Hurricane Blows Networks' Convention Coverage Off Course

The temporary suspension of this week's convention speeches, however, does not mean McCain has been shut out in the coverage. The Arizona senator was carried live on the cable networks Sunday when he announced that Gustav was too dangerous to proceed with politics as usual.

Given that Monday's scheduled speeches by President Bush and Vice President Cheney have been canceled, "this is an easy way to show how different McCain is from Bush," said Weekly Standard Editor Bill Kristol, a veteran Republican strategist. "Everyone at the convention is having a heart attack, but I'm not sure it hurts politically to have a hurricane right now."

Amanda Carpenter, managing editor of the conservative Web site Townhall.com, said of McCain's aides: "If there's any angle they want the media to cover, it's putting country first. That's going to be a lot different than 80,000 screaming fans at Invesco Field," where Obama made his acceptance speech. The danger, she added, is if journalists begin to question "whether McCain is using this for opportunism."

While television always plays up hurricanes, Gustav carries special resonance because of the potential similarities to Katrina, the worst natural disaster in U.S. history, which also became a symbol of the Bush administration's lack of competence in dealing with the aftermath. "There are so many levels to it," said ABC's O'Brian. "The timing, the place, the lessons learned from three years ago, versus a convention where arguably there is no breaking news."

Television executives stressed that they will cover what remains of the convention. But with no presidential nominating convention ever having been delayed for external reasons, they were poised to make decisions on an hour-by-hour basis.

"It's completely uncharted territory for everyone here," Bohrman said.

Howard Kurtz hosts CNN's weekly media program, "Reliable Sources."