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Television Coverage of the Funeral From London: A Partial Schedule

By Linton Weeks
Washington Post Staff Writer
Friday, September 5, 1997; Page A28

Hundreds of millions of people around the world are expected to watch the funeral of Diana, Princess of Wales, on television tomorrow. The somber proceedings will begin in London long before the sun has risen in the United States, but all the American broadcast networks and several cable channels are planning live, commercial-free coverage of the event. This will include the procession, the memorial service (which begins at 6 a.m. Washington time) and the cortege to Althorp, the Spencer family estate north of London, where the princess will be buried.

Here is a roster, complete with anchors and times. All times are Eastern and, because of the fluid nature of the arrangements, subject to change.

ABC (Channel 7 in Washington): Between 2 and 5 a.m., "World News Now" plans some live BBC coverage of pre-funeral activities and taped reports. Peter Jennings will anchor the network's coverage from 5 to 8 a.m. Barbara Walters will contribute from a spot near Westminster Abbey, where the memorial service is scheduled for 6 a.m. Other reporters will include Aaron Brown and Jim Wooten in London, Sheila MacVicar in Paris and special contributor Andrew Morton, author of the book "Diana: Her True Story."

CBS (Channel 9): At 2:07 a.m. Russ Mitchell will anchor a broadcast from New York, which will include reports from correspondents of CBS and the network's British partner, Sky News. Dan Rather will anchor the CBS special report from London beginning at 4 a.m.

NBC (Channel 4): Early coverage, handled by MSNBC's Ann Curry in Secaucus, N.J., is scheduled to start at 2:30 a.m. "The Funeral of Diana, Princess of Wales," anchored by Tom Brokaw and Katie Couric, will air from 3:55 a.m. to 10 a.m. Contributors will include Jane Pauley, New Yorker Editor Tina Brown and Jeffrey Archer, a former member of Parliament. The network's cable division, MSNBC, will begin its reports at midnight tonight with a special edition of "The News With Brian Williams." Taped reports, specials and live coverage will continue on MSNBC throughout the day.

Fox (Channel 5): A live presentation of the ceremony, hosted by Brit Hume and Catherine Crier, will air from 4 to 8 a.m. or until the conclusion of events. The network's Fox News Channel will provide coverage from 1 a.m. until 9 a.m.

CNN: Bernard Shaw will be at the center of the newscast from London, which begins at 4 a.m. and continues until 9 a.m.

For viewers who want to receive the British view of the observance, C-SPAN will be televising the BBC's live coverage of the funeral beginning at 4:30 a.m., and the Arts & Entertainment channel will do the same beginning at 4.

And E! Entertainment Television anchors Steve Kmetko and Linda Grasso in Los Angeles will cover the funeral from 4 a.m. to 7 a.m. or until events are concluded.

In addition, National Public Radio will be reporting from London beginning at 5:30 a.m. Bob Edwards will be the anchor; correspondents Anne Garrels and Michael Goldfarb will contribute.

Several outlets, including NPR, ABC and MSNBC, will present complete video coverage in one form or another on their Internet sites.

Throughout the day some networks will honor Princess Diana with profiles and special segments, occasionally interspersed with live reports. Some channels will rebroadcast the funeral or portions of it.

© Copyright 1997 The Washington Post Company

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