BBC World News America Catches the Bus

Washington, D.C.-based newscast to drive its own election 2008 bus.

By Marisa Guthrie -- Broadcasting & Cable, 7/3/2008 5:12:00 PM

BBC World News America is kicking the tires on its own election 2008 bus, according to executives at the network.

The Washington, D.C.-based newscast will deploy its bus in the weeks between the Democratic and Republican National Conventions in late August and early September, respectively, and the election in November.

Rather than covering the horse race, the bus will offer the kind of slice-of-life reporting for which BBC World News America is known.

The bus (no, it will not be a London double-decker) “offers an opportunity to cover issues; to get the mood of America and the sense of how Americans feel about their place in the world,” said Rome Hartman, executive producer of BBC World News America.

Correspondents will contribute regular bus blogs, while also servicing the BBC World Service radio network.

Hartman conceded that the BBC World News bus may not have the high-tech gadgetry of, say, the CNN Election Express, a multimillion-dollar HD mobile newsroom.

“It won’t have the bells and whistles,” he added, “but we’ll make up for it with bigger brains.”