First Sarah Palin TV interview to dominate ABC airwaves for two days

Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin is on the cusp of her first television interview since Republican presidential nominee John McCain shocked the political establishment and tapped her to be his running mate, and it promises to be no small affair.

ABC’s Charles Gibson snagged the exclusive, which the network is turning into a two-day event.

The anchor is doing three interviews with Palin in Alaska –- two today in Fairbanks and one Friday in her hometown of Wasilla. Portions of the sit-downs will run on five separate broadcasts.

The first part will air on this evening’s “World News” broadcast, with transcripts available on ABCNews.com as early as 1 p.m. PT.

“Nightline” will then feature additional excerpts of Gibson’s conversation with the GOP vice presidential nominee, as will Friday's “Good Morning America” and “World News.” Finally, Friday's  “20/20” will be devoted to the interview, packaged with additional reports by Kate Snow about Palin’s background and a live roundtable discussion about the presidential race moderated by George Stephanopoulos.

It’s not a strategy to boost ratings, insisted ABC News spokesman Jeffrey Schneider. The network is stretching the interview out over multiple broadcasts to make the material available as quickly as possible, he said.

“It is not a promotional effort at all,” Schneider said. “It is a reflection of the fact that the interviews are happening at different times on different days, and each of those broadcasts will have fresh material.”

“We are not parceling this interview out. We are putting this out almost as fast as we are getting in. We’re very mindful of the fact that we have an exclusive that the rest of country and even people around the world are very interested in seeing.”

Altogether, Gibson is expected to have well over an hour to quiz Palin. Today’s conversations will occur before and after she attends the induction ceremony for her eldest son, who is being deployed to Iraq.

ABC officials said that the McCain campaign did not place any restrictions on the interview and did not request that it be broken into three parts.

“It’s always our goal to have multiple opportunities” to speak to a subject, Schneider said.

With interest in the Palin interview running high, ABC has loosened the usage restrictions it usually places on competing networks when it has exclusive material. Instead of requiring that news organizations wait until the full interview has aired before running portions of it on their own broadcasts, ABC will be distributing one-minute clips available for air –- as long as the other networks fully credit ABC News, of course.

The gesture is largely moot, since other networks would likely have put the video on their airwaves without permission, arguing its news value made it a fair use exception to copyright laws.

-- Matea Gold

Photo: EPA

Comments

[C A Wren]

Palin Is Unknown
Unless she opens up to the press and public I do not see how we can consider someone that we know less about then the bag boy at our local grocery store? This is a situation that could place her in the position as commander in chief of the United States Of America. During the primaries the media kept asking if America was ready for a woman president. Well after raking Hillary over the coals for months and months the answer was by the millions yes. Like all the candidates she ran the gauntlet, faced the public and the press and by the end of the primaries we knew most everything about all of them.
we know very little about Sarah Palin!
How can this even be considered!
Charley Gibson has been GRANTED an interview with strict guidelines… A Barbra Walters like interview. It has been said that he must first submit his questions to the McCain / Palin camp before he asks them. Very CONTROLLED

[MMK]

Palin: Charges Rape Victims for own Rape Kit. I wanted to send this article that I found on Anchorage Daily News website. Please read about this outrage that makes my stomach turn, Palin is no champion of women (aside from the obvious).
http://www.adn.com/sarah-palin/story/522583.html

It's outrageous to think if a woman was tragically raped in a small town of 7-9,000 people and have the courage to report it but after the trauma the rape victim would be charged by Wasilla Police Department ($300-$1200) for the medical exam. Can you believe Palin would allow rape victims to be billed for what should be part of their investigation and doing their JOB. This charging of rape victims for medical exams in Wasilla prompted the Alaska State Legislature to pass a bill banning this practice!!

[J Donovan]

Is ABC going to commit the same amount of airtime to Joe Biden?

[For her]

Under the Palin white house I look forward to more religion and gun freedom in our schools.

[Michael Kennedy]

"Charley Gibson has been GRANTED an interview with strict guidelines… A Barbra Walters like interview. It has been said that he must first submit his questions to the McCain / Palin camp before he asks them. Very CONTROLLED"

Where did you get that ? Read the article again. Or is this from your talking points that you are relying on ?

Pitiful.

[Super90]

Great! And I assume they're to be followed by 2 days of interviews with Obama and Biden. Because everybody knows the media is only interested in presenting all sides of the issues and doesn't care about ratings glory.

Seriously, this is bullsh*%. Palin has become a celebrity and ABC is attempting to capitalize on it. They don't care if their presentations give way more coverage to Palin at the expense of the Dems.
Very unprofessional!

[P J Cherr]

I find it very unfair to have the McCain camp be givien a list of question they are allowed to ask her.

Well she took 6 years and 5 colleges to get her BA and from what I have read she barely got the degree.

[Karl in Burbank]

If the LA Times weren't so biased, perhaps they would have had a shot at the interview. They could have owned the John Edwards affair.....but they sat on their hands.

[woodstock1969]

ABC should have it as large as possible,as this is big big for not only the prez race, but every race in Nov. What people fail to realize is, the Palin factor is effecting every political race across the entire country, from the statehouse to the presidency. Possibly around the world (it is effecting things in Canada). There are Republican state Reps, Governors, Senators, Congressman, who have been behind all summer (and much behind), until Palin appeared on the scene.
Lets start with the preference for Congress, a 10 point jump to Repubs, NC Gov McGrory, a 5 point jump, Rossi in WA, for the first time this summer, leads with a 5 point jump, and its happening in all 57 states.

[cbk16]

So now the national talk is who are you voting for: Obama or Palin. Polling is showing people want to vote for a woman as president this go round. McCain and Biden are just on the side lines. Funny thing is that if Palin is voted president by most people, she will not have much power since her actual title will be Vice President.

[Silverlake Guy]

I hope someone enforces the fair rule that Obama/Biden camp get equal coverage across the same amount of time - this is ridiculous. I can only hope the real Sarah Pit Bull is apparent in this unscripted interview, but Charlie doesn't usually play hardball.

[Bubb Rubb]

woodstock- I live in WA, and you are lying. Gregoir is up by 5.2 percent in an average of all statewide polls. Rossi is up 1% in a single poll. Gregoir is up 16% in some polls. there is no "mass movement" to the right- quit lying and quit fooling yourself. You must be part of the republican noise machine.

[armyvet]

ABC, well known for its liberal political bias, is very lucky to get this interview. I hope they will present the material fairly without selective editing to have her appear to say something she did not say. I have NO faith in the fairness of the media, both print media and TV/radio.

[pkb]

How could anyone be interested? Most Americans are sick to death of Sarah Palin!

[Gary]

Remember people that when Hilary was running against Obama in the primarys, The media was in a frenzy over her. This is because this election is the first to not one but two female's in the race. this is not showing favoritism they are only showing the american people what they are interested in. It doesn't matter if you love our hate them you still want to hear what they have to say are do, and people are waiting to praise it or stomp on it. I don't she anything wrong with the interviews. Hey people this is histroy in the making and TV is going to be the sponge to soak it up and squeeze it out the way they want you. God this country is awesome.

God Bless!

[gonzo]

Why does she get to interview in Alaska and not in DC? She is not that special. Why does she get to rehearse her questions/answers? Why? Who has she slept with to attain the special treatment? Why if men and women are supposed to be treated equally, then why all of the different treatment of her and Biden? Why does she get 2 days now when she has been sequestered in the McCain being tutored like crazy just so she won't screw up an interview? Why? We cannot just think of her as a VP nominee, we have to consider if she would be at all effective as Pres. simply because McCain is so freaking old that he can die at any moment. He can die one day in as Pres, or at any time whenever there is a crisis which right now ---crisis is an everyday situation. We cannot possibly allow her to get to DC. She cannot be trusted, she has not taken care of her family due to her own selfish ambitions so how can she possibly care for the U.S.? NO MCAIN/PALIN---NO WAY NO HOW----THANKS BUT NO THANKS!!!!!

[Thanks But Really No Thanks]

I read one of the comments in an excerpt of how she is ready to be VP and even President, and did not blink when asked (big reversal from her not knowing what a VP does a few weeks ago). I am hoping she moves beyond cliches and begins to discuss world issues. But wait, given that the McPalin ticket granted ABC the exclusive interview, I am sure they will not broach these issues in a meaningful manner. Wake up people, this is a horrible choice and people will soon understand that "thanks but no thanks" (which is a lie by the way) and lipstick/hockey mom (which is not funny but the way) are not statements you can elect someone on. They need to stop protecting her and open her up to the media like every other candidate. Even Dan Quayle answered questions and spelled words on the chalkboard incorrectly.

[bronco]

But with the money she saved on providing rape kits to rape victims, she was able to save $$$ so she could charge the state $15,000 rent for nights she spent at home. Plus, if you give away free rape kits, it just encourages women to go out at night.

[Scott M.]

I thought we were voting for President, not Vice President. This entire Sarah Palin nomination has been blown way out of proportion. I just hope that Charles Gibson does not water down his question and asks question like he asked Obama. Leave it to the media to find something out of nothing.

[Scy]

What an utter and complete joke. She is a coward. She won't face the press. She is also a coward who says in this interview that we may need to declare war on Russia. Go ahead America and elect these fools. The international community will then no longer tolerate this criminal Nation. Thank god.

[Brandon]

Yes, I agree that ABC should interview Biden as well. They should ask him if he regrets sponsoring strict bankruptcy legislation in 1999 with Chuck Grassley, which he repeatedly voted for until it was finally passed in 2005. He should also be asked if there's a conflict of interest that his son is a lobbyist for MBNA, Delaware's largest employer. He should be asked about his arrogance with respect to the youth of America exemplified in his attaching a renamed version of the RAVE Act to the Amber Alert bill thereby extending the federal crackhouse statute to any concert or event at which participants may decide to do drugs.

[billw]

Gibson is a whimp that's why we quite watching ABC national news . he cannot seem to ask a "hardball question"

[Brittany]

To 'For Her'

You want more gun freedoms in SCHOOLS? Seriously? After reading your comment, I have never been more happy to be Canadian.

[Robin]

No one running for President who picks a VP should be allowed to give pre arranged answers to the press and pass it off as an interview with a candidate. This could be the President of the United States if the President can't. This is crazy. "Country First" is not foremost in McCain's mind. This is not the 1940's where we are listening to our radios. It is a disgrace to the American
people. Oh, how I miss Tim Russert.

[Dave]

These comments are shocking - all of them. It really shows how the LA Times attracts the crazy far lefties, wow! It also shows how the Democrats are panicing now. The left has been screaming for 2 weeks that she "hasn't been asked any questions.... she hasn't done an interview".... Here she is doing an interview w/ NO restrictions, she's in Alaska to see her son off to war and doing the interview right before that... and now the lefties are screaming for "equal time" for Biden, and "how dare they even interview here... NOT FAIR!!" "why are they doing it in Alaska... not fair!!" You can't win w/ the left, unbelievable. The left is terrified of her, you can see it in every one of these immature comments. The vial and sick comments directed at her will only strengthen the republican ticket and ensure a victory for them, I'm amazed you're so blinded w/ hatred that you don't see that happening.