The iconic civil rights leader and Georgia Democratic congressman John Lewis died eight days ago at the age of 80. A native Alabaman, Lewis served in Congress for Georgia’s 5th Congressional District (Atlanta) from 1987 until his death. He was one of the original 13 Freedom Riders and a man who helped organize the March on Washington. Rep. Lewis announced in December that he had Stage 4 pancreatic cancer.
Rep. Lewis was known for his “good trouble” approach to life— peaceful protest, fighting for equality.
Here’s how TV news is covering the memorial services over the weekend. We will continue to update this item as additional plans roll in.
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ABC
- ABC News presents special coverage of Congressman John Lewis’ funeral service, memorials and other ceremonies on ABC and across ABC News programs and platforms beginning today, July 25.
- Chief anchor George Stephanopoulos will lead special reports from New York. He will be joined by GMA’s Robin Roberts and Michael Strahan on Thursday with World News Tonight Anchor David Muir anchoring from Atlanta for the funeral service with a special edition of World News Tonight.
- Coverage will feature reporting from Nightline Byron Pitts in New York, ABC News Live Prime anchor Linsey Davis in New York, chief justice correspondent Pierre Thomas in Washington, chief White House correspondent Jonathan Karl, correspondent Deborah Roberts, senior congressional correspondent Mary Bruce in Washington, correspondent T.J. Holmes in New York, correspondent Steve Osunsami in Atlanta, senior national correspondent Terry Moran in Washington, correspondent Kyra Phillips in Washington, and White House correspondent Rachel Scott in Selma, Ala.
- ABC News will have comprehensive digital coverage on ABCNews.com and ABC News social media accounts across all platforms including live updates of Rep. John Lewis’ memorials and celebrations throughout the weekend and next week.
- ABC News Live, the network’s 24/7 breaking news and live events streaming channel, will have full livestreaming coverage beginning Saturday, July 25, on Hulu, The Roku Channel, YouTube TV, Amazon’s news app on Fire tablets and Fire TV devices, Xumo, Sling TV, fuboTV, Facebook, Twitter, ABCNews.com, the ABC News and ABC mobile apps, and standalone ABC News Live apps on Amazon Fire TV, Android TV, Roku and Apple TV. Social newscast On Location will have coverage of the services in new episodes throughout the week—exclusively for Facebook Watch.
- ABC News Radio will provide coverage of the events on Sunday, Monday and Thursday anchored by correspondent Aaron Katersky. He will be joined by correspondent Karen Travers and reporter Adam Kelsey in Washington and radio correspondent Jim Ryan in Atlanta, along with teams of analysts and historians.
- ABC News Radio also will offer multiple status reports over the next several days. ABC News’ flagship daily podcast Start Here, hosted by Brad Mielke, will also cover the services.
- ABC NewsOne, the affiliate news service of ABC News, will provide full coverage with multiplatform reporters Andrew Dymburt and Reena Roy reporting from Washington. NewsOne provides news content and services for more than 200 ABC affiliates and international news partners.
CBS
- CBS News will deliver multiplatform coverage of the ceremonies honoring the life and legacy of Rep. John Lewis beginning today and continuing throughout the weekend. Special coverage will continue on Monday, July 27, and extend throughout the week.
- Live coverage and original reporting will span all CBS News broadcasts and platforms beginning tomorrow on CBS This Morning: Saturday and CBSN, CBS News’ 24-hour streaming network, when Lewis’ casket travels from Atlanta to his hometown of Troy, Ala. Lewis will then be brought to Selma, where his body will lie in repose at the Brown Chapel AME Church.
- Michelle Miller will anchor CBS This Morning: Saturday and a CBS News Special Report at approximately 11 a.m. ET, live from Selma.
- Joining the special coverage will be CBS News chief congressional correspondent Nancy Cordes from Capitol Hill.
- Throughout the day, CBS News will deliver updates on CBS as Lewis’ casket travels to Troy.
- The Saturday edition of the CBS Weekend News (6:30 p.m. ET) will recap the day.
- On Sunday, CBS Sunday Morning will remember Lewis and the enormous contributions he made as a civil rights pioneer.
- Face the Nation moderator Margaret Brennan will provide live coverage on the broadcast (10:30 a.m. ET) and during a live CBS News Special Report at approximately 11 a.m. ET to mark the poignant moment when Lewis travels across the Edmund Pettus Bridge for the final time. Lewis’ casket will then be taken to Montgomery, where he will lie in state at the Alabama State Capitol.
- Sunday’s CBS Weekend News (6 p.m.) will recap the day’s memorials.
- On Monday, CBS This Morning will honor Lewis with co-hosts Gayle King, Anthony Mason and Tony Dokoupil, plus a team of CBS News journalists contributing from around the nation.
- Later that day, CBS Evening News anchor and managing editor Norah O’Donnell will lead CBS News’ live coverage for events in Washington, D.C.
- After landing at Joint Base Andrews, Lewis’ casket will be driven in a motorcade to the United States Capitol, making stops at D.C. landmarks along the way.
- Lawmakers will then honor Lewis at a ceremony at the Capitol, where he will lie in state at the top of East Front Steps for a public viewing on Monday and Tuesday.
- On Wednesday, Lewis will be transported to Dobbins Air Reserve Base in Marietta, Ga., and later be received at the Georgia State Capitol to lie in state. CBS News will provide coverage on its regularly scheduled broadcasts and on CBSN, CBS News’ free 24/7 streaming news service.
- On Thursday, Lewis will arrive at the historic Ebenezer Baptist Church, where the funeral will be held. The congressman will then be laid to rest in Atlanta. CBS News will cover the funeral live as a special report on the CBS Television Network and provide live coverage on all platforms.
- CBSN, CBS News’ free 24/7 streaming news service, will simulcast CBS News Special Reports and will provide coverage all week of memorial and funeral events.
- CBS News Radio will offer special reports of the week’s memorials to its extensive network of affiliate stations.
- CBS Newspath, CBS News’ newsgathering organization providing news and information to 200+ affiliates nationwide and to broadcasters around the world, will feature extensive coverage and digital content on the ceremonies and tributes.
Fox News
- Remembering Rep. John Lewis will highlight the extraordinary life of the civil rights icon as well as feature prominent guests throughout the weekend.
- On Saturday, Arthel Neville and Jon Scott will anchor evening coverage at 7 p.m. featuring the public funeral service at Brown Chapel African Methodist Episcopal Church in Selma, the site of preparations for the historic march to Montgomery in 1965.
- Throughout the morning and afternoon, correspondent Steve Harrigan will report live on the ground from Selma.
- Alicia Acuna will provide updates from Troy, Ala., where Rep. John Lewis will be remembered earlier in the day.
- On Sunday, FNC’s special coverage of the memorial procession from downtown Selma across the Edmund Pettus Bridge will begin at 11 a.m. ET with Harris Faulkner anchoring alongside Eric Shawn and Neville.
- Correspondents Harrigan and Acuna will be in Selma to cover a memorial walk across the bridge, the site at which Lewis marched in 1965.
- Lauren Green will provide additional contributions from New York, and Christina Coleman will report live from Los Angeles throughout the afternoon.
- Special coverage will continue later in the day and throughout the early evening as Rep. Lewis’ casket is transported to the state capitol in Montgomery, where he will lie in state.
NBC/MSNBC
- Beginning today, NBC News, MSNBC and NBC News Now will provide special coverage of the memorial services and celebrations of life honoring the late civil rights leader and Georgia Congressman, Rep. John Lewis.
- Beginning today at 11 a.m. ET, MSNBC and NBC News Now will follow the celebrations of life and provide special coverage as Rep. Lewis lies in repose at Troy University and for the services honoring his life at Brown Chapel AME Church.
- On Sunday, various NBC News platforms will cover the procession as it travels from Brown Chapel to the Edmund Pettus Bridge. Detailed coverage plans to be announced.
- On MSNBC, beginning at 10 a.m. ET, Tiffany Cross will anchor coverage of the services and will be joined by Joy Reid, Ambassador Andrew Young, Rep. Jim Clyburn and others.
- NBC News correspondents and reporters Priscilla Thomas and Blayne Alexander will be on the ground throughout the weekend in Selma, Troy and Montgomery, Ala., reporting for Sunday Today, Weekend Nightly News and MSNBC.
- On Monday, Lester Holt, joined by Andrea Mitchell, will anchor an NBC News Special Report beginning at 11 a.m. as Rep. Lewis arrives in Washington, D.C.
- NBC News will follow as the procession pauses at historic monuments across the nation’s capital, including the Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial, Lincoln Memorial, the National Museum of African American History and Culture, and Black Lives Matter Plaza.
- Craig Melvin will anchor special coverage on MSNBC Monday beginning at 11 a.m.
- NBC News White House correspondents Kelly O’Donnell, Geoff Bennett, Kristen Welker and MSNBC correspondent Garrett Haake will be dispatched throughout Washington for the Special Report and MSNBC.
- On Wednesday, NBC News and MSNBC will provide coverage of Rep. Lewis’ departure from Washington, D.C., and arrival in Atlanta where he will lie in state at the Georgia State Capitol.
- On Thursday, NBC News will offer a Special Report anchored by Holt, as Melvin anchors coverage on MSNBC at 11 a.m. ET for the Celebration of Life honoring Rep. Lewis at Ebenezer Baptist Church Horizon Sanctuary.
- Throughout the week on NBC News Digital, reporters Janell Ross, Curtis Bunn, Liam Knox and Victor Luckerson will profile Rep. Lewis’s life and activism, explore calls for the Voting Right Act to be amended to honor the late congressman, look back at the 55 years since Bloody Sunday and recall the history of the Ebenezer Baptist Church of Atlanta.