Soledad and CNN Will Be In Full Force At The Conventions

Starting at the end of August, Soledad O'Brien and the CNN crew will be very busy covering the Democratic and Republican conventions in Denver and Saint Paul.

CNN anchor Soledad O'Brien will serve as the main anchor at the conventions during the day, with Wolf Blitzer taking over after 4pm ET.

The network will anchor its multi-platform coverage of both events from sets on the delegation floors at the Pepsi Center in Denver from Aug. 25 to 28 and the Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul, Minn., from Sept. 1 to 4.

Along with O'Brien and Blitzer, Campbell Brown and Anderson Cooper along with the "Best Political Team on Television" will provide analysis during the network's primetime coverage. Larry King will wrap up each day's events at midnight and John Roberts will start the convention news in the morning on American Morning.

CNN will kick off its convention coverage with two primetime documentaries profiling Sen. John McCain and Sen. Barack Obama.

"This is an election like no other and we've been covering it in a brand new way
that is connecting with viewers," says David Bohrman, executive producer of
political coverage and Washington bureau chief. "We'll continue setting the pace
and pushing the envelope to give viewers the best seats in the house and the
best understanding of what is happening and why."

In addition to the CNN "ringside" sets and documentaries, the network will also have CNN Grills situated immediately outside the delegate entrances at both conventions. The CNN Grills are additional broadcast centers that bring delegates, newsmakers and members of the media together to participate in CNN live broadcasts and mingle with CNN guests. CNN had used the "CNN Diner" for the 2004 Republican National Convention in New York.

The network will also use multiple Sky Booths to accommodate its partners including CNN.com, CNN International, CNN Radio, CNN en Espanol, CNN Newsource, CNN Headline News and TV Asahi.

There will be extensive use of the latest wireless technology for high-quality coverage from its numerous broadcast locations. CNN will shoot and air the convention in HD and will introduce new HD cameras for this event.

The popular CNN "multi-touch" ) AKA the "magic wall") will be at both conventions to better communicate delegate math and the Electoral College breakdown.

The network's mobile news bureau, the CNN Election Express, will be parked just steps away from the main delegate entrances at the two conventions. It will serve as the network's primary production facility for the CNN Grills and the live shot locations, as well as the main transmission vehicle for Sen. Obama's acceptance speech at Invesco Field.