Election

Millions in Europe watch inauguration

COLOGNE, Germany -- Barack Obama's inauguration was must-see TV for European viewers, with tens of millions tuning in to watch the 44th U.S. president take his oath of office. Some 11 million Germans watched coverage on one of the half-dozen channels carrying the inauguration live. Things were similar in France, where half the evening's TV audience -- more than 7 million people -- was glued to the screen. Full story

Obama's inauguration most-watched since Reagan's

Barack Obama's inauguration is one for the TV ratings history books. Early numbers from Nielsen Media Research say 29.2% of households from the nation's top markets watched network coverage of Obama's inauguration -- the most in recent decades. Full story

All eyes on inauguration

For the media, Inauguration Day was a cross between the Rose Parade, the Olympics and a military maneuver: Think saturation coverage, technological innovation, reams of color and commentary, a tone as momentous as the occasion chronicled -- and what could be near-record ratings in the U.S. and around the world. Full story

CNN rolls with the punches

NEW YORK -- To cover a historic event like the inauguration of a president, you need the right people in the right place at the right time, a copy of the Constitution and, in CNN's case, the help of a "big-ass" camera. Full story

Inauguration fifth biggest net event ever

Online news sites saw a mammoth surge of traffic during president Barack Obama's inauguration, but early numbers suggest the historic event might not be enough to topple global Internet records. Full story

World watches as Obama is sworn in

LONDON -- Broadcasters around the world ripped up their schedules Tuesday to carry live coverage of President Barack Obama's inauguration, as U.S. political historians, pundits and even celebrities were called on to provide commentary on the historic proceedings. Full story

Inauguration Day

Paul J. Gough is blogging from New York.

4:30 p.m.

It may not be much, but apparently NBC's Al Roker got the first -- albeit brief -- interview with President Barack Obama.

The "Today" weatherman had been coached by anchor Brian Williams, Tom Brokaw and Lester Holt as Obama and first lady Michelle Obama were walking down the parade route toward the White House.

As the Obamas approached, Williams advised Roker to take off his hat to be more recognized as the president walked by.

"I like the fedora," Williams said. "It's very 'Mad Men.' "

Despite being blocked by a satellite truck, Roker found a way to yell for the president's attention.

"Mr. President, Mr. President, Mr. President," Roker yelled. "Come on, say hello!"

Obama waved him off, smiling, and then said something brief to Roker. He didn't walk closer to Roker and the exchange, in split screen, was captured on NBC but without audio from the president.

"He told me it's warm," Roker told Williams.

Williams joked that it was the first media interview with the new president, and added: "Al Roker, news and weather."

2:52 p.m.

President Obama said in remarks at the Congressional luncheon that he's concerned about Sen. Ted Kennedy, confirming that it was the senior Massachusetts senator who collapsed at the luncheon.

"I would by lying to you if I didn't say that a part of me is with him, and I think that's the case for all of us in this room," Obama said soberly.

Kennedy was an early backer of Obama; his niece, Caroline, is reported to be the leading candidate to replace Hillary Clinton as New York's senator.

2:48 p.m.

CBS is also reporting the collapse of a senator, not knowing whether it was Byrd or Kennedy. They have, through a fence, a live shot of the ambulance. They also showed video of Kennedy on the podium before the swearing-in.

CBS News senior Washington correspondent Bob Schieffer expressed concern.

"I was frankly surprised to see him here given the state of his health," Schieffer said. "But he really wanted to be here."

2:42 p.m.

Breaking news from CNN's Dana Bash, who reported just now that a U.S. senator -- we don't know who yet -- collapsed at the Congressional luncheon honoring President Barack Obama.

Bash said it wasn't clear who had collapsed. She had heard -- and reported on the air -- that it could have been either Sen. Robert Byrd, D-W.Va., or Sen. Edward M. Kennedy, D-Mass. She heard various reports that it was either.

Byrd is the oldest member of the Senate, born in 1917. Kennedy returned to the Senate after having brain surgery last year.

"Certainly this is horrible news no matter who it was and changing the tone here dramatically," Bash said.

2 p.m.

CNN and ABC News analyst Donna Brazile was able to bag a choice souvenir from her invitation-only perch on Capitol Hill.

Brazile told ABC's Charles Gibson that every member of the crowd was given a fleece blanket to keep warm during the inaugural ceremony. But when the crowd left, Brazile noticed that the president left his on his chair.

Brazile, Al Gore's campaign manager, grabbed it as a souvenir.

12:48 p.m.

Yes, you heard it ... wrong.

Chief Justice John Roberts messed up the oath of office to President Barack Obama. He failed, among other things, to ask the president to "faithfully" execute the office. It caused an oops moment and a bit of trouble during the historic swearing-in.

Some TV journalists noticed when it was happening but couldn't say anything until after the ceremony was over. At least one network opened up a copy of the Constitution to check in the control room.

"He messed it up," CNN's Anderson Cooper said, referring to Roberts.

Anchor Wolf Blitzer noted Roberts had only one job and threw to Jeffrey Toobin, a lawyer.

"I almost fell out of my chair," Toobin said. "It's only a 35-word oath."

12:41 p.m.

Fox News Channel analyst Brit Hume gave high marks to Obama's inaugural address, which by my watch lasted 18 minutes.

"Marvelously eloquent speech delivered in a characteristically flawless way by the new president," Hume said.

10:45 a.m.

Fox News Channel's Chris Wallace told Brit Hume and Juan Williams that Inauguration Day is a great day for all Americans that speaks to "something deeper than that": Goodwill.

"Most people in this country are in the vast center and there's room in their view for people they may not agree with on all issues and in all ways," Wallace said. "And, at this time and for some time to come, we will see that playing out, the remarkable degree of hope and goodwill that is always vested in a new president."

10:21 a.m.

The entertainment industry is getting its time in front of the cameras today, too.

Forget Sundance. A wintry day in Washington is the place to be. "Hollywood has come to hear this speech," NBC News anchor Brian Williams said after 10 a.m.

Just a quick list before going to commercial: Steven Spielberg, Dustin Hoffman, Muhammad Ali. There will be plenty more where they come before nightfall.

9:25 a.m.

The troubles in stock markets worldwide are taking a backseat today, even if the news in the financial world seem to be almost all bad.

Obama-mania invaded the Fox Business Network's regular before-market-opening feature, "What to Watch Today," with Alexis Glick and four market experts.

"Is anybody watching anything but Barack today," exclaimed Kristin Bentz, TheStreet.com correspondent.

"No, probably not," Glick responded.

CNBC is taking another tack. They just opened the trading day on Wall Street, in front of Federal Hall. While it may seem counterintuitive, a balcony inside Federal Hall is where George Washington took the oath of office as the first U.S. president.

8:45 a.m.

The networks are reaching deep into the vaults for historical perspective.

Fox News just ran another "Inauguration Moment," with black-and-white footage of President Franklin Delano Roosevelt in his first of four inaugural addresses, on March 4, 1933. That's probably the most analogous to what we're facing on Jan. 20, 2009, with the country in such a financial crisis.

Though no one knows how Obama's address will go, it will have a high bar to reach. On that day, in front of departing President Herbert Hoover, Roosevelt told a nation in the grip of Depression: "The only thing we have to fear is fear itself." Beyond calling Dec. 7, 1941, "a date which will live in infamy," there's probably nothing else that is better remembered from FDR.

8:20 a.m.

We're in the middle of two wars, a financial crisis of possibly historic proportions and other crises. But "Today," which is usually pitch perfect when it comes to the zeitgeist, seems more like the featurey fourth hour instead of the first two newsy hours of the breakfastcast. This is what Matt Lauer was made to read as a bumper before commercial break:

"The question of the hour is not what Barack Obama will say but what Michelle Obama will be wearing tonight at the Inaugural Balls," he said.

8:15 a.m.

One of the competing story lines for attention in the early hours of Inauguration Day is the cold that has settled into the Eastern Seaboard. Around 8 a.m., it's about 19 degrees in Washington. You can't help but feel for the million or more who are on the Mall already, bundled up against the cold. The person-on-the-street interviews, yesterday and today, have been alternately focusing on the historical nature of the day and what they're doing to keep themselves warm.

(Later, Fox News Channel's Megyn Kelly interviewed a woman who had put on probably seven layers of clothing, and wasn't shy about showing them all.)

"Today" weatherman Al Roker, reporting from the Pentagon parking lot, noted that the forecast was for mostly cloudy skies and a few snow flurries. But the skies were blue overhead.

"At least it'll be sunny if not warm," Roker said.

Roker interviewed the Punahou School marching band from Honolulu, the band that has been assigned the lead position in the Inaugural Parade. Obama is a graduate of the school.

Roker said that the high in D.C. would be about 30 degrees.

"It gets about that in Hawaii, doesn't it," Roker asked.

"Not even close," said one of the kids.

7:45 a.m.

Waking up this morning, all I could think of was this: Look at all those people.

The country woke up to a mass of people on the National Mall, probably a million or more even though no one could say for sure. If it isn't exactly the 2 million or more people who were expected for President Barack Obama's election, then it seems like only a matter of time. This is one government projection that appears to be right on the money.

These are the money shots for all the morning newsers, aerial views that show the sweep of the crowd from the Capitol to the Lincoln Memorial. It's one of those shots that are meant to portray the majesty and the sweep of the event. But this and all the other camera angles have taken a lot of preparation, over the last several weeks. Each of the networks in the inauguration pool -- ABC, CBS, NBC, CNN and Fox News Channel -- have prepared for months and years for the several tradition-bound hours of the swearing-in and parade in Washington. That's not even counting all the time that they've spent getting ready on their own, setting up the anchor stands and their own cameras on the Mall and along the parade route.

CNN, for instance, has tried to capture the moment by attaching a 50-foot boom attached to the ubiquitous CNN Election Express bus that is parked near the Washington Monument.

"If we want to get that shot, we've got to plan now," CNN Washington bureau chief David Bohrman told The Hollywood Reporter recently.

It looks like all the planning has paid off for all of the networks.