. There'll also be plasma TVs in Chicago and Phoenix that will let the people being interviewed see Blitzer and other CNN correspondents. Bohrman says the network can project two different views from each city so Blitzer can appear to be in the studio with two holograms.

Zennie Abraham on CNN - Saturday Night (9-27) 8 PM EST; 5 PM PST

WE'VE MOVED! Democratic Convention Watch is now at http://www.DemocraticConventionWatch.com

I will be on CNN's Roland Martin show this Saturday Night at 8 PM EST; 5 PM PST talking about the Presidential Debate. Tune in -- I think it will replay later as well.

The Gibson Interview

WE'VE MOVED! Democratic Convention Watch is now at http://www.DemocraticConventionWatch.com

Josh Marshall has a piece up on why he believes that the Charlie Gibson - Sarah Palin interview will be unwatchable.

His points relate to the fact that the inteview will span several days, and this is how one does celebrity interviews NOT political interviews.

I can't get past the Gibson-Stephanopolous questioning at the Constitution Center debate earlier this year.

So here are the questions:

Will Charlie remember that he is a journalist first, and a panderer second?

Will he ask only fluff questions, or will he stray into questions about policy?

Will he question her record, including the latest from the WaPo about her charging the state of Alaska a per diem for spending her nights at home?

Will he ask how she likes her mooseburgers cooked?

And finally, is there any chance Charlie will control the interview, or will that be the purview of the McCain-Palin campaign?

Maybe you want to let Charlie know what you think he should ask.

What about those reports of Party division?

WE'VE MOVED! Democratic Convention Watch is now at http://www.DemocraticConventionWatch.com

Last week, we heard the media report over and over that the Democratic Party was experiencing this massive divide, and that the Party would not be unified heading into the general election. Naturally, the news media need the drama to up the ratings. Only to be disappointed when the DNCC saw Clinton make the decisive motion in putting Senator Obama over the top to claim the Democratic nomination. Dang, the massive divide turned into a massive hug-out.

Yet less than one week later, we see a Republican convention that is not only thinly attended, but sees an entirely separate convention of GOP followers take place a few minutes down the road. The Paultards have been begging for this kind of attention. There's drama! There's suspense! There's people wearing crazy hats! This, my friends, is a division of the good ol' fashioned sort - the critical kind. We're talking news that could have been as big as that "Phish" break up a few years ago.

Where, may I ask, are the media inquiries to this split in the Party? Surely ratings must still mean something.

Or maybe there aren't enough press to cover the divide because the RNC only has half as many press who were banished to St. Paul compared to those who willingly went to Denver.

Convention gets record audience

WE'VE MOVED! Democratic Convention Watch is now at http://www.DemocraticConventionWatch.com

Barack Obama accepted the Democratic nomination for president on Thursday as an estimated 38 million viewers watched on television, setting a new record for convention viewership, according to Nielsen Media Research.
Mr. Obama’s speech — a historic one given his status as the first African American nominee of a major political party — reached significantly more viewers than the comparable addresses in 2004. Coverage of John Kerry’s acceptance speech in 2004 had 24.4 million viewers; coverage of George W. Bush’s convention speech that same year drew 27.5 million.

The audience estimate of 38.3 million means that Mr. Obama’s speech reached more viewers than the Olympics opening ceremony in Beijing, the final “American Idol” or the Academy Awards this year, the Associated Press notes.

Furthermore, the four-night Democratic convention ranks as the most-watched convention of either party, Democratic or Republican, since Nielsen began measuring conventions in 1960.

The four nights of “common coverage” by networks — 10 to 11 p.m. Monday through Thursday — were viewed by an average of 22.4 million households, Nielsen said Friday. Previously, the highest-rated Democratic convention occurred in 1980 with 20.5 million households watching, and the highest-rated Republican convention occurred in 1976 with 21.9 million households watching. - NY Times

MSM Strikes Again...

WE'VE MOVED! Democratic Convention Watch is now at http://www.DemocraticConventionWatch.com

There is a little tidbit in Playbook today, about the site CBS has set up on the conventions. Now, we here at DCW know a little something about a convention site, and this quote from CBS publicist Daniel Lynn about says it all. Remember, like ingredients on a food package, biggest or "most important" first. (Emphasis mine)

“CBS News has created a website specifically for the Democratic and Republican National Conventions. The site provides access to biographies of on-air personnel, transcripts of news segments or entire broadcasts, press releases, photos from the conventions, behind-the-scenes videos including the nightly webcast, miscellaneous items and the daily c-note."

Media gearing up for convention

WE'VE MOVED! Democratic Convention Watch is now at http://www.DemocraticConventionWatch.com

Despite what Jack Shafer says, there are 15,000 media attending the convention. From the Denver Post, here' s a roundup of some of the media plans:

MSNBC's Keith Olbermann and Chris Matthews will be based outside Union Station. Olbermann, talking about the 20-hour-a-day marathon broadcasts planned by MSNBC, said, "Looking ahead to the conventions, we had finally hit on the formula that integrated MSNBC and NBC News. The guy we were going to lean on was Tim (Russert). I think we'd be best advised to take that time we were going to give to Tim and just be silent in his memory. . . . I don't know what we're going to do without him. I mean that in the philosophical way but also practically speaking."

"Morning Joe" will telecast live from Sam's No. 3 Grill & Bar; Matt Lauer will co-anchor "Today" from Denver on Thursday and Friday. Brian Williams leads the NBC/MSNBC team with Tom Brokaw lending expertise.

Gwen Ifill, host of PBS's "Washington Week" and contributor to "The NewsHour With Jim Lehrer," said the PBS coverage, slated for 6-9 p.m. locally during the DNC, aims to explain "why this is consequential." "NewsHour" is the first network office up and running at the Pepsi Center.

"We used to consider ourselves gavel-to-gavel; that doesn't make sense any more for lots of reasons. We're not CSPAN. They perform a public service, but we provide more than that."
...
While the commercial broadcast networks are down to one prime-time hour of convention coverage per night, PBS plans three. NPR likewise will produce three hours a night, anchored by Andrea Seabrook, host of the weekend edition of NPR's "All Things Considered." On the final night, Aug. 28, a one-hour call-in special hosted by Neal Conan of "Talk of the Nation" will give listeners a chance to express their views after Obama's acceptance speech.

The "Professional" Media

WE'VE MOVED! Democratic Convention Watch is now at http://www.DemocraticConventionWatch.com

Jack Shafer over at Slate makes the case that the conventions are not worth press coverage. He says:

"A still better way to improve convention coverage would be to withdraw all reporters and force the curious to rely on a C-SPAN feed: Unless a brokered convention threatens to break out, these political gatherings tend to produce very little real news. Yet the networks, the newspapers, the magazines, and the Web sites continue to insist on sending battalions of reporters to sift for itsy specks of information. According to Forbes, 15,000 pressies are expected to attend each of the conventions. Slate, I'm embarrassed to admit, is sending a team of eight to Denver and six to St. Paul. Attention! Don Graham! We're spending your cash like it's Zimbabwean bank notes!"

Personally, I'm sorry I'm not going, and I will watch every bit of it I can, and hungrily read the blogs to get a sense of what's happening while the cameras are off. But that's just me, how do YOU feel?

Online Surveys & Market Research

ABC announces convention plans

WE'VE MOVED! Democratic Convention Watch is now at http://www.DemocraticConventionWatch.com

ABC news has announced they will be broadcasting all 4 nights of each convention from 10-11 EST. They now join NBC in broadcasting all 4 nights, which is an improvement from 2004 when the networks just broadcast 3 nights.

As of now, CBS is the lone holdout at 3 nights, but Politico notes:

With President Bush now speaking on the first night of the Republican convention, I'm hearing from a source that CBS will likely add an hour on the Monday of each convention, too.

Air America announces convention schedule

WE'VE MOVED! Democratic Convention Watch is now at http://www.DemocraticConventionWatch.com

I'm just glad they're not sending that hack Lionel to Denver. Could he be any worse? They say he's going to Minneapolis and not St. Paul (see Matt's post from last night)

AIR AMERICA ANNOUNCES CONVENTION COVERAGE:
"A VOICE we can believe in"

NEW YORK -- Air America Media (www.airamerica.com) is traveling to both the Democratic National Convention in Denver, and, yes, the Republican National Convention in Minneapolis. Air America hosts Rachel Maddow, Thom Hartmann, David Bender and Sam Seder will be reporting live from both venues, featuring interviews and analysis with top newsmakers, opinion makers and bloggers. Chuck D., Richard Greene, and Jon Elliott will also be reporting from Denver, and the irreverent Lionel from Minneapolis.

Plans for the Democratic National Convention, taking place August 25-28 in Denver, include:

· The Thom Hartmann Program" (weekdays 12-3pm EST) and "The Rachel Maddow Show" (weekdays 6-9pm EST), both broadcasting live from Denver.

· "Convention: Special Team Coverage" airs all four nights of the convention beginning at 8 pm EST, featuring Maddow, Hartmann, Mark Green, David Bender and special guests discussing the daily happenings on and off the convent ion floor.

· Air America's Web site editor-in-chief Sam Seder is blogging live from both Denver and Minneapolis, posting text, audio and video updates to www.airamerica.com throughout the conventions.

· Air America's Web site, www.airamerica.com, will also feature live audio streaming from the podium of the evening's Convention proceedings.

Live from Minneapolis St. Paul

WE'VE MOVED! Democratic Convention Watch is now at http://www.DemocraticConventionWatch.com

Two years ago we noted that Denver's bid for the Democratic Convention included a possibility that the fourth night could be held at Invesco Field, a little nugget which turned out to be true.

So let's again go back two years into the DemConWatch archives and see what other nuggets we find:

If the Democratic National Convention comes to these Twin Cities in 2008, the network anchors will have a terrible time figuring out exactly where they are. And that could be a very good thing for St. Paul.

The convention headquarters would be in Minneapolis. Many events and organizations would be based at the Minneapolis Convention Center and at downtown Minneapolis hotels. But the actual Democratic National Convention — the main evening event, where the party nominates candidates for president and vice president and politicians orate as if microphones haven't
been invented — would be at Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul.

"This is Katie Couric, reporting from Minneapol- … from Minnesot- … from St. Paul."

The above is from the TwinCities Pioneer Press, and while the source is gone, that writer was amazingly prescient, even if he got the political party wrong. Today:

CBS News anchor Katie Couric mistakenly said on the air last week that "the mother of all appearances will be in Minneapolis in September -- when McCain accepts his party's nomination."

On Monday night, Couric 'fessed up to her mistake and expressed "apologies to the people of St. Paul" when signing off her telecast.

Click here to see Couric's apology.

An anchor from New York, OK. But certainly not a Republican congresswoman from Minnesota. No way a local Republican would make such a mistake. No way.

DNC Convention Invesco Tour and CNN Grill | Pepsi Media Tent City

WE'VE MOVED! Democratic Convention Watch is now at http://www.DemocraticConventionWatch.com

On the morning of July 31st 2008, I boarded a United Airlines morning flight to Denver to attend the final (?) media walkthrough before the Democratic National Convention, this one at Invesco Field.

Unlike my first media walkthrough trip, I ended up renting a Saturn SUV for ground travel. The reason was simple: it was cheap. Cheaper to rent than a Prius and because they were in low demand versus the economy cars. In a way it worked out to a savings of about $25. Invesco Field was only 20 minutes away from the airport, so it was a quick trip for me.

I arrived at Invesco at 11:20 and ran into a DNCC employee (who I will not name by request) and who walked me around the stadium (we ended up on the field at one point) and eventually into the main briefing meeting.

For security reasons I did not film the main meeting discussion, but focused more on the 'broadbrush" tour and interviews of key media people there. On the way to the main press box, I met "Oreo" who's one of the main contributors at DemConWatchBlog.com and talked about how the blog came to be and who the writers were. To my surprise, one of them was a person who had his own blog called "Mr. Super" for a time, and gave all of us political junkies fits trying to figure out who he was. It's become a great resource for DNC Convention news.

After talking with Oreo, and heading to the main field, I met Sara Burrett, who's a reporter for the Rocky Mountain News. Sara -- who I talked to while tripping all over myself on the Invesco Field sidewalk -- told me that she was a court reporter until this assignment and that her current focus was on the lawsuit the protest group Recreate68 and their leader Glen Spagnuolo, who's known for protesting the Columbus Day Holiday in Denver and for whom a split was caused between his group and other protest groups.

See, even Democratic PROTESTERS can't get along.

But I digress.

Sara also pointed out where Senator Obama will stand to give his acceptance speech, which is about on the 50-yard-line of the field used by The Denver Broncos.

That about ended that part of the tour. But Oreo and I decided to take a tour of our own making. He drove us over to the Pepsi Center area to see the media tent city in the making. Two construction reps let us in and we parked and walked the grounds. The media tents must be about 25,000 square feet in size each, and there were two made already, one for NBC News, the other we didn't know who was for, perhaps CNN.

Writing of CNN, we then walked over to the Brooklyn Grill for a quick lunch. Oreo informed me that the grill was to be transformed into the "CNN Grill" and almost on cue, we saw a stencil being used to paint the CNN = Politics logo on the side of the building. They had just got started with this, and we were the first to record the action.

The one problem with the CNN plan is the restaurant workers know nothing about it. They don't know if they will be paid double-time or who will get to work the shifts, or anything and they're getting a little nervous about the whole deal.

Then, on the way out, Oreo, who lives in Denver, pointed to where the DNC Media Party was to be held over at an amusement park nearby.

In all, the Democratic Party is working overtime to make the DNC Convention work. The objective is open-ness. The main issue now is still scheduling. Contrary to reports, many of the speakers and speaking days have not been fully set. Speculation that Hillary Clinton will not be the VP choice because of the Tuesday "Women's Day" event is faulty at best.

On the way back to the airport, I turned in my rental car and then forgot my iPhone in it. Alamo Rent-A-Car got it back to me very quickly and for that I give thanks.

Update from Matt: Hey, Oreo's got a starring role! Now everyone knows what he looks like! Handsome guy, don't you think?

CNN Grill taking shape at Brooklyn's

WE'VE MOVED! Democratic Convention Watch is now at http://www.DemocraticConventionWatch.com

For anybody that's been to an Avalanche or Nuggets game you know that Brooklyn's is the place to go to get food and drink before and after the game. Literally just across the street from the Pepsi Center it's the closest building to the Pepsi Center.
CNN will be rebranding Brooklyn's as the CNN Grill during the convention and I was there for the start of it. CNN = Politics was painted on the front of the building on Thursday.
If you click on the pictures you'll see them full sized and may be able to see the CNN stencil.

And for anybody that may be reading this from CNN... we'd love a credential or two to get inside!

Pepsi Center Parking Lot Quickly Taking Shape

WE'VE MOVED! Democratic Convention Watch is now at http://www.DemocraticConventionWatch.com

After the media walk through at Invesco yesterday I took a short drive over to the Pepsi Center to see how things were shaping up. It's amazing how much activity is going on in the parking lot.

Just a few short months ago the Pepsi Center parking lot was a vast open space.
(Click picture for full size)

Now it is filled with tents and construction workers.

And probably the most interesting pictures are of the protest fences that went up in a couple hours. The blue area below is where the following pictures were taken.

The fence is right in front of the media tent. The media is not happy having the protest area so close to their workspace.

The interior perimeter fence may have been erected yesterday also.

John Chancellor, Dan Rather and Oreo

WE'VE MOVED! Democratic Convention Watch is now at http://www.DemocraticConventionWatch.com

What do John Chancellor, Dan Rather and our own Oreo have in common? Take a look:

In 1964, NBC reporter John Chancellor was ejected from the floor of the 1964 Republican Convention:

Senator Barry Goldwater's conservative supporters were increasingly unfriendly to television reporters, and during a demonstration by delegates, guards ejected Mr. Chancellor for blocking the aisles.

"I've been promised bail, ladies and gentlemen, by my office," he said on the air. His sign-off was, "This is John Chancellor, somewhere in custody." - NY Times.

In 1968, Dan Rather was essentially assaulted on the floor of the 1968 Democratic Convention.

Some classic lines:
Rather: "Unless you intend to arrest me, don't push me"
Walter Cronkite: "I think we got a bunch of thugs here, Dan"

And today, our own Oreo, attending a media briefing at Invesco Field, was rudely escorted by an security guard out of the building. Well, actually, he wasn't rudely escorted anywhere. He had wandered to an entrance he wasn't supposed to be at, was scolded for being in the wrong place, and directed to the proper entrance.

But hey, that's good enough for us. Chancellor, Rather, and Oreo. Just some intrepid reporters trying to do a thankless job in the face of overbearing security. Or something like that...

NBC to broadcast all 4 nights of the convention

WE'VE MOVED! Democratic Convention Watch is now at http://www.DemocraticConventionWatch.com

The last few conventions the broadcast networks have been covering just 3 nights of each convention. NBC has always has the best excuse, saying viewers could always watch full coverage on MSNBC. Well, NBC has stepped up (at least a little) to its public responsibility, and will broadcast an hour all 4 nights:

"NBC Nightly News" anchor Brian Williams leads the network's four nights of coverage from each convention, while MSNBC's Keith Olbermann and Chris Matthews anchor coverage on cable. Tom Brokaw, who has covered every presidential election since 1968, will contribute unparalleled reporting and analysis on both the NBC network and on MSNBC throughout both conventions.

and in a nice touch

Luke Russert joins NBC News in his first assignment for Decision 2008 as correspondent at large for the conventions, focusing on youth issues. Luke Russert recently graduated from Boston College with a double major in History and Communications. Since March of 2006, he has co-hosted the critically acclaimed sports radio talk show "60/20 Sports" with political pundit James Carville on XM Satellite Radio. On "60/20 Sports" he has interviewed the likes of former President Clinton, former President George Bush, Bill Russell, Cal Ripken Jr. and Lance Armstrong. Luke is the son of the late Tim Russert and of Vanity Fair writer Maureen Orth.

It will be interesting to see if the two other major broadcast news networks, ABC and CBS, follow NBC's lead.