Networks’ Political Coverage Pivots After Brussels Terrorist Attacks

Broadcast nets will expand evening news to an hour; CNN to juggle Brussels news with politics: GOP Arizona primary and a Utah caucus, Democrats’ Arizona primary, caucuses in Idaho, Utah

Brussels Suspects Photos
Belgian Federal Police

Presidential primaries and caucuses were supposed to be a major event for news networks tonight but plans are changing in the wake of the terrorist attacks in Brussels.

The Republican party holds a primary in Arizona and a caucus in Utah, while the Democrats hold caucuses in Idaho and Utah, and a primary in Arizona. But NBC, CBS and ABC are all changing plans for their respective nightly newscast to reflect the events in Brussels.

Lester Holt will anchor a special hour-long edition of “NBC Nightly News” dedicated to the terrorist attacks. ABC’s “World News Tonight with David Muir” will also be a one-hour special edition, while “Nightlife” will also devote its entire show to attacks this evening.

“CBS Evening News With Scott Pelley” will also be expanded to an hour, including Charlie D’Agata and Allen Pizzey reporting from Brussels. The broadcast will feature Vladimir Duthiers’ CBSN Originals report on Molenbeek, a Belgian community that has become a breeding ground for ISIS recruitment.

CNN will be live throughout the night, with Anderson Cooper and Wolf Blitzer mixing political results and Brussels coverage.

Fox News will be live throughout the prime-time hours and the network said they will balance both aspects of the breaking news out of Brussels along with the election coverage. Bret Baier will lead the coverage from New York, with Shepard Smith reporting on the breaking news out of London tonight. Also, “The O’Reilly Factor” and “Hannity” will both be live tonight.

Neil Cavuto is live starting at 8 p.m. on Fox Business and will be headlining election coverage as well as the developments in Brussels. In addition to speaking with business leaders and political experts, Cavuto will also speak with FNC’s Shepard Smith live on the ground in Europe regarding the latest news with Brussels.

MSNBC prime-time programming details to come.

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