UPDATED, with additional coverage details: The first anniversary of the January 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol will be marked by continuous coverage across the broadcast and cable news networks, as reporters and anchors recount the events of that day while sharing plenty of consternation over what has happened since.
The political polarization that has gripped Washington, and much of the country, will be evident by who is expected to participate in commemoration events. Few Republicans are expected, with President Joe Biden, Vice President Kamala Harris and Senate and House Democratic leaders slated to speak at a ceremony Thursday morning.
Former President Donald Trump, whose false claims that the election was stolen from him led his supporters to storm the Capitol, nixed plans to hold a press conference at Mar-a-Lago that would have been a kind of counterprogramming to the D.C. events. While there were reports that Trump’s friends convinced him not to hold the event, where he likely would have continued to make the election fraud claims, some TV networks were non-committal on the extent to which they would feature the event in their coverage.
Starting at 9 a.m. ET, Biden and Harris will deliver remarks at the Capitol’s National Statuary Hall.
At noon, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi will deliver remarks on the House floor and participate in a moment of silence.
At 1 p.m., Librarian of Congress Carla Hayden will moderate a discussion with historians Doris Kearns Goodwin and Jon Meacham to “establish and preserve the narrative” of what happened on January 6.
Then, at 2:30 p.m., Rep. Jason Crow (D-CO) will lead members in testimonials of their experiences on that day.
At 5:30 p.m., Pelosi and Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer will lead a prayer vigil on the Capitol Center steps.
In addition to coverage of the events on Thursday, networks are planning a mix of analysis, first-person perspectives, documentary-like features and polling highlights. CNN also is presenting a two-hour special from National Statuary Hall on Thursday evening.
Here’s a roundup of network coverage (all times Eastern):
ABC: David Muir will lead coverage, with a sit-down interview with Capitol Police officers Harry Dunn and Aquilino Gonell and Metropolitan Police Department officer Daniel Hodges set to air Wednesday evening on World News Tonight and Nightline. Juju Chang will anchor Nightline from Washington, and The View will feature guests Bob Woodward and Robert Costa, the authors of Peril. ABC News Live will feature retrospectives with correspondents and producers who were covering the attack, and Hulu will present the ABC News Investigative Unit documentary Homegrown: Standoff to Rebellion.
CBS: Tony Dokoupil will co-host CBS Mornings from the Capitol, and Norah O’Donnell will anchor CBS Evening News from the location. Paramount+ will premiere Indivisible: Healing Hate, a six-part documentary series narrated by Mandy Patinkin that traces the origins of anti-government extremism. CBSN will feature daylong coverage, with a special edition of the daily politics show Red and Blue that will air at 8 p.m. On Sunday’s episode of 60 Minutes, O’Donnell will profile StoryCorps founder Dave Isay about a new project to get Americans across the political spectrum to stop demonizing one another and start communicating face to face.
NBC: Savannah Guthrie will co-host Today from Washington, with a live interview with Rep. Liz Cheney (R-WY), vice chair of the House January 6th Committee. Lester Holt will anchor NBC Nightly News from Washington on Wednesday and Thursday, with an interview with Pelosi. The network is planning special reports throughout the day, with Guthrie anchoring Biden’s remarks in the morning, Tom Llamas anchoring the House floor moment of silence and Holt anchoring the prayer vigil.
CNN: In addition to the cable net’s coverage throughout the day, Anderson Cooper and Jake Tapper will moderate Live from the Capitol: January 6th, One Year Later, a two-hour special starting at 8 p.m. from National Statuary Hall. It will feature remarks from Pelosi and nine other House members, along with members of the January 6th Committee, including chair Bennie Thompson (D-MS) and vice chair Cheney, as well as Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-MD). Officers who were at the scene defending the Capitol that day also will participate.
Fox News: In addition to the network’s coverage throughout the day, Bret Baier will feature an interview with Cheney on Special Report at 6 p.m. Congressional correspondent Chad Pergram, who was reporting live from the Capitol on January 6, will share his experiences. FoxNews.com will feature interviews with Rep. Troy Nehls (R-TX) and Rep. Dan Crenshaw (R-TX) recounting their experiences in the chamber.
MSNBC: Along with the net’s coverage of the day’s events, Morning Joe will feature interviews with Woodward and Costa. At 2 p.m, Katy Tur will anchor coverage of the congressional commemoration ceremony and will be joined by Andrea Mitchell and Chuck Todd. Starting at 4 p.m., Nicolle Wallace, Ari Melber, Joy Reid, Chris Hayes, Rachel Maddow and Lawrence O’Donnell will feature analysis and interviews with lawmakers. Streaming channel The Choice from MSNBC will feature analysis from Zerlina Maxwell and Mehdi Hasan.
PBS: On Wednesday, PBS NewsHour anchor and managing editor Judy Woodruff will interview Rep. Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY). On Thursday, NewsHour will air Woodruff’s interview with Vice President Harris. Woodruff also will interview Thompson, and will discuss the events of the day with Amna Nawaz, Lisa Desjardins and Yamiche Alcindor.
C-SPAN: The public-service cable net’s coverage begins at 7 a.m. with Washington Journal. It also will cover the all of the above-mentioned ceremonies live and, starting at 6 p.m., will re-air the events of the day including Biden, members of Congress, historians and more. The net also will take viewer calls and social media comments throughout the evening.