After the financial crisis kept him in New York last week, ABC’s Charlie Gibson is back on the road today. But the World News bus is taking a detour from a planned stop in Michigan and going to Indiana instead. Wednesday’s stop was changed after Sen. John McCain pulled his campaign out of the state, moving the resources to Indiana. ABC insiders tell us Wednesday’s World News will still include a story from Kalamazoo, Gibson’s original destination.
• Tonight: Dayton, OH.
• Tuesday: Bowling Green, OH.
• Wednesday: Indianapolis.
• Thursday: Racine, WI.
• Friday: Davenport, IA.
As for the travel accommodations, it’s not home, but it’s close, right down to Gibson’s favorite soft drink. And what about keeping it green?
Gibson and the World News team will be working from the bus, which is equipped with an Avid work station (to edit the pieces he files from every location), Wi-Fi, satellite phones, TVs, as well as an interview space. The bus will also be well-stocked with snacks, including diet Coke (a favorite of Charlie’s). Producers, editors, and technicians will also be traveling. In each city the bus will be supported by two satellite trucks and a 38-foot truck that has a backup generator.
And ABC is doing its best to keep the trip “green.” Since buses get better passenger miles per gallon than planes and other vehicles, ABC expects the trip to be “a significant energy saver in comparison to what it would take to transport everyone by different means” [airplanes, then rental cars]. More than a dozen ABC staffers will ride the bus from city to city, traveling about 1,000 miles this week.