Anchor Katie Couric Will Lead the CBS News Coverage Team of Correspondents and Political Reporters

Couric to Moderate Debate Among Democratic Presidential Candidates on Dec. 10 in Los Angeles

Network Selects New Team of Off-Air Reporters Who Will Report from the Campaign Trail

CBSNews.com Will Launch New, Comprehensive Coverage Dedicated To Campaign ‘08        

As the race for President continues to heat up, CBS News announces coverage plans for Campaign '08, which will be led by Anchor Katie Couric.  Couric will report for the CBS EVENING NEWS and anchor all special coverage, and will be joined by one of the most talented and experienced team of political reporters, correspondents, analysts and off-air reporters covering the campaign, the candidates, the issues, the debates, the primaries and caucuses, the conventions and Election Night 2008.  CBS News' Campaign ‘08 coverage includes comprehensive and exclusive reports, interviews and analysis on all CBS News broadcasts and platforms, including CBS Radio News and CBSNews.com.

The CBS News team of correspondents and reporters will cover the Republican and Democratic candidates on the trail until Election Day 2008.   Overall coverage and analysis throughout the campaign will be led by CBS News Chief Washington Correspondent Bob Schieffer and CBS News Senior Political Correspondent Jeff Greenfield.  The team of CBS News correspondents assigned to cover the candidates includes Sharyl Attkisson, Jim Axelrod, Cynthia Bowers, Kelly Cobiella, Nancy Cordes, Byron Pitts, Tracy Smith, Hari Sreenivasan and Bill Whitaker.  CBS News Political Consultant Nicolle Wallace will also contribute to the coverage.

As previously announced, as part of the network's comprehensive coverage of the presidential campaign, CBS EVENING NEWS Anchor and Managing Editor Katie Couric will moderate a live debate among the Democratic presidential candidates on Monday, Dec. 10, 2007 hosted by CBS News in Los Angeles.  The debate is the final of six Democratic National Committee-sanctioned debates and the last sanctioned debate before Democratic voters cast their votes in the early state primaries and caucuses.  The 90-minute debate will be broadcast live on KCBS-TV, the CBS-owned station in Los Angeles, and CBS affiliates. The debate will also be simulcast on CBSNews.com and CBS Radio News.

CBS News has also selected a group of experienced producers to serve as the network's team of Off-Air reporters, who will be traveling on campaign trains, planes and buses as they travel the country until Election Day, covering all of the Republican and Democratic candidates.  This team will report extensively from the campaign trail for all CBS News broadcasts and platforms, including CBSNews.com and CBS Radio News.

CBS News' Off-Air team includes:

•·         John Bentley, associate producer for CBS News' 48 HOURS MYSTERY. Bentley joined CBS working for CBS News Productions. In 1995, Bentley began his career in journalism at the local ABC affiliate in San Antonio, Texas, where he worked as a photographer, producer, and reporter. Bentley earned his master's degree at Columbia University in 2003 and graduated from Trinity University in 1995. He grew up in Tulsa, Okla.

•·         Scott Conroy, associate producer for CBSNews.com.  He joined CBS News in 2005 as a political unit intern in Washington, D.C. He graduated from Georgetown University in 2005. He grew up in Hingham, Mass.

•·         Ryan Corsaro, assignment editor for the National Desk at CBS News in New York. Prior to that, he was an assistant producer for "The Osgood File" on CBS Radio. He joined CBS News in 2003 as a desk assistant for CBS Radio News. Corsaro graduated from Emerson College in 2003. He grew up in North Andover, Mass.

•·         Andante Higgins, producer for CBS News. Before joining CBS News, Higgins spent time at CNN as a student reporter and as a camera operator for The Weather Channel. Higgins has also worked at many local news stations in San Francisco, Oakland and Dallas. He graduated from the University of California, Berkeley Graduate School of Journalism in 2004 and from Clark Atlanta University in 2002. Higgins was born in San Francisco.

•·         Aaron Lewis, contributor for CBS News' White House and Special Events units, where he coordinates coverage for major news stories.  Recently, he has covered Hurricane Katrina, the 2006 Election, the funeral of President Gerald Ford, and the Virginia Tech shootings. Lewis has also worked as a network pool coordinator in Washington, D.C. and as a video assistant at CNN. Lewis was a desk assistant covering the War in Iraq for CBS Weekend News, where he began as an intern in 2002. Lewis graduated from George Washington University in 2003, with a B.A. in Journalism in 2003. He grew up in Holliston, Mass.

•·         Fernando Suarez, booker and segment producer for THE EARLY SHOW.  Previously, Suarez was an associate producer for CBS NEWSPATH after serving as a pool coordinator in the Washington Bureau. Suarez began at CBS News as an intern in the Political Unit during the summer of 2000. He graduated from Vanderbilt University in 2001, where he majored in Political Science and Sociology. Suarez grew up in Miami.

•·         Joy Lin, associate producer for the CBS Weekend News. Lin has covered of many major news stories, including the Virginia Tech shootings, the 2006 Election, Hurricane Katrina, among others. She joined CBS News in September 2005 as a broadcast associate and later became an overnight assignment editor on the National Desk. Lin graduated from Harvard College in 2005, where she majored in Social Studies. She was born in Bellevue, Wash.

•·         Maria Gavrilovic, producer on the CBS News Foreign Desk.  She has worked at CBS News since September 2006. Gavrilovic has covered many major breaking news stories, including the execution of Saddam Hussein and the crisis in Gaza. She began her career at CNN in 1999, where she traveled to Serbia to cover the ouster of Slobodan Milosevic and to New Orleans to cover the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. She earned a master's degree in Government and Politics from St. John's University and graduated from Emory University with a B.A. in International Relations in 1999. Gavrilovic grew up in Denver, Colo.

CBSNews.com will launch a new, comprehensive coverage section dedicated to Campaign '08 in the coming months.  The site will provide the most comprehensive coverage of the campaign, reported, managed and edited by a team of political reporters, led by Senior Political Editor Vaughn Ververs, as well as the combined resources of CBS News, CBS Radio News and the CBS affiliates.  New features on the site for Campaign '08 include:

•·         "Pure Horserace," a daily wrap-up and email alert from the CBSNews.com political team.

•·         Daily video and text blogging from the CBS News team of Off-Air reporters traveling with the candidates.

•·         "Poll Position," a weekly CBSNews.com column and CBS Radio News podcast.

•·         Extensive and exclusive content from the Politico.com team, CBS News' political coverage partner.

•·         Unique tools for tracking campaign spending, advertising and candidate's positions on the issues.

•·         Extensive use of searchable broadband video from the campaign trail.

•·         Interactive Web 2.0 communication tools for viewers and users to engage in debate and dialogue.

•·         Political analysis from The New Republic, The Nation, The Weekly Standard and The National Review.

•·         Access to the "Briefing Book," the same candidate background and issue book used by the CBS News team.

CBS Radio News will also provide extensive coverage of Campaign '08, including the primaries and

conventions, working with the CBS News broadcast and online team.  Radio coverage highlights include:

•·         "Eye on the White House," a weekly campaign report on major events.  This will become a daily report closer to Election Day.

•·         An ongoing series of special reports on the candidates and the issues.

•·         "Weekend Round-up," a weekly political segment with highlights from that week.

•·         Podcasts of major speeches by the candidates along the campaign trail.

•·         Daily interviews with consultants, pollsters and experts.

            Paul Friedman is Senior Vice President, News Coverage, CBS News.  Molly Levinson is CBS News Political Director. 

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Press Contacts: Sandy Genelius             212/975-7525 or smg@cbsnews.com

                                    Leigh Farris                              212/975-2856 or farrisl@cbsnews.com