Los Angeles Times, CNN to Host Key PresidentialPrimary Debates Prior to March 7 Primaries,...

News/Politics Editors

LOS ANGELES--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Feb. 29, 2000

Democrats Debate Wednesday, March 1 at 6 p.m. PST;

Republicans Debate Thursday, March 2 at 6 p.m. PST

The Los Angeles Times and CNN will host Democratic and Republican presidential primary debates

Both debates will be held at the Los Angeles Times building in downtown Los Angeles and aired live on CNN. Both debates will start at 6 p.m. Pacific Standard Time.

The debates will also be covered on latimes.com and CNN Interactive's allpolitics.com. The Times will publish a transcript of the Democratic debate in its March 2 edition and of the Republican debate in its March 3 edition.

The March 1 Democratic debate between Bill Bradley and Vice President Al Gore will be moderated by CNN principal anchor Bernard Shaw and feature questions from The Times' Ron Brownstein, national political correspondent and columnist, and CNN's Jeff Greenfield, a senior analyst for the network's Election 2000 coverage and its daily political program "Inside Politics."

CNN prime anchor and senior correspondent Judy Woodruff will moderate the March 2 Republican debate involving Gov. George W. Bush, Alan Keyes and Sen. John McCain. The panelists will be Times Washington Bureau Chief Doyle McManus and Greenfield.

Brownstein joined The Times in 1987 and is a frequent guest on shows such as "Meet the Press," "Face the Nation" and CNN's "Inside Politics." McManus, who has been with The Times since 1978, is the co-author of "Landslide: The Unmaking of the President, 1984-88" and a frequent panelist on PBS's "Washington Week in Review."

Shaw and Woodruff, who are the lead anchors for CNN's comprehensive Election 2000 coverage, co-anchor "Inside Politics," the nation's first program devoted exclusively to political news, and "WorldView," the network's international evening newscast. Shaw also is co-anchor of "CNN & TIME," the network's investigative newsmagazine, with Greenfield. Woodruff also serves as co-anchor for the Wednesday edition of the CNN "NewsStand" series.

Debate coverage on latimes.com (http://www.latimes.com/debates)
includes:
--   The opportunity to submit questions in advance for possible use
     by panelists in the debates;
--   Live video streaming of both debates;
--   Pre- and post-debate audio analysis from Times political
     reporters;
--   Online polls asking users to judge how the candidates fared;
--   Transcript of each debate about two-and-a-half hours after the
     debate ends;
--   Discussion boards;
--   Archived debate video clips; and
--   Links to extensive coverage of Campaign 2000, such as candidate
     profiles, platform comparisons and Times Poll data.

Coverage on allpolitics.com includes:

--   Live video streaming of both debates;
--   allpolitics.com reporters providing up-to-the-minute
     Web-exclusive coverage from Los Angeles;
--   Web-exclusive, balanced political perspectives by CNN co-hosts
     and CNN political analysts;
--   Online chats with CNN anchors directly following both debates;
--   On-demand video on the site 30 minutes after the debate starts --
     the complete debate will be available within 15 minutes of the
     debate's conclusion;
--   A chat room open during both debates; and
--   Complete transcripts available 20 minutes after the conclusion of
     each debate at CNN.com/transcripts.

The Los Angeles Times, winner of 23 Pulitzer Prizes, is the largest metropolitan daily newspaper in the country. It publishes four daily regional editions -- covering the Los Angeles metropolitan area, the San Fernando Valley, and Orange and Ventura counties -- as well as a National Edition. The Times' Web site, latimes.com, is one of the leading sources for national and international news and information on the World Wide Web, and the primary source of news and information for and about Southern California.

CNN/U.S., a division of the CNN News Group, a wholly owned subsidiary of Turner Broadcasting System Inc., is the world's leading 24-hour news network, providing its audience with in-depth, live coverage and analysis of breaking news events from around the world. CNN/U.S. also offers a full range of programs covering the latest in business, weather, sports, entertainment,

health and science news, as well as topical, in-depth interviews.