British journalists are gearing up for the biggest news set piece of the year so far – the inauguration of US president Barack Obama.
The BBC will have the biggest UK contingent, taking 60 UK-based staff out to the US and also working with a US-based team.
The corporation will be broadcasting Obama’s speech on Radio 5 Live, on the World Service and on BBC Arabic TV and BBC Persian TV.
The inauguration will also be covered live on the BBC News channel, BBC World News, BBC America and streamed live via the BBC homepage from 4.30-6.30pm.
Huw Edwards will be the main BBC anchor live from Capitol Hill with BBC World News America anchor Matt Frei.
BBC Two’s Newsnight will have an extended programme on inauguration night running from 10.30 to 11.40pm with Jeremy Paxman presenting live from Washington DC.
Radio 4‘s Today programme has had James Naughtie in the US and along with Hugh Sykes he will providing additional reporting for an extended addition of PM from 4.30-6pm.
On Radio 4’s World Tonight, Robin Lustig is presenting a special programme from Alabama. BBC Radio 5 Live drive will be broadcast today from Washington, presented by Anita Anand.
London talk station LBC has sent presenter Nick Ferrari to the US to broadcast two special breakfast shows from the US, yesterday and tomorrow.
Sky News‘s live coverage from Washington is being led by Adam Boulton and Jeremy Thompson working closely with the channel’s US correspondents Michelle Clifford and Robert Nisbet. Viewers with HD can also watch the inauguration on Sky Arts HD channel 258.
CNN joined Freeview on Thursday 15 January so more UK viewers now have access to the channel’s coverage today.
Rolling reports began at 10am and continue throughout the day with live footage and commentary from Washington.
CNN.com will broadcast live throughout the day. The channel has also partnered with social networking website Facebook for the inauguration.
Users will be able to watch events live on a special page, while linked to Facebook. Online users are being asked to submit their own stories from Washington on the report function.
On ITV, the News at Ten will, for the first time in its history, be wholly anchored from abroad with both Mark Austin and Julie Etchingham presenting the programme from Washington.
ITN has more than 20 staff covering the event from Washington. There will be various special reports from Washington correspondeont John Irvine, on the inauguration as an historic event; from senior correspondeont James Mates,looking at the challenges facing the new president; and from Trevor McDonald about the journey from civil rights to the first black president.
There will also be reaction from all over the world including international Editor Bill Neely reporting from Tehran and Julian Manyon from Gaza.
Online coverage at www.itv.com/news will feature a mix of video footage (such as the inauguration speech and reports from correspondents) as well as blogs from correspondents and presenters.
A special 6pm edition of the London Evening Standard will today bring Londoners up to date coverage of the inauguration.
Presses will be standing by for the special edition which will also include live reports from Washington from the Standard’s political editor Joe Murphy, writer Andrew Gilligan and executive editor Anne McElvoy.
An eight-page pull-out on The Making of a President written by Andrew Gilligan is part of extensive coverage in all today’s editions of the Standard.
The paper said: ‘Huge demand for the paper is expected and arrangements have been made for newspaper sellers to be on the street until late this evening.
Guardian News and Media coverage will be led by editor-in-chief Alan Rusbridger in Washington.
Of the Guardian’s US-based staff, Gary Younge is traveling with a party going to the ceremony, Suzanne Goldenberg will be in the crowd and at the inauguration ball and Washington bureau chief Ewen Macaskill will be handling reaction and the detail of the speech.
Oliver Burkeman will live blog throughout, and there will be additional video and audio. Commentary is led by Jonathan Freedland and Michael Tomasky.
Telegraph coverage is being headed by US editor Toby Harnden, who will be providing analysis and opinion and blogging from Washington throughout the day.
Telegraph readers are being offered a free special edition DVD ‘Barack Obama – His Story’to celebrate his election victory on tomorrow (Wednesday).
Telegraph TV will also have rolling video coverage with reaction from London-based pundits.
The Telegraph is also giving online readers the opportunity to ‘Write your own inauguration speech”.
The Financial Times website will feature blogging from Gideon Rachman, as well as a special interactive feature featuring the 50 key players around Obama, including profiles of the president himself, his cabinet members and the media.
A special report called “President Obama’s Challenge” will be published both in print and online. It will address the most pertinent challenges facing the new president, including a global and national financial crisis.
Today there will be commentary from journalists including White House correspondent Andrew Ward, associate editor Clive Crook, and US diplomatic correspondent Daniel Dombey.
News agency Reuters has a team of 50 reporters and editors in the US and around the world reporting on the reactions to the inauguration.
Reuters’ political blog, Front Row Washington, will be updated with reports from the team in the White House briefing room.
There will be correspondents along the parade route able to report in real time, accompanied by photographers all across DC, capturing Obama’s day from the morning Church Service to his swearing-in ceremony and inaugural address.
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