Parliament Coach and Frontline Communications Build
The CNN Election Express: The Ultimate Coach

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Clearwater, FL-January 23, 1008--When it came time for
CNN to plan its coverage of the 2008 election campaign,
the decision was made: Have Parliament Coach and
Frontline Communications build the Ultimate News Bus.
During the 2004 election, CNN experimented with Hank
Williams' former touring bus, a 1980 Eagle. That coach
required a separate satellite truck for linking to the
network. It provided an opportunity to see whether a bus
was a useful feature in the network's campaign coverage.
The venture was a success, but it triggered thoughts of
how it might be done better.
Enter David Bohrman, CNN Senior Vice President and
Washington, D.C. bureau chief. He had a vision: Why not
build the Ultimate News Bus, something that had never
been constructed before? Why not a coach which would
have four separate and unique functions: A newsroom,
broadcast studio, a state-of-the-art editing suite and a
transmission facility?
All these functions would be contained in a single,
reliable coach which could operate anywhere in the
United States.
Such an undertaking, even with today's technology, is no
easy task.
Parliament Coach and Frontline Communications, both of
Clearwater, Florida, were given the mission of building
the Ultimate News Coach in the summer of 2006. The
coach, a Prevost H3-45, was modified to add a single
slide by
the manufacturer before delivery.
"We've had a long history of building coaches for our
customers on a custom basis," said Steve Mitchell,
Parliament president, "We took the assignment because
this was a coach that no one else ever built before."
While working on the internal design and engineering
details, Parliament "coved out" 10 inches of the rear
roof of the shell. This area would provide room for the
satellite dish to stow. Special attention was paid to
the structural changes in the roof system, with the use
of tubular steel.
Work can be done aboard the CNN Express whether it is
parked or in motion, making it an indispensable tool for
keeping up with busy presidential campaigns. The coach
can be used as a stationary facility or be in operation
going down the road.
Racks were installed in the rear of the coach to house
transmission gear and a mammoth non-linear
high-definition video server system. Special attention
was paid to creating an environment which would keep the
electronic gear cool and also provide access for
technicians. A state of the art edit suite was
constructed mid-way on the coach that taps into the
server system's video library of political coverage.
While in 'newsroom' mode, the coach houses more than 20
producers, engineers and support personnel. Parliament
installed bathroom facilities and a small kitchenette
area for the CNN staffers. Power is provided by two
onboard 25Kw generators. Assuming there would be
situations where one side of the coach would be blocked,
two large patch panels were installed to allow for
hookups on either the street or curbside of the coach.
The CNN Express coach has the capability to connect with
the world in a wide variety of ways. It can tap into
local T3 connections, wireless, satellite or use iDirect
when away from urban areas.
"This coach can be used where there is very little, if
any local infrastructure," according to Matt Speiser,
CNN Deputy Washington bureau chief. "It's not limited to
use in Presidential campaigns. We expect it to be used
for news coverage between campaigns, possibly deployed
to major breaking news stories."
The coach was designed to have four high definition
uplinks. The idea here was to be able to create a news
environment in the middle of a cornfield, if necessary
for live transmission to the network.
CNN had a long standing relationship with Frontline
Communications, literally around the corner from
Parliament Coach, to provide consistent and timely
coordination on the innovative bus.
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While many coach conversion companies provide,
"attention to detail," Parliament's challenge was to
support not only the technical and mechanical
requirements of the design and construction of the
coach, but to make it comfortable and attractive as
well.
"The CNN Express has a studio which we outfitted with
black sofas so the election candidates would have a
comfortable place to sit," Mitchell added, "The plans
also called for enough desk space, benches and power for
up to 20 people at a time." He said that Parliament used
the same team approach on the coach it uses for the
design and construction of luxury motorhomes which bear
the Parliament logo.
"The idea here is to integrate electronics, mechanical
systems, colors, fabrics, all the components of a
well-designed and functional coach need to be
considered. Whether it's the CNN coach or one which will
be used by a couple in their travels, we approach the
job in the same way."
Speiser pointed out that the coach is truly an
innovative creation in that every function is custom
designed for the CNN Express coach.
The CNN Express was first put to the test during the
July CNN/YouTube Democratic presidential primary debate
in Charleston, South Carolina. Three thousand debate
questions were submitted by the public through YouTube
and then viewed by CNN staff working on the bus. Because
of the bus' playback server, it was instrumental in that
debate and in the Republican CNN/YouTube debate, which
took place in St. Petersburg, Florida on November 28.
The bus was the playback source for the clips, aired
live on CNN, projected on a 25-foot screen and on the
moderator's monitor in real time.
In addition to its production capabilities, the CNN
Express has been the site of numerous interviews with
presidential candidates such as Sen. Hillary Clinton,
Sen. John McCain, Sen. John Edwards and Gov. Mike
Huckabee. Speiser commented that, "The next President of
the United States will have been on the CNN Express
coach. We expect that before Inauguration Day in
Washington, DC on January 20, 2009, all the candidates
will have been in the bus at one time or another."
From the initial conception of the coach to service
date, nearly two years have been involved with ongoing
cooperation between CNN, Parliament Coach and Frontline
Communications.
"This has been a long process, including the training of
our staff and producers as well," Speiser concluded. "It
was a novel experience that went beautifully from our
point of view. We wanted to do something that had never
been done before as everything on the CNN Express bus
was new. It turned out to be a wonderful marriage
between Frontline and Parliament."
Parliament president Steve Mitchell summed it up, "We
like to think that we have the flexibility to produce
whatever our customers need, whether it be a top-quality
motorhome, command center or any other special coach
like the CNN Express. We welcome the challenge of
building what our customers want. That's why we're
here."
For more information contact:
Ken Robertson, Parliament Coach General Manager
727.420.9276
ken@parliamentcoach.com

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