N.Y. Times and ABC Plan News Helix for '04 Campaign (Times goes to TV)

THE NEW YORK OBSERVER

The New York Times is trying to beef up its television-news profile in time to become a network player in the 2004 Presidential election campaign.

Last spring, the paper of record first announced a partnership to co-own and run the Discovery Civilization Channel; by December 2002, The Times had renamed it the Discovery Times channel and refitted the station with a very 43rd Street logo.

Now, sources tell The Observer, The Times is in negotiations with ABC News to coordinate coverage of the Presidential race with its cable-channel property. ---

American version, of course.

Can't wait.

Why don't they use that?

Hell, one of their nightly shows shows and reviews the front page for the following day.

I would think they would try to use an alreday existing channel.

Now, sources tell The Observer, The Times is in negotiations with ABC News to coordinate coverage of the Presidential race with its cable-channel property.

Sources familiar with the negotiations said that the proposal is still in its theoretical stages. But among the possibilities thrown up, according to sources, is a network-to-cable relationship, similar to NBC’s relationship with MSNBC, in which the cable channel continues with wall-to-wall campaign coverage after the network television station returns to regular programming. The two sides have discussed a variety of scenarios that would bring a television profile to prominent Times bylines. During the 2000 Presidential campaign, The Times had a Webcast show called Political Points that ran concurrently on the ABC and Times Web sites; during that time, Times reporters also became regulars on Nightline. A deal with ABC might also play well to Discovery Times’ documentary style.