CBS’ 2016 Election Theme Gets Real

The unprecedented antics of 2016 presidential candidate Donald Trump aside, you might be surprised to learn how much effort goes into the music behind election news coverage, at least at CBS News, anyway.

By commissioning a theme song and hiring a 21-piece orchestra to play it live in a recording studio, CBS hopes to make a memorable impression with the two-minute symphonic work backing its 2016 election coverage, writes S&V contributor Michael Antonoff in USA Today. The theme will make its debut Saturday night, when the network broadcasts the second Democratic debate from Drake University in Des Moines, Iowa.

Listening to an unfinished version of the work composed by Wayne Sharpe, Antonoff describes the melody as “whimsical and uplifting." Will it leave us humming as we head to the fridge for a snack?

Get the story, with video, here.

COMMENTS
Michaela's picture

My technical gripe is that the TV audio was not in 5.1, so the symphonic theme wasn't the expansive listening experience it could have been. I wanted the tympani to boom from my sub-woofer. (Also the three debaters could have been spaced left, center and right across my home theater's front speakers, mimicking the politics of Bernie and Hillary, though I'm unsure how to position Martin.) I was disappointed that the music wasn't given more TV air time. For that, you had to turn to CBSN where the music sometimes played for as much as 30-, 60- or 90-seconds in lieu of commercials. Luckily, the 2.1 system connected to my computer is decent. CBS Radio also carried the debate, but the music was truncated in order to accommodate the requirements of local affiliates. Besides, the mono portable atop the window sill in my bathroom wasn't exactly a sonic feast.

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