ABC News has announced its coverage plans for the three Presidential and one Vice Presidential debates. Diane Sawyer and George Stephanopoulos will be anchoring the network’s coverage from 9-11 PM on debate nights. Joining them will be Jake Tapper, David Muir, Jonathan Karl and analysts George Will, Matthew Dowd, Nicole Wallace, Donna Brazile and Austan Goolsbee.
In addition, “Nightline” at 11:35 will have a post-debate wrap up, featuring highlights and more analysis.
Online, debate coverage will be anchored by Amy Walter and Dan Harris from 8-11:30 PM, and will be available on ABCNews.com, all of the network’s apps, Yahoo! News and on YouTube.
More information below.
ABC NEWS ANNOUNCES COVERAGE OF THE 2012 PRESIDENTIAL AND VICE PRESIDENTIAL DEBATES
Diane Sawyer & George Stephanopoulos to Anchor Special “Your Voice, Your Vote” Debate Coverage From ABC News Election Headquarters
ABC News Senior Foreign Affairs Correspondent Martha Raddatz to Moderate the Vice Presidential Debate in Kentucky on Thursday, October 11
The debates are pivotal moments in the race for the White House, and ABC News will provide comprehensive coverage of the three Presidential debates as well as the Vice Presidentialdebate, which will be moderated by ABC’s Senior Foreign Affairs Correspondent Martha Raddatz.
Diane Sawyer and George Stephanopoulos will anchor special coverage of the debates from ABC News Election Headquarters in New York from 9:00-11:00 p.m., ET on the following nights:
§ Wednesday, October 3: Presidential Debate on Domestic Policy
§ Thursday, October 11: Vice Presidential Debate on Foreign and Domestic Policy
§ Tuesday, October 16: Presidential Town Hall on Foreign and Domestic Policy
§ Monday, October 22: Presidential Debate on Foreign Policy
To get the whole picture on how the debate will likely impact the final weeks of the campaign, Sawyer and Stephanopoulos will be joined by members of ABC’s powerhouse political team including:
§ Senior White House Correspondent Jake Tapper
§ “ABC World News” weekend anchor David Muir, who covers the Romney campaign
§ Senior Political Correspondent Jonathan Karl reporting from ABC’s Fact or Fiction Desk
§ ABC News Contributor George Will from Washington
§ ABC Political Analysts Matthew Dowd, Nicole Wallace, Donna Brazile, and Austan Goolsbee who have all worked for or consulted for previous Presidential candidates.
On “Nightline” at 11:35pm/ET, TerryMoran will bring viewers all the pivotal moments from each debate.
ABC News Digital will provide live debate coverage anchored by ABC News Political Director Amy Walter and “GMA” Weekend Anchor Dan Harris on each night of the debates from 8:00-11:30 p.m., ET. The coverage will be live-streamed across several platforms including ABCNews.com, Yahoo!, Yahoo! News, GoodMorningAmerica.com, ABC News’ iPad & iPhone apps, as well as on ABC News affiliate websites. ABC News Digital coverage will also serve as the official provider of the debates on YouTube’s Elections Hub. ABC News Digital will have a one-hour pre-show at 8:00 p.m., ET and a one hour post-show each night of the debates, as well as a 30 minute noon show. Live-streamed debate coverage will be.
ABC News Radio will provide live coverage of each debate from 9:00-11:00 p.m., ET including 30 minutes of post-debate analysis. ABC News Radio Correspondent Aaron Katersky will anchor ABC News Radio’s coverage from each debate site. For the Presidential Debates, ABC News Radio White House Correspondent Ann Compton will travel with the President and ABC News RadioCorrespondent Vic Ratner will travel with Gov. Mitt Romney. For the Vice Presidential Debate, ABC News Radio Correspondent Steven Portnoy will travel with Vice President Joe Biden and ABC News Radio Correspondent Alex Stone will travel with Senator Paul Ryan. In addition, Katersky will anchor a one-hourpreview before each debate from 8:00-9:00 p.m., ET; he will be joined by ABC News Radio political analysts and contributors Sam Donaldson, Steve Roberts and Trey Hardin.
ABC NewsOne, the affiliate news service of ABC News, will be providing live and taped reports to its domestic and international clients from the site of each debate with correspondents Karen Travers, Brandi Hitt, and TJ Winick reporting. In addition, ABC News Political Commentator Cokie Roberts will be providing analysis to ABC stations after the debates.
Marc Burstein is the senior executive producer of ABC News Special Events.