CNN Pressroom - State-of-the-Art Mobile News Bureau Key Component of CNN’s 2008 Election Coverage

The CNN Election Express once again rolls along the nation’s highways as it travels from election hot spots to campaign battlefields as part of CNN’s unmatched coverage of the 2008 presidential campaigns and breaking news. The state-of-the-art mobile news bureau is equipped to cover news stories with unparalleled depth and speed by combining the capabilities of a studio, editing room and production facility with those of a satellite truck.

A Prevost H-45, the CNN Election Express accommodates up to 20 people in its newsroom and is the first and only fully High-Definition mobile news production vehicle. This 45-foot bus is wired for WiFi and boasts robust Internet connectivity, four HD cameras, ten LCD monitors and one 42-inch plasma screen. The CNN Election Express also maintains a tracking BGAN transmission platform that allows the bus to transmit video while in motion. A top-of-the-line editing system and video production server provide full post-production capabilities.

“For our America Votes 2008 coverage, we have put on the road what is possibly the most technologically advanced news production vehicle in the world,” said Sam Feist, CNN’s political director. “With the vast capacities of the CNN Election Express, CNN takes voters directly to the most important stops of the campaign in ways other news organizations can only imagine.”

The next stops for the CNN Election Express include Iowa for the state’s upcoming caucuses, New Hampshire for the nation’s first primary elections and visits to Myrtle Beach, S.C., and Los Angeles for CNN’s remaining presidential primary debates.

To date, the CNN Election Express has served as the studio for interviews with top presidential candidates including Sen. Hillary Clinton (D-N.Y.), former Sen. John Edwards (D-N.C.), former Gov. Mike Huckabee (R-Ark.) and Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.). The studio configuration includes a lighting grid with full power to allow quick set-up for interviews. The video equipment on board can also be used outside for interviews and live shots.

CNN Worldwide, a division of Turner Broadcasting System, Inc., a Time Warner Company, is the most trusted source for news and information. Its reach extends to nine cable and satellite television networks; one private place-based network; two radio networks; wireless devices around the world; CNN Digital Network, the No. 1 network of news Web sites in the United States; CNN Newsource, the world’s most extensively syndicated news service; and strategic international partnerships within both television and the digital media.

Labels: CNN Domestic, CNN Election Express