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A person stops to watch the US Presidential debate in Washington, DC, on 10 September, 2024.
the media
How will big broadcasters in the US, Ireland and the UK be covering the presidential election?
Expect to see ‘magic walls’ as either Donald Trump and Kamala Harris fight their way to electoral victory.
POLLS WILL CLOSE overnight on Wednesday, Irish time, and the journalists on both sides of the Atlantic will be crunching the numbers to determine who will be the next president of the United States.
It’s a big night for the future of the United States, but also a big night for the media, with many viewers tuning in from the off to see the twists and turns as the results roll in.
Here’s how some prominent broadcasters will cover the US presidential election.
CNN
Four years ago, viewers here were also mesmerised by the “magic wall” of Irish-American journalist John King.
CNN has released its plan for the election, and while King and his magic wall will feature, the name of Kerry-native Donie O’Sullivan’s is not mentioned among its slate of journalists.
The network began its election coverage in earnest on Sunday and ramped it up a notch today.
On election day, the journalists across the country will provide on-the-ground reporting from swing states, polling centres and campaign headquarters.
John King returns to the magic wall to dissect the election results and journalists will crunch the numbers coming from exit polls and voter turnout data.
“If Biden could rebuild the blue wall Donald Trump would pay for it”-John King in his bag right now. pic.twitter.com/eUUpuzM3iU
— Gifdsports (@gifdsports) November 4, 2020
CNN also announced it is bringing the magic wall data to its news app.
Fox News
Fox News also began its in-depth coverage on Sunday from its network headquarters in New York City.
While CNN has John King’s “magic wall”, Fox News has Bill Hemmer’s “Bill-board” that will deliver election data county-by-county and state-by-state.
Fox News says it has enhanced the “Bill-board” with new immersive graphics and augmented reality technology and “dynamic 3D interaction”.
Fox News will also report from each campaign’s headquarters, while correspondent Peter Doocy will report live from the White House.
MSNBC
MSNBC kicked off its coverage with a Rachel Maddow special on Sunday.
Meanwhile, their National Political Correspondent Steve Kornacki will be at the “Big Board” to break down the latest state-by-state results.
MSNBC will dispatch over 100 news correspondents across the country and have several more apiece at each campaign headquarters.
How will Irish media outlets cover the US election?
The Journal
The Journal will also be bringing you live coverage through the night.
So whether you’re staying up all night or just planning on setting the alarm to catch up with everything first thing on Wednesday, we’ll have you covered.
Polls in the seven key swing states will close between midnight and 3am Irish time on 6 November.
Our team will bring you the latest developments on Tuesday as voters go to the polls, and bring you the latest results overnight and into Wednesday.
RTÉ
Tomorrow night, Miriam O’Callaghan will co-present a special Prime Time programme live in Washington.
RTÉ One will then broadcast a US Presidential Election Special programme from 11.20pm, which will continue late into the night.
This will be presented by O’Callaghan in Washington and David McCullagh in Dublin, and both will be joined by a range of guests and there will also be updates from CBS News.
Live television coverage will continue with the simulcast of CBS News: US Presidential Election coverage from 3.30am – 7.00am on RTÉ One and RTE Player.
On RTÉ Radio 1 there will be an extended Late Debate tomorrow night from 10pm until 1am with presenter Colm Ó Mongáin and on Wednesday morning, a special Morning Ireland beginning at the earlier time of 6am with presenters Audrey Carville in Washington and Cian McCormack in Dublin.
RTÉ’s Six One News will also be presented live from Washington DC by presenter Sharon Tobin tomorrow and on Wednesday.
Newstalk
Radio station Newstalk will also report live from the United States, with Kieran Cuddihy hosting The Hard Shoulder in New York from Monday until Wednesday.
Newstalk’s Josh Crosbie will also be reporting from Florida, while Barry Whyte will be reporting from California, Kamala Harris’ home state.
The station will also host America Decides at 10 pm and continuing late into the night.
This show will be presented by Newstalk’s political correspondent Seán Defoe and The Journal’s political editor Christina Finn will be a guest on the panel.
And what about UK broadcasters?
BBC
The BBC’s coverage will be broadcast from Washington DC and former RTÉ journalist Caitríona Perry will anchor the coverage.
Perry will be joined in anchoring duties by Sumi Somaskanda.
It will also have its own election graphics touchscreen and will have journalists based at the respective campaign headquarters.
The Washington DC studio will be joined by a lineup of expert guests, including US governors, members of Congress, and campaign officials.
The BBC Verify US team will be based in the bureau and will be fact checking and adding context to claims that emerge through the night.
The results programme will start on Tuesday at 10.40pm Irish time on BBC One, the News Channel and iPlayer and run through to 10am Irish time on Wednesday.
Channel 4
Channel 4’s presenters include The News Agents’ Emily Maitlis and Krishnan Guru-Murthy, while Jeremy Vine will make his Channel 4 election debut to provide infographics and analysis from London data hub.
Stormy Daniels, the adult film actor who allegedly had an affair with Donald Trump and was at the centre of his May criminal trial that led to the former president’s conviction on 34 felonies, will be a studio guest.
As will former British prime minister Boris Johnson and former Trump press secretary Sean Spicer, as well as Succession star Brian Cox.
Channel 4 has also entered a partnership with CNN, allowing it to simulcast updates from CNN’s John King and his Magic Wall.
Its coverage will begin at 10.15pm Irish time and conclude at 6.15am on Wednesday morning.
Sky News
While Channel 4 has paired with CNN, Sky News has a partnership with US network NBC.
Sky News said this partnership will ensure it has the “fastest and most accurate race projections”.
Meanwhile, Lewis Goodall of The News Agents will use “advanced data screens” to deliver the latest numbers and analysis.
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