PBS NewsHour Plans Extensive Multiplatform Election Coverage for Election Day, Tuesday, November 2, 2010

Innovative LIVE Interactive Special Election Webcast Hosted by Jim Lehrer in Partnership with Ustream Begins at 10 pm ET

1-hour Live Special Broadcast Hosted by Jim Lehrer Airs on PBS and Continues Streaming Online at 11 pm ET

ARLINGTON, Va., Oct. 22 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- When voters head to the polls to cast their ballots in the 2010 midterm elections, they may make history by voting for a big change in the federal government for the third consecutive election.  Majority control of the US Congress hangs in the balance. In addition to coverage on the PBS NewsHour, Jim Lehrer will anchor a PBS special broadcast on election night, Tuesday, November 2, 2010, from 11 pm – midnight. The PBS NewsHour Political Team – Judy Woodruff, Gwen Ifill and David Chalian will report the evening's events from the NewsHour studio together with NewsHour's regular political analysts: syndicated columnist Mark Shields, New York Times Columnist David Brooks, as well as Stuart Rothenberg, editor of the Rothenberg Political Report. Hari Sreenivasan will be in the newsroom reporting election results as they come in and NewsHour Correspondents will report from key locations around the country.  

Correspondents on-location on election night include:

• Jeff Brown and Margaret Warner will be stationed at party headquarters in Washington, DC with the latest on the battle for control of Congress from the key partisan players.
• Ray Suarez will travel to Nevada to cover the marquee Senate race between Democratic Majority Leader Harry Reid and Republican Sharron Angle.
• Spencer Michels will report from California, covering the battle for the state's top job and the Senate race between Barbara Boxer and Carly Fiorina.
• Kwame Holman will be reporting from the White House on President Obama and his administration's response to their big midterm exam.

ONLINE

PBS NewsHour (www.pbs.org/newshour) is partnering with Ustream to provide LIVE election coverage online beginning at 10 pm and continuing into the early morning. Throughout the evening, up-to-the-minute online video, maps, and interactive graphics will help viewers to make sense of the results and navigate the shifting political landscape.

NewsHour's special election coverage on November 2 includes:

• Live video stream of NewsHour election coverage
• Election night LIVE webcast special airing 10 pm-11 pm and a special broadcast 11 pm-12 am on-air and online, both hosted by Jim Lehrer
• Live blog with up-to-the-minute updates on key races, video of key speeches and analysis of trusted NewsHour regulars and dispatches from local PBS stations
• Video features will also include a midterm election highlights mash-up video
• A special results page will house live AP results data and feature the Patchwork Nation map and graphics that demonstrate any shifts in balance of power, among other features
• A social media stream highlighting people's election comments on Twitter, Facebook, MySpace and AIM as well comments by political analysts selected by the NewsHour staff.

For the latest political news from The PBS NewsHour, please see: PBS NewsHour's Politics Page

The live Vote 2010 coverage is powered by Ustream, the leader in live video. The content is viewable on http://www.ustream.tv/pbsnewshour .  Ustream's platform empowers any individual, public figure or brand to stream to a global audience of unlimited size. View and interact live using Ustream's Social Stream, which aggregates a live feed of Twitter, Facebook, MySpace and AIM comments.

PBS NEWSHOUR is seen five nights a week on more than 315 PBS stations across the country and is also available online, via public radio in select markets and via podcast. The program is produced by MacNeil/Lehrer Productions, in association with WETA Washington, DC, and THIRTEEN in New York. Major corporate funding for The NewsHour is provided by Chevron, Bank of America and Intel, with additional support from the William & Flora Hewlett Foundation, the Corporation for Public Broadcasting and public television viewers.

SOURCE PBS NewsHour