Apple News partners on a presidential debate for the first time in February
It's teaming with ABC on a Democratic debate in New Hampshire.
Apple isn't just offering in-depth election news -- for 2020, it'll have a degree of participation in the process. Apple News will partner on its first political debate on February 7th, when it cooperates with ABC and WMUR-TV for the eighth Democratic debate in Manchester, New Hampshire. Apple hasn't outlined just what it will do as part of its co-hosting duties (we've asked it for details), but it's safe to presume that the debate will receive priority coverage in the News app.
The current debate schedule also marks a changing of the guard among tech company co-hosts. Axios noticed that Twitter is back to host a debate (February 25th with CBS in Charleston, South Carolina), but Facebook is a no-show despite participating in 2012 and 2016. We've asked Facebook if it can comment on that absence. While tech will still play a heavy role in the 2020 elections, the combination of Apple's involvement and Facebook's seeming hands-off approach could change the landscape in a significant way.
