August 24, 2004

MEDIA ADVISORY:

2004 REPUBLICAN NATIONAL CONVENTION

CBS News will be covering the Republican National Convention and activities surrounding it beginning with FACE THE NATION, which will originate from the convention site on Sunday, Aug. 29 (10:30-11:00 AM, ET) and concluding with live, primetime coverage of the President's acceptance speech on Thursday, Sept. 2 (10:00-11:00 PM, ET). CBS News' live primetime coverage of the convention will be anchored by Dan Rather from Madison Square Garden in New York City.

Below is CBS News' coverage plan for the 2004 Republican National Convention:

BROADCAST SCHEDULE (in chronological order; all live and all originating from Madison Square Garden) Sunday, Aug. 29
?? FACE THE NATION (10:30-11:00 AM, ET) - anchor: Bob Schieffer; executive producer: Carin Pratt ?? CBS EVENING NEWS (6:30-7:00 PM, ET/PT) - anchor: Dan Rather; executive producer Pat Shevlin

Monday, Aug. 30
?? THE EARLY SHOW (7:00-9:00 AM, ET/PT) - co-anchored from Madison Square Garden by Harry Smith; senior executive producer: Michael Bass; executive producer: Victor Neufeld ?? CBS EVENING NEWS WITH DAN RATHER (6:30-7:00 PM, ET/PT) anchor: Dan Rather; executive producer: Jim Murphy; in addition to news of the day and key interviews, will include What Does It Mean to You?" an ongoing series of reports that focuses on where the candidates stand on individual issues

Tuesday, Aug. 31
?? THE EARLY SHOW (7:00-9:00 AM, ET/PT) - see Monday ?? CBS EVENING NEWS WITH DAN RATHER (6:30-7:00 PM, ET/PT) - see Monday ?? CAMPAIGN '04: REPUBLICAN NATIONAL CONVENTION (10:00-11:00 PM, ET) - anchor: Dan Rather; executive producer: Al Ortiz

Wednesday, Sept. 1
?? THE EARLY SHOW (7:00-9:00 AM, ET/PT) - see Monday ?? CBS EVENING NEWS WITH DAN RATHER (6:30-7:00 PM, ET/PT) - see Monday ?? CAMPAIGN '04: REPUBLICAN NATIONAL CONVENTION (10:00-11:00 PM, ET) - anchor: Dan Rather; executive producer: Al Ortiz; live coverage of the nominating process and Vice President Dick Cheney's acceptance speech

Thursday, Sept. 2
?? THE EARLY SHOW (7:00-9:00 AM, ET/PT) - see Monday ?? CBS EVENING NEWS WITH DAN RATHER (6:30-7:00 PM, ET/PT) - see Monday ?? CAMPAIGN '04: REPUBLICAN NATIONAL CONVENTION (10:00-11:00 PM/ET) - anchor: Dan Rather; executive producer: Al Ortiz; live coverage of President George W. Bush's acceptance speech

(More)
CBS News...2

ANCHORS/REPORTERS ON-SITE
Dan Rather - Anchor and Managing Editor, CBS EVENING NEWS; Anchor, CBS News Primetime Coverage Bob Schieffer -- CBS News Chief Washington Correspondent; Anchor, FACE THE NATION Harry Smith - Anchor, THE EARLY SHOW
John Roberts - CBS News Chief White House Correspondent Bill Plante - CBS News White House Correspondent, THE EARLY SHOW Jim Axelrod -- CBS News Correspondent

NOTES
?? This year, with Boston and New York included, Dan Rather will cover his 21st and 22nd consecutive political convention (every one since 1964) for CBS News. He will anchor his 11th and 12th convention this year (every one since 1984) for CBS News. ?? Bob Schieffer has covered every presidential campaign and been a floor reporter at all of the Democratic and Republican National Conventions since 1972 for CBS News, an unbroken string of 18 conventions, including this year's. ?? CBS NEWSPATH, the 24-hour news service of CBS News, will provide technical facilities and editorial support to a wide variety of news organizations, including a total of 17 CBS Owned and affiliated stations, Tokyo Broadcast System (TBS), Canadian Broadcasting Company (CBC), European Broadcasting Union (EBU), MTV News, "BET Nightly News" and the Belo and Meredith station broadcast groups, among others.

KEY PRODUCTION, CAMPAIGN '04 AND CBS NEWS STAFF Kathleen Frankovic - Director of Surveys and Producer Dotty Lynch -- Senior Political Editor
Marcy McGinnis -- Senior Vice President, News Coverage Al Ortiz -- Executive Producer and Director, Special Events Kathy Sciere -- Senior Editor, Campaign '04 Eric Shapiro - Director, CBS EVENING NEWS and Primetime Coverage

CBS NEWS/RADIO
Comprehensive coverage of the conventions, including hourly updates, live anchored coverage of acceptance speeches, feeds of all major events and special features; coverage led by CBS News Correspondents Dan Raviv, Barry Bagnato, Lou Miliano, Peter Maer, Howard Arenstein and Mark Knoller; joined by Rather, Schieffer, Lynch, Frankovic and Director of Surveys Sarah Dutton.

CBSNEWS.COM
Offers live, gavel-to-gavel, free Webcasts of all sessions, including all major speeches in their entirety; will also provide a comprehensive "on-demand" library of video clips of major events and proceedings, all free and with no subscription required; in addition to its own on-site CBSNews.com reporters, in-depth and up-to-date information from CBS News television and radio correspondents on-site and around the country; wide variety of analysis and commentary from across political spectrum; interactive research and educational tools; multimedia features; and bulletin boards, where users can exchange views about convention

PRESS CONTACTS

Sandy Genelius          212-975-7525 or 1.888.PAGE.VIA or smg@cbsnews.com
Kelli Edwards           212-975-6795 or 1.888.PAGE.VIA or kee@cbsnews.com
Leigh Farris                    212.975.2856 or 1.888.PAGE.VIA or farrisl@cbsnews.com

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CBS NEWS CAMPAIGN '04 COVERAGE:
REPUBLICAN NATIONAL CONVENTION

ANCHOR BIOS

DAN RATHER - Reported world exclusive of Abu Ghraib prison abuse scandal on 60 MINUTES II in April...conducted first interview with former president Bill Clinton about his autobiography in June...secured an exclusive one-on-one interview with Saddam Hussein in Baghdad in February 2003...has covered every Republican and Democratic convention for CBS News since 1964 and has anchored every convention and presidential and national election for CBS News since 1984...anchored memorable Election Night 2000, a marathon that kept him on the air continuously from 6:00 PM on Tuesday, Nov. 7, to 10:00 AM on Wednesday, Nov. 8...has interviewed every American President from Dwight Eisenhower to Bill Clinton and virtually every major world leader over past 30 years...served as White House Correspondent for CBS News during Johnson and Nixon administrations...joined CBS News in 1962 as chief of Southwest bureau in Dallas...has since been at center of world's defining moments during last 40-plus years, including President John F. Kennedy's assassination, civil rights movement in South and wars in Vietnam, Afghanistan, Persian Gulf, Yugoslavia and Iraq...currently anchor and managing editor of the CBS EVENING NEWS and correspondent for 60 MINUTES' weeknight edition...recipient of every major honor and award in broadcast journalism, most several times over...was graduated from Sam Houston State Teachers College in Huntsville, Texas, with bachelor's degree in journalism...was born in Wharton, Texas and is 72 years old.

BOB SCHIEFFER - Anchor of FACE THE NATION, CBS News' Sunday public affairs broadcast, since May 1991 and CBS News' Chief Washington Correspondent since 1982...Congressional correspondent since 1989...has covered every Republican and Democratic Convention as a floor reporter for CBS News, as well as every presidential and national election, since 1972...served as anchor of Saturday edition of CBS EVENING NEWS for 20 years...joined CBS News in 1969 and has covered Washington for CBS News ever since, working all four major beats there (White House, Pentagon, State Department and Capitol Hill)...has won many broadcast journalism awards for weekly commentaries on FACE THE NATION...recipient of prestigious Paul White Award presented in 2003 by the Radio-Television News Directors Association...authored 2003 New York Times bestseller, This Just In, What I Couldn't Tell You On TV and upcoming book/DVD FACE THE NATION: My Favorite Stories from the First 50 Years of the Award-winning News Broadcast,?to be published this October by Simon & Schuster (a Viacom company)...was graduated from Texas Christian University in Fort Worth with bachelor's degree in journalism and English...veteran of United States Air Force...was born in Austin, Texas, grew up in Fort Worth and is 67 years old.

HARRY SMITH - Anchor of THE EARLY SHOW since October 2002...anchored from Simi Valley, Calif., covering events and ceremonies of President Ronald Reagan's funeral...reported from Baghdad and Kuwait on the eve of war with Iraq in 2003...first network anchor to conduct an interview with Ed Smart after his missing daughter, Elizabeth, was found...joined CBS News in 1986 as Dallas-based reporter...first worked for CBS News for 13 years as anchor, correspondent and featured contributor for CBS EVENING NEWS WITH DAN RATHER, CBS SUNDAY MORNING and 48 HOURS...covered 1988, 1992 and 1996 Republican and Democratic National Conventions...served as co-anchor of "CBS This Morning" (1987-96)...reported from Saudi Arabia for one month during Gulf War...served as co-host of CBS Sports' weekday morning coverage of 1992 and 1994 Olympic Winter Games in Albertville, France, and Lillehammer, Norway...was graduated from the Central College in Pella, Iowa with a degree in communications and theater...was born in Lansing, Ill. and is 53 years old.

CORRESPONDENT BIOS

JOHN ROBERTS -- Chief White House Correspondent since August 1999...became the anchor for the CBS EVENING NEWS Sunday edition in March 1995 and has served as a substitute anchor on FACE THE NATION... was a New York-based correspondent for the CBS EVENING NEWS WITH DAN RATHER...also served as anchor of the CBS EVENING NEWS Saturday edition from February 1999 until being assigned the White House post...was one of the Network's embedded correspondents during the war with Iraq, reporting from the frontlines in one of CBS News' specially equipped "mobile studios" which enabled Roberts to transmit live reports while the military unit with which he was embedded as it moved through the Iraq landscape... has interviewed a wide variety of prominent newsmakers, including President Bill Clinton, Vice President Al Gore, the late Yitzhak Rabin and Benazir Bhutto...has been recognized with three national Emmy Awards...was co-anchor for the 5:00 and 11:00 PM newscasts on WCBS-TV, the CBS Owned station in New York (1994-95)...anchored live coverage of the 1994 elections and the New York City subway firebombing...attended the University of Toronto...was born in Toronto and is 47 years old.

JIM AXELROD -- CBS News correspondent in New York since 1999...has been covering politics for the CBS EVENING NEWS WITH DAN RATHER and other CBS News broadcasts... was an embedded correspondent in Iraq...first television journalist to report live from Saddam International Airport in Baghdad immediately after its takeover by the U.S....joined CBS News in 1996...was based in Dallas (1997-99) and Miami (1996-97)...served as a political reporter?at WRAL-TV, CBS affiliate in Raleigh, N.C....contributed to CBS EVENING NEWS' coverage of the Washington, D.C. sniper siege,?which was recognized with?a 2002 Emmy Award...was graduated from Cornell University in 1985 with a bachelor of arts degree in history and from Brown University in 1989 with a master of arts degree in history...taught seventh and eighth grade history before undertaking broadcast journalism career...was born?in New Brunswick, N.J and is 41 years old.

BILL PLANTE - CBS News White House Correspondent since January 1993...reports regularly for THE EARLY SHOW and CBS EVENING NEWS WITH DAN RATHER... before that, was CBS News' State Department Correspondent (1989-92)... served as anchor of the CBS Sunday Night News (June 1988-Aug. 1995)... first worked White House beat during Ronald Reagan presidency (1981-89), covering President activities and major overseas trips, including historic summit meeting in Moscow with Mikhail Gorbachev...floor reporter at 1988 Democratic and Republican National Conventions...reported on campaigns of Hubert Humphrey and Richard Nixon...covered candidates George McGovern and Sargent Shriver in 1972 campaign, and, in 1976, covered Jimmy Carter and Walter Mondale's vice presidential campaign...covered the fall of Skylab and Pope John Paul II's visit to the United States (1979)... reporter on 1977 five-part series examining America's criminal justice system for CBS Evening News with Walter Cronkite...received Emmy Awards for his coverage of the death of Princess Diana, the Reagan-Gorbachev summit, Reagan's 1984 reelection campaign, and his investigative report on the U.S.-Soviet wheat deal broadcast on the CBS Evening News (1972)... was graduated from Loyola University in 1959 with a bachelor's degree in humanities...studied political science at Columbia University (1963-64)...was born in Chicago and is 66 years old.

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  NATIONAL POLITICAL CONVENTION TELEVISION RATINGS - 1988-2004

? 1988

Total Minutes* Rating/Share* Average Viewers*

Republican (New Orleans)

Three Networks 2101 18.6/36 24,493,000

CNN 1.0 NA

Democratic (Atlanta)

Three Networks 2051 20.8/40 27,110,000

CNN 1.0 NA

? 1992

Total Minutes Rating/Share Average Viewers

Republican (Houston)

Three Networks                  1227              16.8/32                    22,987,000 
CNN                                               1.5                        NA
PBS                                               3.0                        NA

Democratic (New York)

Three Networks                  1203             17.3/31                     23,353,000 
CNN                                               1.8                        NA
PBS                                               3.3                        NA

? 1996

Total Minutes Rating/Share Average Viewers

Republican (San Diego)

Three Networks                  904               12.4/23                    16,605,000
CNN                                               1.4                        NA
PBS                                               2.3                        NA

Democratic (Chicago)

Three Networks                  991               14.2/27                    17,992,000
CNN                                               1.4                        NA
PBS                                               2.3                        NA

? 2000

Total Minutes Rating/Share Average Viewers

Republican (Philadelphia)

Three Networks 695 11.8/21 16,132,000

Three Cable Networks*                                 1.9/3                          2,588,000
Combined Networks                                13.7/24                     18,720,000                 

Democratic (Los Angeles)

Three Networks                  745              12.6/22                    16,985,000
Three Cable Networks                              2.1/4                     2,738,000           
Combined Networks                                14.7/26                    19,768,000

? 2004

Total Minutes Rating/Share Average Viewers

Democratic (Boston)

Three Networks                  578              9.9/17         13,843,000
Three Cable Networks                             3.9/7          5,664,000       
        
Combined Networks                                13.8/24        19,507,000

Total Minutes = total minutes of coverage on all three networks combined over four days of convention Rating/Share = rating is percentage of total television households; share is percentage of televisions in use tuned to convention Average Viewers = average number of viewers watching convention coverage on any of the four nights Three Cable Networks = CNN, Fox News and MSNBC