Thursday, January 19, 2012
  Press Releases on the SRLC/CNN Town Hall Debate in Charleston, SC
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see also SRLC2012
PRESS RELEASES from CNN 
January 18, 2012
CNN to Host Final Debate Ahead of Crucial South Carolina Primary
John King to Moderate Jan. 19 Face-Off; Blitzer, Cooper, Burnett, O’Brien, Crowley Anchor from Charleston

On Thursday, Jan. 19, just two days before the highly anticipated primary election in South Carolina, CNN and the Southern Republican Leadership Conference (SRLC) will present a presidential town hall debate live from the North Charleston Coliseum. The two-hour debate will begin at 8 p.m. ET and will be moderated by CNN anchor and chief national correspondent John King.

Wolf Blitzer, Anderson Cooper, Erin Burnett, John King and Soledad O’Brien will anchor their respective programs live and on-location in Charleston on Thursday. Then, on Saturday, Jan. 21, the anchors will be live beginning at 6 p.m. from the CNN Election Center for America’s Choice 2012: South Carolina Primary. A special edition of Anderson Cooper 360° will air at 11 p.m. followed by a special live midnight edition of Piers Morgan Tonight. Candy Crowley will report from South Carolina throughout Saturday evening and will anchor State of the Union on Sunday, Jan. 22.

Reporting from the field in the days leading up to the debate and primary in the Palmetto State will be national political correspondent Jim Acosta, senior congressional correspondent Dana Bash, CNN Radio Capitol Hill correspondent Lisa Desjardins, senior political correspondent Joe Johns, anchor Don Lemon, and national correspondents David Mattingly and Gary Tuchman. On the trail with the GOP candidates are reporter-at-large Peter Hamby, political producer Rachel Streitfeld, political reporter Shannon Travis and South Carolina-based political producer Shawna Shepherd.

The following five presidential contenders will participate in Thursday’s debate: former House Speaker Newt Gingrich, Texas Rep. Ron Paul, Texas Gov. Rick Perry, former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney and former Pennsylvania Sen. Rick Santorum. In addition to questions posed to the candidates by King and southern Republicans in the audience, CNN will solicit questions and comments submitted in real-time from CNN.com, the CNN Politics fan page on Facebook and by using the #CNNDebate hashtag on Twitter.

CNN.com

In the days leading up to the South Carolina primary, CNNPolitics.com will be the online destination for all news and analysis related to the 2012 Elections.  New for the South Carolina primary, CNN has launched the GOP Delegate Calculator.  After each caucus or primary, users can try their hand at predicting which candidates will win each state and eventually, the Republican presidential nomination.  CNN.com will also provide a CNN Electoral Map with the most recent predictions on battleground states as updated by CNN’s political experts as well as the 2012 Primary Caucus Calendar, an interactive datebook where users can slide over a specific month to see when states will hold their primaries and caucuses throughout the year.

On the day of the primary, CNN.com will live stream the events in South Carolina and live blog the night’s developments. As the primary results come in, users will be able to track them in real-time at the CNN Election Center. To engage and comment on election night news as it happens, users can view the CNN Politics Facebook page for political stories and photos of CNN’s favorite faces and also follow @CNNPolitics on Twitter for breaking developments all night.
CNN iReport, the network’s global participatory news community, will be asking for submissions related to the South Carolina primary, some of which will be shown on CNN.com and broadcast on CNN.

Across CNN’s mobile platforms, the latest election stories and opinion pieces will be available via CNN’s mobile website and on the CNN apps for iPhone, iPad, Android phone and Android tablet.  The new Election Center section can also be accessed on CNN’s mobile platforms.  Additionally, all apps will carry live video of candidate speeches and events.  On election night, live results can be viewed on CNN's mobile website and in the CNN App for iPad.

CNN en Español and CNN International

Starting at 7:45 p.m. on Thursday, CNN en Español anchor Juan Carlos López will be joined by the network’s team of political contributors Maria Cardona, Roberto Izurieta and Juan Hernandez for pre-debate analysis. At 8 p.m., CNN en Español will take the debate live with simultaneous interpretation followed by 30 minutes of post-debate analysis.

The debate will also be carried live on CNN International.

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.

For Release:  May 19, 2011
CNN, SRLC to Host Republican Presidential Town Hall Debate

CNN and the Southern Republican Leadership Conference (SRLC) will host a Republican presidential town hall debate in Charleston, South Carolina on Thursday, Jan. 19, 2012, as part of the SRLC’s biennial conference. South Carolina has been chosen by the Republican National Committee (RNC) as one of the first states to vote in the Republican presidential primary process in 2012.

“On behalf of the Southern Republican Conference Board of Directors, we are very excited to be working with CNN on this important presidential town hall debate,” said Ed McMullen, chairman of the SRLC board of directors. “We look forward to hosting our 2012 presidential candidates, and showcasing their conservative ideas.”

“We welcome Republican candidates to our great state for what will be an important policy discussion about the future of our nation.” said South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley, chairman of the SRLC.

“Because of South Carolina’s role as the first-in-the-South, as well as the many southern states that vote on Super Tuesday, this debate provides 2012 GOP hopefuls an occasion to reach their key constituency in South Carolina and throughout the southern region,” said Sam Feist, Washington bureau chief and SVP of CNN. “Not only will the candidates have the chance to address top southern Republicans in person, the primary voters attending the conference also will have an opportunity to directly question their candidates for president.”

Republican leaders from the 14 states that make up the RNC Southern Region will meet in downtown Charleston during the week of Jan. 19, 2012 for the conference. The presidential town hall debate will take place as part of the SRLC’s three-day conference, where they’re expecting in excess of 2,000 attendees. Republican presidential candidates have a long tradition of speaking at, attending, and actively participating in this conference.  The Southern Region includes: Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia, and West Virginia.

In addition, CNN will produce three other debates in 2011 as previously announced. CNN, along with the New Hampshire Union Leader and WMUR-TV, will present a Republican presidential primary debate on Monday, June 13, 2011 in Manchester, New Hampshire. On Monday, Sept.12, 2011, CNN, along with the Tea Party Express, will have a debate with the Republican candidates in Tampa, Florida, the site of the 2012 Republican National Convention. The Western Republican Leadership Conference has also selected CNN to host a GOP primary debate in Las Vegas on Tuesday, Oct. 18, 2011.

The Southern Republican Leadership Conference brings top Republican activists, donors, candidates, and elected officials together for three days of inspiring speeches, issue briefings, and political training from candidates, party leaders, and other prominent Conservatives. The SRLC will be held at various well-known and historical venues in Charleston, South Carolina January 19-22, 2012.

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.
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