Release

NORAH O’DONNELL WILL ANCHOR CBS NEWS’ PRIMETIME COVERAGE OF THE UPCOMING POLITICAL DEBATES WITH GAYLE KING AND JOHN DICKERSON, FROM 9:00-11:00 PM, ET

CBSN WILL PROVIDE LIVE COVERAGE BEGINNING AT 5:00 PM, ET, AND STREAM THE DEBATES LIVE

Today CBS News announced it will provide live primetime coverage of the upcoming presidential debates and the vice presidential debate on the CBS Television Network and deliver original reporting across all broadcasts and platforms. CBS News will air each debate live in full and follow up with analysis and on-the-ground reporting. The live, primetime coverage for each debate will air from 9:00-11:00 PM, ET, led by CBS EVENING NEWS anchor and managing editor Norah O’Donnell from Washington.

CBS THIS MORNING co-host Gayle King and 60 MINUTES correspondent and CBS News senior political analyst John Dickerson will join O’Donnell for the coverage. Former senior advisor to President Obama Valerie Jarrett and CBS News contributor and President Trump’s former chief of staff Reince Priebus will offer insight and analysis. CBS News political correspondent Ed O’Keefe and correspondent Nikole Killion will continue their coverage of the Biden campaign and report from the debate host cities. CBS News White House correspondents Weijia Jiang, Paula Reid, and Ben Tracy will report from the White House.

CBSN, CBS News’ free 24/7 streaming news service, will provide coverage of each presidential debate and the vice presidential debate starting at 5:00 PM, ET each night, with RED & BLUE followed by a debate pre-show at 8:30 PM, ET. The platform will stream the debates live and will follow with a post-show at 11:00 PM, ET. All coverage will be anchored by CBSN’s Elaine Quijano with guests in studio and on the ground, including CBSN political reporter Caitlin Huey-Burns who will report from the field.

The debate dates and locations are:

  • First presidential debate – Sept. 29 in Cleveland, Ohio

  • Vice presidential debate – Oct. 7 in Salt Lake City, Utah

  • Second presidential debate – Oct. 15 in Miami, Fla.

  • Third presidential debate – Oct. 22 in Nashville, Tenn.

CBS News’ coverage of the debates is part of the Network’s comprehensive “America Decides: 2020” election coverage. CBS News unveiled earlier this week a new voter integrity unit led by chief Washington correspondent Major Garrett to look at voting issues, including changes caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, an influx of mail-in voting and a potential delay in results. CBS News chief justice and homeland security correspondent Jeff Pegues will lead the coverage of misinformation and provide investigative and original reporting on the misinformation aimed at compromising democracy both by domestic actors and foreign interference. The Network will also have a wide range of reports listening to voters from battleground states and throughout the country. In addition to this original reporting, the CBS News Battleground Tracker will help explain what Americans are thinking and use state-of-the-art models to show how candidates stand in every state. Read more here.

Looking ahead to this Sunday, Sept. 27 on FACE THE NATION, moderator Margaret Brennan will discuss the latest polling from the CBS News Battleground Tracker as well as the latest developments on election security as President Trump and former Vice President Joe Biden head to the debate stage.

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Press Contacts:

Brooke Lorenz, CBS News Communications

lorenzb@cbsnews.com

Hugo Rojo, CBS News Communications

rojoh@cbsnews.com

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