CNN In Depth series this week – Gas prices

This week across all platforms , CNN In Depth series will take a deeper look at the rising price of gas including the driving forces behind the hike and the affect on the presidential election.

Mark Whitaker, executive vice president and managing editor of CNN Worldwide, outlines the problem and upcoming coverage in a piece on CNN.com: In Depth: Why the price of that tank of gas is going up, up, up.

Highlights include:

• Tuesday – chief business correspondent Ali Velshi will appear on “Starting Point With Soledad O’Brien” and other shows throughout the day to assess the role of speculators. Also, he will offer a 101 primer on why gas prices go up and down in an Explain It To Me video tutorial.

• On “The Situation Room With Wolf Blitzer,” CNN’s new aviation and regulation reporter Lizzie O’Leary will explain what’s actually involved in buying and selling a barrel of oil — and whether it’s a rigged game that only big conglomerates and investors can play.

• During her prime-time “OutFront” show, Erin Burnett will step back and look at the global market for oil, examining where all the demand is coming from and how a global thirst for oil as far away as China can affect the price you pay at your station around the corner.

• On “CNN Newsroom” throughout the week, CNN will also address how oil refineries work, how the availability of “surplus gas” from independent oil companies can play havoc with pump prices and what effect the squeeze on oil will have on the market for alternative energy.

• On CNN.com and CNNMoney.com, consumers will be able to compare gas prices on a state-by-state map.

• Through iReport, viewers can send their own videos documenting the pain at the local pump and detail how their driving habits have changed.

• And writers on CNN’s Opinion page will debate the causes and the fallout.