August 29, 2004

Sharon van Zwieten
Senior Executive Producer, NewsNight with Aaron Brown
CNN
One Time Warner Center
New York, NY 10019

Dear Ms. van Zwieten:

I am writing to you today regarding the format with which you plan to cover the acceptance speeches at the Republican National Convention.

During the week of the Democratic National Convention, your program, CNN's NewsNight with Aaron Brown, followed Senator John Edwards's speech on July 28 with commentary from Ralph Reed, former executive director of the Christian Coalition and regional chairman of the Bush-Cheney '04 reelection campaign, and followed Senator John Kerry's speech on July 29 with commentary from Republican National Committee Chairman Ed Gillespie.

I assume we can expect that you will follow a similar format, then, in your coverage of the acceptance speeches given by President George W. Bush and Vice President Dick Cheney at the Republican National Convention, in that you will invite guests that do not hold similar viewpoints to those speakers. Please contact me at [...] to discuss this further or if we can answer any questions.

Sincerely,
David Brock
President and CEO, Media Matters for America