CBS News and The Washington Post Team for Election Coverage

The digital partnership allows CBSNews.com and washingtonpost.com to share content

By Marisa Guthrie -- Broadcasting & Cable, 8/28/2007 11:26:00 AM

CBS News and The Washington Post have struck a content-sharing agreement for coverage of the 2008 presidential election. The digital partnership allows CBSNews.com and washingtonpost.com to amortize their political coverage on each company’s respective web sites. NBC News and The New York Times struck a similar deal on campaign coverage last month.

Washingtonpost.com will get video from CBS News and CBSNews.com in turn will feature news, analysis and commentary from the newspaper’s political reporters. There will be links on both sites to the other’s political coverage.

In addition, washingtonpost.com’s coverage will be showcased in CBSNews.com’s new Campaign ’08 site.

“Our goal is to be the premier political information destination and to bring the best of the web to our readers, including the likes of Bob Schieffer, Jeff Greenfield and others,” said Michael Sims, VP, editorial, CBSNews.com, in a statement.

CBS News this week announced that Chip Reid, former NBC News Congressional reporter, will join the network’s political team. Reid starts his new gig as CBS Capital Hill correspondent, Sept. 4. Reid will replace Sharyl Attkisson, who moves over to the investigative unit where she’ll report for the Eye on Your Money franchise for the CBS Evening News. She’ll remain based in Washington, D.C.

The staffing moves and content-sharing agreement are part of CBS News’ ongoing strategy to beef up its political ranks in anticipation of the election, a crucial event for the third place news division and for Evening News anchor Katie Couric, who will have a primary role – along with Schieffer and Greenfield – in the network’s election coverage.

Couric will moderate a live debate among Democratic candidates on December 10th 2007, the final DNC-sanctioned debate before the primary elections.