CNN unveils plans for DNC coverage

CNN announced its coverage plans for the Democratic National Convention on Tuesday, which will include focus groups with undecided North Carolina voters.

Sam Feist, CNN's Washington bureau chief, said the network will be discussing the voters' reactions to the convention because North Carolina is considered one of the swing states in the election. "Who thought North Carolina would be a battleground state, but for the last two elections it has been," Feist said Tuesday.

Undecided voters will be chosen by a polling firm hired by CNN and the discussions with correspondent Tom Foreman will be held at the CNN Grill, a staple of modern conventions put up by the network to feed staffers and guests, and also serve as a studio for some of the shows. Vida Mexican Kitchen y Cantina, at the EpiCenter across from the Time Warner Cable Arena, is being taken over for the CNN Grill.

Wolf Blitzer will kick off CNN's coverage on Aug. 31, the day after the RNC ends in Tampa. His "Situation Room" broadcast will air at 4 p.m. that day and continue daily through the convention week.
Other highlights in CNN's plan:

• Blitzer, Anderson Cooper, Erin Burnett, Piers Morgan, Candy Crowley, Soledad O'Brien, John Berman, Brooke Baldwin and Suzanne Malveaux will be key anchors.
• Coverage will begin each day at 5 a.m. and go through the day and into prime time, with a midnight broadcast by Morgan.
• Among the key reporters on the story will be White House correspondents Brianna Keilar and  Jessica Yellin, national correspondent John King, congressional correspondent Dana Bash, correspondent Joe Johns and political analysts Gloria Borger and David Gergen. 
• "State of the Union with Candy Crowley" will air from Charlotte at 9 a.m. Sunday, Sept. 2, followed by "Reliable Sources" with Howard Kurtz at 11 a.m.
• John Berman will host "Early Start" from the CNN Grill beginning at 5 a.m. Labor Day and on through the week. Also originating from the CNN Grill will be "Starting Point with Soledad O'Brien" at 9 a.m. daily, moving to a local diner on Friday.
• "CNN Newsroom" will be live from Charlotte each day at noon.
• At 7 p.m. on Labor Day, "America's Choice 2012: Countdown to the Democratic Convention" will air live from Charlotte.
• CNN Digital will stream key parts of the convention.

News 14 plans extensive DNC coverage

News 14 Carolina, the Time Warner Cable 24-hour news channel, plans to carry a heavy schedule of convention programming during the DNC.

News director Jim Newman says News 14 has reserved a suite in Time Warner Cable Arena and a floor position for its convention coverage during the first week of September.

Prime anchors for coverage from the arena, and Bank of America Stadium on Sept. 6, will be Rob Boisvert, Heather Waliga and Tim Boyum. News 14's political show, "Capital Tonight" hosted by  Boyum, will air at 7 p.m. and 11:30 p.m., with the late broadcast offering a wrap-up of the day ("Sportsnight" will move to midnight for the week).

News 14 is also sending a team to Tampa to cover the Republican National Convention. Among those at the RNC will be senior political reporter Loretta Boniti, Brad Broders and Boyum.

Newman said News 14 will carry speeches of local interest live -- like an address from Charlotte Mayor Anthony Foxx.

'60 Minutes' political segment from High Point

A segment on Sunday's "60 Minutes" will originate from High Point as GOP presidential candidate Mitt Romney and running mate Paul Ryan give their first joint interview to Bob Schieffer, chief Washington correspondent for CBS News.

Schieffer will be back in North Carolina in September to anchor his weekly "Face the Nation" Sunday broadcast from Charlotte in advance of the Democratic National Convention.

"60 Minutes" airs at 7 p.m., CBS, WBTV (Channel 3).

'Huffington Post' plans DNC spa

Huffington Post, a website featuring political opinions, says it will set up a rest stop at the Democratic National Convention.

Called the "Oasis," the center  will offer yoga, massages, meditation space and sleep advice from experts from Harvard Medical School during the September convention for accredited delegates, journalists and bloggers at Flex and Fit Gym on the ground floor of the Duke Energy Center at South Tryon and Stonewall streets each day from 7 a.m. to midnight.

There will also be a lounge area where convention-goers can relax and watch coverage of the event while getting a foot massage.

Huffington Post is partnering with Off the Mat, Into the World, a yoga group, and LYFE Kitchen, a healthy food firm, for the center.

Ratings update: Big surge at 'Lake' radio

In the latest Arbitron rankings released this week for Charlotte radio stations, WKKT-FM ("Kat" 96.9) has widened its lead over competitor WSOC-FM (103.7), but the big splash is over at the new WLKO-FM ("Lake" 102.9).

"Lake" switched formats on July 2, abandoning its longtime WLYT-FM ("Lite") contemporary adult franchise and now plays variety hits. It jumped from about 3 percent of the radio audience to 5 percent, and part of the ratings period was still under the old format. It leaped from No. 15 in the area to No. 7.

"Kat" had a good month, pulling ahead of WSOC-FM. "Kat" again landed in second place behind perennial market leader WBAV-FM ("V" 101.9) and WSOC-FM came in fourth behind powerhouse WPEG-FM ("Power 98" 97.9).

The rankings and percentage of local audience:

1. WBAV-FM ("V" 101.9): 8.3%
2. WKKT-FM ("Kat" 96.9): 7.9%
3. WPEG-FM ("Power 98" 97.9): 6.8%
4. WSOC-FM (Country 103.7): 6.2%.
5. WRFX-FM ("Fox" 99.7) 5.4%
6. WHQC-FM ("Channel" 96.1): 5.2%
7. WLKO-FM ("Lake" 102.9): 5.0%
8. WNKS-FM ("Kiss" 95.1): 4.6%
8. WLNK-FM ("Link" 107.9): 4.6%
10. WEND-FM ("End" 106.5): 4.5%
11. WKQC-FM ("K" 104.7): 4.2%
12. WBT-AM (News-talk 1110): 3.7%
12. WFAE-FM (NPR, 90.7): 3.7%
14. WPZS-FM ("Praise" 100.9): 3.3%
15. WQNC-FM ("Q" 92.7): 2.9%
16. WRCM-FM ("New Life" 91.9): 2.5%
17. WMIT-FM ("The Light" 106.9): 2.1%
18. WDAV-FM (Classical, 89.9): 1.3%
19. WFNZ-AM ("Fan" 610): 0.9%
20. WSGE-FM (Gaston College, 91.7): 0.4%
21. WBCN-AM (Talk, 1660): 0.3%
22. WNSC-FM (NPR, 88.9): 0.2%
23. WZGV-FM ("ESPN" 730): 0.1%

Rankings do not include WXRC-FM ("Ride" 95.7), which does not subscribe to Arbitron.

PBS to tape 'Washington Week' at UNCC

PBS's "Washington Week with Gwen Ifill” will tape its weekly roundtable broadcast on Aug. 31 focusing on the Democratic National Convention at the Anne R. Belk Theatre at UNC Charlotte. 

Ifill, political correspondent for NBC News and White House correspondent for The New York Times before joining PBS in 1999, hosts the weekly show. She will also be co-anchoring PBS's gavel-to-gavel coverage of the convention beginning Sept. 4 with Judy Woodruff.

Free tickets for the taping are available at www.unccboxoffice.com.

Taping begins about 3 p.m. and the show will be followed by a half-hour program with Ifill and  panelists taking questions from the audience. “Washington Week Extra-North Carolina Edition” will be available on the “Washington Week” website (pbs.org/washingtonweek). 

"Washington Week" airs at 8 p.m. Fridays on UNC-TV and SC ETV.

EpiCentre draws DNC media

Charlotte's EpiCentre will be a hot spot for media during the Democratic National Convention in September.

"Morning Joe," the MSNBC talk show, will originate during the convention from BlackFinn American Saloon at EpiCenter, which is across the street from Time Warner Cable Arena. And MSNBC will broadcast from the Commons area at the EpiCenter.

Vida Mexican Kitchen y Cantina will be taken over for the week by the CNN Grill, which is set up at conventions every four years. It is a somewhat exclusive destination for CNN staffers, guests and well-connected convention-goers.