Around the Block’s Guide to the Democratic National Convention

Commentary

The DNC will be held from tonight to Thursday.

Today, Around the Block, as part of our dedication to public service and in hopes of keeping “We the People” as informed as possible, presents Around the Block’s Guide to the DNC*.

(*Courtesy of the Los Angeles Times.)

In the unlikely event that you don’t make it all the way through the guide, reaching the section, Will the networks be covering the convention?, I pose the classic Sesame Street conundrum: 

One of these things is not like the other:

• CNN will air convention news from 8 p.m. to 2 a.m.
• Fox News will air an hour of the convention, from 10 to 11 p.m. 
• MSNBC will air it from 4 to 11 p.m.

But enough of these metaphysical quandaries, on to the issue at hand.

Around the Block’s Guide to the DNC.

How to watch the virtual Democratic National Convention

Democratic National Committee Chairman Tom Perez had predicted Milwaukee would be the place to be this summer.

“Don’t forget, folks, 490 days and this place will be hopping,” Perez said last year at a news conference announcing the city would host the 2020 party convention.

Things have certainly changed.

Instead of welcoming more than 50,000 party members — including politicians, delegates, activists and protesters — Democrats in Milwaukee will be watching the convention on their TVs, computers and phones just like everyone else.

In April, Democrats pushed the convention from mid-July to mid-August. Two months later, the event was moved to a smaller location and delegates were asked not to attend. This month, organizers announced that none of the speakers — including presumptive presidential nominee Joe Biden — would travel to Wisconsin.

The list of speakers has been cut down dramatically compared with past events to fit into a shortened schedule of two hours a night. Party leaders will be addressing Americans live and on video from sites across the country. And there will be no celebratory balloon drop as Biden formally accepts the nomination — the former vice president and his running mate, California Sen. Kamala Harris, will speak from his hometown of Wilmington, Delaware.

“This will be certainly different than any other convention,” Perez told The New York Times. “You’ll see fewer podiums but you’ll see more people in living rooms. You’ll see them on factory floors and schools and communities.”

Here’s how to watch (or stream) the convention this week:

When is the convention?

The Democratic National Convention will be held from tonight to Thursday. It will air for two hours each night, from 9 to 11 p.m. Eastern time.

Each night has been given a theme: Tonight is “We the People,” Tuesday is “Leadership Matters,” Wednesday is “A More Perfect Union” and Thursday is “America’s Promise.”

How do people tune in?

There are more than a dozen ways to watch the entire DNC schedule, including breakout panels, on TV, through smart devices or online.

The official livestream of the convention will be available at DemConvention.com. The convention will also stream online on YouTube, Facebook, Twitter, Twitch, Amazon Prime Video and Microsoft Bing and on smart devices such as Apple TV, Amazon Fire TV and Roku TV.

For TV viewers, it will be available on AT& T U-verse, DirecTV and Comcast Xfinity. The Los Angeles Times will have a livestream on its homepage at latimes.com.

Will the networks be covering the convention?

Oh, they will indeed. The major news networks have all planned special convention coverage that can be viewed on air, online, and through various social media and devices such as Roku and Apple TV. Here’s what the stations have planned: ABC News will air an hour of the convention from 10 to 11 p.m. (all times Eastern); digital coverage will stream on ABC News Live starting at 7 p.m:

CNN will air convention news from 8 p.m. to 2 a.m.

Fox News will air an hour of the convention, from 10 to 11 p.m. MSNBC will air it from 4 to 11 p.m.

NBC News will show an hour of the event, from 10 to 11 p.m.

Who’s speaking when?

With the convention cut down to just two hours a night, there will be fewer speakers. And instead of live speeches, the convention will rely more heavily on videos to prevent technical glitches, including for the most popular figures. Former first lady Michelle Obama was recording her speech from the family’s vacation home in Martha’s Vineyard, according to The New York Times.

Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders, who was Biden’s final rival for the nomination, will be featured tonight. Former President Bill Clinton will speak Tuesday. Harris’ speech is set for Wednesday, as is Sen. Elizabeth Warren’s. She is among several of the women considered in Biden’s running mate search who are scheduled to give convention speeches. Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton will also speak the third night, as will gun control advocate Gabrielle Giffords, a former Arizona congresswoman who was critically injured in a mass shooting nearly a decade ago.

The speaker list has already drawn some controversy over who was and wasn’t included. Some Democrats have argued the schedule favors moderate Democrats and Republicans over progressives and Latinos. Organizers granted speaking slots to former Ohio Gov. John Kasich, a Republican. And former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg tweeted that he’s “honored” to be speaking at the convention, though he’s not listed on the official schedule.