A number of TV news networks are releasing their coverage plans for the memorial services of the late Arizona senator John McCain. The private memorial service will take place on Saturday, September 1.
The six-term Republican senator and two-time presidential candidate passed away last Saturday at the age of 81.
McCain, who would have turned 82 yesterday, was diagnosed with an aggressive brain tumor in July 2017 and had been undergoing treatment. But last Friday, his family announced he had decided to end that treatment.
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Here is how some of the networks are covering the events:
ABC News
- ABC News announced special coverage of Sen. John McCain’s private memorial service and ceremonies on Saturday, September 1 beginning at 9 a.m. ET on ABC.
- Chief anchor George Stephanopoulos will anchor coverage of McCain’s memorial service from the Washington National Cathedral.
- Stephanopoulos will be joined by ABC World News Tonight anchor David Muir, who recently took a trip to Vietnam to honor the senator.
- There will be on-location reporting from chief White House correspondent Jonathan Karl, chief foreign correspondent Terry Moran, senior White House correspondent Cecilia Vega, correspondent Ron Claiborne, political analyst Cokie Roberts, and special correspondent Matthew Dowd.
- Chief global affairs correspondent Martha Raddatz will report from the Vietnam Veterans Memorial where McCain’s family will pay respects and wife Cindy McCain will lay a wreath.
- ABC News will also air a special report anchored by Stephanopoulos on Wednesday, August 29 when McCain’s family arrives at Arizona State Capitol for the first day of public visitation of McCain’s body.
- ABC News Live, the network’s 24-hour news channel, will livestream the memorial services on Wednesday, August 29, Thursday, August 30 and Saturday, September 1. Comprehensive coverage is available on ABCNews.com, on Roku, the ABC News OTT and mobile apps and ABC News social pages (Facebook, Twitter and Instagram). ABC News’ daily news show On Location also will feature moments from Saturday’s service. The episode will post midday, only on Facebook Watch.
- ABC News Radio begins live coverage on Saturday, September 1 at 9:00 a.m., ET with correspondent Aaron Katersky anchoring from New York and digital journalist Ali Rogin reporting from Washington National Cathedral. The ABC News Radio team will provide multiple one-minute status reports each hour throughout the morning.
- ABC NewsOne, the affiliate news service of ABC News, will provide full coverage with correspondents Marci Gonzalez reporting from Arizona and correspondents Janai Norman, Stephanie Ramos and Maggie Rulli reporting from Washington. NewsOne provides news content and services for more than 200 ABC affiliates and international news partners.
CBS News
- CBS News will provide extensive, multi-platform coverage of Sen. John McCain’s memorial services on CBS TV; CBSN, CBS News 24/7 streaming news service; CBSNews.com; and CBS News Radio.
- CBS This Morning co-host Norah O’Donnell began CBS’s continuing coverage on Aug. 29 with a CBS News Special Report on CBS TV
- CBS News’ special coverage of the memorial on Saturday, Sept. 1 will be led by Face the Nation anchor Margaret Brennan, CBS This Morning co-host John Dickerson and CBS News contributor Bob Schieffer. CBS News correspondents Nancy Cordes, Ed O’Keefe and Chip Reid will provide on-the-ground coverage in Arizona and Washington.
- CBSN will stream full coverage of all events surrounding Sen. McCain’s funeral services today through the weekend.
- John Dickerson will interviewed Sen. Lindsey Graham, a close friend and colleague of Sen. McCain, for Wednesday’s CBS Evening News with Jeff Glor, with the full interview airing Thursday on CBS This Morning.
- On Thursday, Dickerson will anchor a CBS News Special Report from New York for the memorial service in Phoenix.
- On Friday, O’Donnell and Dickerson will anchor a CBS News Special Report from New York when Sen. McCain’s casket arrives at the U.S. Capitol in Washington.
- On Saturday, CBS News will air five hours of coverage beginning at 7 a.m. ET on CBS This Morning: Saturday, and continuing with a live, CBS News Special Report at 9 a.m. ET on CBS TV and simulcast on CBSN for the procession past the Vietnam Veterans Memorial, followed by the service at Washington National Cathedral.
- Anthony Mason, Michelle Miller and Dana Jacobson will anchor the coverage for CBS This Morning Saturday.
- Margaret Brennan will anchor the CBS News Special Report (9 a.m. – 12 p.m. ET) live from Washington and will be joined by John Dickerson and Bob Schieffer and the CBS News team of correspondents with on-the-ground reporting.
- CBS News Radio will have coverage with correspondents Steve Futterman, Stephan Kaufman, Steven Portnoy, and Bill Rehkopf plus political consultant Leonard Steinhorn contributing to Special Reports around the key events all week.
- CBS News Radio will also provide continuing coverage on Saturday (8 a.m. – 12 p.m. ET)
CNN
- CNN Worldwide will have coverage of Sen. McCain’s funeral across its networks and all platforms
C-SPAN
- C-SPAN will have live coverage of the following memorial services for Sen. John McCain:
- Memorial Service at the Arizona State Capitol – Wednesday, August 29 at 12:50 p.m. ET on C-SPAN and C-SPAN Radio
- McCain lies in state at the Arizona State Capitol – Wednesday, August 29 at 5 p.m. ET on C-SPAN.org
- Funeral Service at the North Phoenix Baptist Church – Thursday, August 30 at 1 p.m. ET on C-SPAN and C-SPAN Radio
- Arrival of Sen. McCain’s body at Joint Base Andrews and ceremony by Armed Forces Body Bearers – Thursday, August at 7:30 p.m. ET on C-SPAN
- Formal ceremony in the U.S. Capitol Rotunda – Friday, August 31 at 11 a.m. ET on C-SPAN and C-SPAN Radio
- McCain lies in state at the U.S. Capitol – Friday, August 31 at 1 p.m. ET on C-SPAN
- National memorial service at the Washington National Cathedral – Saturday, September 1 at 10 a.m. ET on C-SPAN and C-SPAN Radio
Fox News
- Fox News will present special live coverage of the funeral and memorial services honoring the life and legacy of Senator McCain this week, beginning Wednesday, August 29th through Sunday, September 2nd.
- On Wednesday, FNC correspondent Trace Gallagher will report live from the Arizona State Capitol surrounding the public and private ceremonies taking place.
On Thursday, August 30th, Gallagher will be based at the North Phoenix Baptist Church, providing live reports from the memorial service, motorcade and airport departure. Contributions on Wednesday and Thursday will also be made by FNC correspondents Alicia Acuna and William La Jeunesse from Arizona. Additionally, on Thursday evening, FNC correspondent Peter Doocy and senior producer for Capitol Hill Chad Pergram will report live from Capitol Hill, covering the arrival ceremony at Joint Base Andrews and the motorcade to the funeral home.
At 10:30 a.m. ET on Friday, August 31, FNC’s chief political anchor and anchor of Special Report, Bret Baier, alongside FNC’s anchor of The Story, Martha MacCallum, will co-anchor coverage of the ceremony at the U.S. Capitol Rotunda live from Washington, D.C. - Beginning at 9 a.m. ET on Saturday, September 1st, Baier and MacCallum will continue to lead the network’s special coverage featuring the Vietnam Wall ceremony and the Washington National Cathedral funeral service celebrating the life of Senator John McCain.
- Fox News Sunday anchor Chris Wallace will join Baier and MacCallum both days to lend his insight on the life and legacy of Senator McCain.
- Contributions on Friday and Saturday will also be made by Doocy, Pergram, chief congressional correspondent and senior political correspondent Mike Emanuel and national security correspondent Jennifer Griffin.
- Additionally, on Sunday, Sept. 2nd, Pentagon producer Lucas Tomlinson will report live from Annapolis Naval Academy where Senator McCain’s body will be laid to rest.
Fox News Radio will present live reports for all radio affiliates on the memorial services taking place on Thursday, August 30th through Saturday September 1. National correspondent Jared Halpern, along with reporters Gurnal Scott and Tonya J. Powers, will lead coverage which can be heard on www.FoxNewsRadio.com and Fox News Headlines 24/7 on SiriusXM Channel 115.
NBC News/MSNBC
- The networks will present special coverage of the funeral events beginning Friday.
- Kate Snow will anchor NBC’s coverage of Friday’s ceremony when Sen. McCain’s body arrives to lie in state in the Capitol rotunda, with Kasie Hunt, Kelly O’Donnell, Garrett Haake all reporting from the ground in DC.
- Chuck Todd will lead NBC’s coverage on Saturday, the day of the service, beginning at 9 a.m. ET.
- Lester Holt will anchor a special edition of Nightly News on Saturday, September 1. O’Donnell will join reporting on the day’s events.
- Chris Matthews will anchor MSNBC’s coverage of the service, beginning Saturday at 8:30 a.m. ET. Andrea Mitchell and Hallie Jackson will join him.
PBS
- PBS NewsHour’s broadcast and online coverage on the life and legacy of Sen. John S. McCain and the memorial events scheduled this week in his honor will continue through this weekend.
- In addition to live streams of the ceremony at the U.S Capitol on Friday, August 31 at 11 a.m. ET and the memorial service at the Washington National Cathedral on Saturday, September 1 at 10 a.m. ET on Facebook, Twitter/Periscope and YouTube, coverage of these events will extend to PBS NewsHour and PBS NewsHour Weekend.