Obama 100th Day Report Card

CNN anchors Wolf Blitzer, Anderson Cooper, John King and Soledad O'Brien will lead a major event on-air and online from 8 a.m. to mid-day today on President Barack Obama's 100th day in office.

The CNN National Report Card: First 100 Days will gauge the viewing public's opinion on how President Obama and other elected officials have handled their first 100 days in office, as well as how the country is progressing on significant issues. The network will air real-time grades from CNN viewers across the world weighing in at CNN.com.

Throughout the morning, the anchors will open up voting on a new topic, such as asking viewers to judge how Congress is doing or weigh in on key issues. For a brief window of time, viewers will be able to share their opinion on CNN.com, with the results appearing immediately online and on television by asking viewers to assess the president's first 100 days. CNN will deliver the viewer's report card in real-time. The dozen or more questions will be revealed for the first time moments before voting opens, with users limited to casting only one vote per question.

The network will use technology to show viewers the President's first 100 days at-a-glance via an electronic calendar. Each block of the calendar will be filled with data from that day of President Obama's term, whether with video of a major event or with an indicator of how Wall Street responded that day.

CNN Will Turn Obama's 100th Day Into An Event

CNN is marking President Barack Obama's 100th day in office on April 29th with prime-time coverage that will recall last year's primary and general election nights.

As they did on those nights, John King will be at the giant touchscreen to show where money is going from the economic stimulus plan, Bill Schneider will review polling data. Wolf Blitzer, Anderson Cooper and Soledad O'Brien will supply the on-air coverage.

CNN will compile a national report card of Obama's performance, using opinion polls and a series of viewer surveys with coverage that will preempt regular programming.

The 100-day mark is often used to evaluate a new administration.

Soledad At Inauguartion Parade for CNN

In this photo provided by CNN, CNN special correspondent and anchor Soledad O'Brien, left, CNN senior political analysts David Gergen, center, and Gloria Borger narrate the network's coverage of the Inauguration Parade from the rooftop of the Newseum in Washington, Tuesday, Jan. 20, 2009. Gergen offered his analysis of the day's mood; "It's almost like Mardi Gras in January," he said, "with a much more serious purpose."

CNN Inauguration Coverage Includes Extensive Online Components

CNN's Inauguration Coverage begins on Tuesday at 5 am ET with American Morning broadcast's live from Capital Hill from 5-10amET.

Wolf Blitzer and Anderson Cooper lead coverage beginning at 10 am ET from the rooftop of the Newseum. John King brings the "Magic Wall" into the Newseum as well.

Cooper and Campbell Brown anchor from 7-MidnightET, with Larry King anchoring live at MidnightET.

Building upon the networks record-breaking coverage of the presidential campaign and election, CNN will provide a front row seat for viewers worldwide with live coverage leading up to the inauguration of U.S. President-elect Barack Obama on Tuesday, Jan. 20, including the swearing-in ceremony and the inauguration parade.

"This is one of the most historic events of our time, and CNN will utilize all of our resources to capture the magnitude of the moment," said Jon Klein, president of CNN/U.S. "Throughout Inauguration Day and beyond, CNN's winning political team will continue to offer its trademark independent coverage which has been drawing a record number of viewers throughout this election season."

Anchor Soledad O'Brien and senior political analyst Jeffrey Toobin will report from Lafayette Park, the location of the presidential viewing stands and a central spot from which to narrate the parade.

Senior congressional correspondent Dana Bash will cover her beat from the Capitol Rotunda. National political correspondent Jessica Yellin and correspondent Jim Acosta will bring viewers into the crowds who flocked to Washington to watch the inauguration. Correspondent Joe Johns will do the same from the Washington Mall. Anchor John Roberts also will be live on Capitol Hill.

CNN.com will provide special live coverage of the presidential inauguration and all related events in their entirety. Throughout the day, the site's coverage will showcase the sights and sounds from the events captured by CNN.com reporters and photographers, as well as inauguration attendees. To provide additional perspective on the historic events taking place, the site also will feature reactions, analysis and commentary from CNN.com users and newsmakers alike.

CNN.com and Facebook are working together to enable users to connect and engage with each other while watching live all the events of Inauguration Day on CNN.com Live, the Internet's only multi-stream live video news service.

On Tuesday, Jan. 20, CNN.com Live users will be able to update their Facebook status directly from the CNN.com Live player and also see status updates from their friends and other Facebook users on CNN.com Live. On Facebook, the status updates for those using CNN.com Live will be published in their News Feed with hyperlinked tags that read "via CNN.com Live," so users' friends on Facebook can click the tag and join the CNN.com Live/Facebook experience.

Throughout the day, CNN.com Live will offer users up to four simultaneous live streams of inauguration coverage, including the parade and other related events happening in the capital, as well as Obama's inaugural address. CNN.com Live anchor Melissa Long will anchor live from Washington and interview various guests and contributors as the day's events unfold.

In addition to live streaming video, audio slideshows, photo galleries and interactives, other special inauguration coverage elements on CNN.com include:

"Your View of History" is a customized map, built using Google Maps technology, of the inauguration parade route featuring video and still images to provide a comprehensive visual experience of the day's events and the parade. Images will be placed on the map from the exact locations where they are taken, so that users can zoom in to get street-level views all along the route, giving users a closer glimpse of what it's like to be there;

Soledad and CNN at the Presidential Inauguration

In the days leading up to and including Inauguration Day, CNN’s Election Express will be stationed on the National Mall to serve as the center of operations for reporting from across the nation’s capital.

On Jan. 20, anchor Soledad O’Brien and senior political analyst Jeffrey Toobin will report from Lafayette Park, the location of the presidential viewing stands and a central spot from which to narrate the parade.

Senior political correspondent Candy Crowley will provide viewers with an up-close view of the parade as she reports from within the parade itself and from key locations around the capital. Senior White House correspondent Ed Henry plans to speak with politicians and dignitaries watching from the inauguration ceremony platform. White House correspondent Suzanne Malveaux will be live at the White House reporting on a variety of events, including Obama’s final visit with President George W. Bush.

With all the logistical and security measures that will be disrupting city traffic on Inauguration Day, CNN will broadcast from the Newseum, a recently reopened museum dedicated to the free press on Pennsylvania Avenue.

David Bohrman, the Washington bureau chief for CNN, said the network’s coverage will be longer and more exhaustive than in previous years. “People around the world are going to watch this event,” he said.

CNN Schedule for Democratic Convention Coverage

A special convention edition of American Morning will air the week of Monday, Aug. 25 through Friday, Aug. 29 from 6 a.m. to 9 a.m.

A special edition of CNN Newsroom from 9 a.m. to noon will feature anchor and special correspondent Soledad O'Brien and extended segments and frequent live shots from the convention site.

For the noon hour, CNN will feature Soledad O'Brien and anchors Gerri Willis and Ali Velshi live from New York's Election Center with guests and panel discussions live from CNN's Grill. The hour will have a convention-focused theme with the role of the economy and other pocketbook issues in the election.

CNN Newsroom will return from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. with Soledad O'Brien leading CNN's special convention coverage.

Beginning at 4 p.m., lead political anchor Wolf Blitzer will anchor The Situation Room from the convention floor. Each day, the convention will gavel to order while The Situation Room is in progress and offering the first look at that day's activities.

CNN will move into its primetime convention coverage beginning at approximately 6 p.m. Anchor Anderson Cooper, senior political analyst Gloria Borger, and chief national correspondent John King, along with the "magic wall," will join Blitzer on CNN's floor set in the Pepsi Center. The coverage will extend late into the night and lead into a special midnight edition of Larry King Live.

On the final evening, CNN will relocate its political team and resources to Invesco Field at Mile High, where Sen. Obama is expected to accept his party's nomination.

Throughout the day and evening, CNN's political team will offer the latest news and thoughtful analysis. Correspondents include Dana Bash, Candy Crowley, Joe Johns, Suzanne Malveaux, Bill Schneider and Jessica Yellin.

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.

Reactions to Rev. Wright Speech in Detroit

Rev. Jeremiah Wright clips filled the news shows yesterday & today as commentators and journalists weighed in on what effect this would have on the Obama campaign.

Wright gave a speech last night at an NAACP dinner in Detroit and another today at the National Press Club in Washington, D.C.

Soledad O'Brien was at the NAACP dinner because she was a guest announcer, and she discussed the reaction to the NAACP speech on CNN's American Morning.

Click here to watch the AM video segment

Click here for the video from her commentary along with Roland Martin after the speech

Fight For Freedom Fund Dinner

Soledad O'Brien will serve as guest announcer at the 53rd Annual Fight For Freedom Fund Dinner on April 27 at the Detroit NAACP event.

Also appearing will be the controversial Rev. Jeremiah Wright, Barack Obama's former pastor. Rev. Wright was the focus of much news attention and video hits on YouTube for comments he made concerning the presidential election.

Wright will give the keynote address at the dinner. A special preview of O'Brien's CNN documentary, "Blacks in America," will be shown at the event.