Fusion will turn to Alicia Menendez and Jorge Ramos to lead their coverage of the Republican and Democratic National Conventions, with an emphasis “guests and perspectives that deviate from traditional mainstream media coverage and reflect the issues that matter to young, diverse voters.”
Fusion will call its RNC coverage “The Trump Show,” and its DNC coverage “The Hillary Show” at 10 p.m. ET each night, along with coverage during the day on Fusion’s digital and social channels.
“We have found ourselves at a time when the issues that matter to the audiences we serve have become core in this election cycle–race, diversity, discrimination, social justice, immigration, and access to affordable education,” said Daniel Eilemberg, the network’s president and chief content officer. “Fusion is uniquely positioned to cut through the BS and cover these topics in a real and authentic way. For our team it is personal–they intersect with these issues in their daily lives.”
Fusion’s coverage will treat the conventions as “staged shows…little more than unpaid political advertisements served up over four days as news events,” says Fusion senior vice president of content and programming Keith Suma. “Our goal will be to tell the stories and cover the issues that are important to the rising mainstream.”
Menendez and Ramos will be joined by Nando Vila and Jason Johnson, political editor at The Root. Special correspondents include Mariana Atencio, Dan Lieberman, Tim Pool, and senior political reporter Terrell Starr.
National affairs correspondent Jorge Rivas will cover immigration and LGBTQ issues, and Katie McDonough will focus on issues including women’s health and income inequality.
Fusion’s convention coverage will also include Bassem Youssef, the satirist known as the “Jon Stewart of Egypt.”