The first debate of the presidential elections on November 5 will be held without an audience. Despite this, it has unleashed enormous expectations for coverage on the ground in the sweltering Atlanta these days, somewhat cooled this Thursday by a storm. According to data provided by CNN, organizer of the debate, around 1,000 journalists from more than 170 countries have been accredited to cover the duel between the president, Joe Biden, and his predecessor, Donald Trump. CNN, in agreement with the Georgia Institute of Technology (Georgia Tech), has set up a multi-sports pavilion for the media.
The Hank McCamish Pavilion is the home of the university’s men’s and women’s basketball teams, the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets, but it was also the home of the NBA’s Atlanta Hawks from 1977 to 1994. The bleacher area has tables set up as a giant press area, and the hardwood floor, where Dominique Wilkins made his spectacular dunks, will serve as a spin room, the area through which guests, experts and members of the Biden and Trump campaign will parade to give their opinion on the course of the debate.
The area is cordoned off by the secret service. Guests of the hotels closest to the debate area have been warned that vehicles will not be able to access them between 4:00 p.m. and midnight. You have to pass strict security checks to reach the press center, although the debate itself is held on the set of a nearby building. Some of the pavilion’s restaurant franchises will open their doors to serve attendees. The water will be courtesy of CNN.
Prominent members of both the Democratic and Republican parties will appear there. Trump has said he has already decided who will accompany him on the ticket as vice presidential candidate and that he will be in Atlanta, so all the candidates will sign up. Each will try to highlight the performance of their respective leader.
In the city, and indeed across the country, campaigns have been hosting debate watch parties. The president will stop by one in Atlanta after the duel with Trump ends. The Biden campaign, which provided the data, is hosting more than 300 debate watch parties tonight alone and more than 1,600 additional events in the key states throughout the week. It will also be holding activities aimed at key segments, with more than 40 events currently scheduled for debate night. “We will be hosting events for young voters, including a virtual statewide watch party for college students in Michigan, as well as for Caribbean women, Venezuelan Americans, the LGBT community, local Democratic Party members and other groups virtually and in more than 15 states,” his campaign says.
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The television stations have reserved, upon payment, their spaces at the foot of the track to be able to do interviews and broadcast live from there. Although CNN produces and broadcasts the debate exclusively, it provides the signal to be broadcast simultaneously on all major television stations. The news channel is in its territory and has secured the best spaces. He is putting all his effort into what may be the most followed broadcast in its history.
As moderators, in charge of choosing the questions they will ask the candidates, Jake Tapper and Dana Bash, two of its star presenters, will act. Trump, true to his style of not accepting the rules of the game, has already taken it upon himself to question his impartiality: “I will debate with three people, instead of one, instead of half a person,” he said at a rally in Racine (Wisconsin).
Will they shake hands?
CNN, which has been through recent problems and crises, has a lot at stake in the effort. Many viewers have switched to streaming platforms such as Netflix, Max and Hulu and are abandoning the once all-powerful traditional cable television (which in practice is also broadcast over the Internet).
Furthermore, the prestigious news channel has more prestige than audience lately. According to Nielsen data cited by the AP, Fox News has averaged 2.14 million viewers in prime time this month; MSNBC, 1.22 million, and CNN has remained at 525,000, with a decrease of 17% compared to June of last year. Viewers seem to prefer opinion over news.
The debate is seen as a great opportunity to regain notoriety and audience. It may also happen that viewers, even if they follow the CNN signal, prefer to follow the debate on their favorite channels. Among those that will broadcast it are ABC, CBS, NBC, Fox News, MSNBC, PBS and C-SPAN and it would not be unusual for some of them to surpass CNN in audiences.
The channel now run by Mark Thompson has filled the stage with its logos, so at least it will serve as a publicity tool. On that set, Biden and Trump will be much closer than in the 2020 debates. One of the unknowns is whether they will shake hands. Four years ago they did not shake hands because of Covid. Not doing so today would be a gesture of great hostility, but that is what has dominated the relationship between the two.
Although there will be two commercial breaks within the 90 minutes of debate, neither Biden nor Trump will be able to speak with their teams during them. There will be no opening interventions, but we will go directly to the moderators’ questions, which have not been anticipated. There will be two minutes to answer, followed by one minute of reply and another of counter-reply. A red light will flash when there are five seconds left in each turn and will stay on when the time is up. No graphics or other objects, nor pre-prepared notes, will be permitted. Candidates will receive paper, pen and a bottle of water. Also courtesy of CNN.
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