NEW YORK – Before 2000, the focus of television election night coverage was pretty simple: Count votes as fast as you can and explain why people voted the way they did.
Two trends in this year’s plans show the residual effect of hanging chads and blown calls. Networks are intent on following potential voter irregularities and laying bare their own decision-making processes as results flood in.
ABC, CBS, NBC, Fox, PBS, CNN, Fox News Channel and MSNBC will all devote prime time to election results tonight. Smaller networks with specialized audiences, including BET and MTV, have unprecedented coverage because of the intense interest in the presidential race.
Networks also want to rebuild public confidence in their performance after the 2000 disaster. You’ll recall them declaring Al Gore the winner in Florida, rescinding it, giving Florida and the presidency to George Bush, then having to wait several weeks before a court fight settled the outcome.
ABC, CBS, NBC, CNN, Fox News Channel and The Associated Press collaborated to construct a new exit polling system from scratch. The AP will also be the sole source for a nationwide vote tabulation.
Networks all promise caution in declaring winners state by state, adopting “we’d rather be right than first” as a mantra. They also expect to more thoroughly explain why they’re calling or hedging on a state’s results.
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