|
Home
|
Election Night Coverage How did the MSM do? It was very interesting to watch the MSM last night as the votes were counted. I had access to the Fox network from eight until 10, CBS all night and NBC all night. I also had access to Fox Radio most of the night and Salem Radio until 1AM. I noticed that CBS was generally ahead in calling states for the candidates and was accurate. NBC was a little behind, and both Fox TV and Radio were slower in most calls. Until we got to Ohio. Fox Radio began to report that ABC TV (which I can't get) had called Ohio for Bush. Then, it too made the call. CBS and NBC still showed it a tossup. Then Fox called Alaska for Bush, and CBS quickly followed - but CBS refused to call Ohio. The dejection on the faces of the CBS anchors was obvious. Occasionally, you could see producers and assistants in the background, and their faces showed dejection, too. It was also very instructive to observe the process as a writer and think of the networks point of view. Fox radio and host John Gibson reported from the point of view of what it would take for Bush to win. CBS and NBC were the opposite - all of their reporting was from the point of view of what it would take for Kerry to pull it out. CBS just seemed pro-Kerry. Tim Russert on NBC reminded me more of a football color analyst talking about how many points the team behind would have to score to catch up. Not quite the advocate the CBS people seemed. Hugh Hewitt anchored the Salem coverage, and, as a long-time Republican and Bush partisan, his point of view was that Bush would win 40-states and he was reporting on the accuracy of his predictions. He made no pretensions of impartiality. Of course, CBS and NBC did claim impartiality. All in all, a fairly good night for TV - no obvious real screw ups like 2000.
|
