Great Material Awaits In How Networks Make The Call

by , Nov 6, 2012, 6:33 PM
  • Comment
  • Recommend
Subscribe to Television News Daily

Tags

There's a terrific election-night documentary to be made that CNN or Fox News should start filming tonight. Call it “The Back Room.”

How many people know how a network makes the early call or projection on a candidate winning a particular state in the presidential race? There is some process that involves exit polls, previous voting patterns and early returns, but how does it really work?

CNN or Fox News placing cameras in the room to capture the number crunchers and forecasters at work would go a long way to helping provide valuable information.

In addition to the insight, there would be plenty of drama, particularly as a network tries to walk the fine line between being first and being right. The scenes would be powerful as, say, the CNN crew notices that CBS has called Iowa for Obama. Yet it still has its doubts. Does that affect its decision-making -- perhaps giving it confidence to go ahead or more determination to hold off?

Such a documentary would seem to offer an important public service that might be 12 years late. If the public has a better idea how networks make the call, people would have a better idea how much faith to put in them. Too much faith may have hurt Al Gore's chances in 2000 when Fox News called the race for George W. Bush, giving Bush a frontrunner status as the Florida results were disputed over the ensuing weeks. Whether Gore ultimately had more votes or not (and there is some evidence he did not), the network “call” seemed to bring the burden of proof on him.

Of course, if a network really wanted to be bold and transparent, it wouldn't wait to produce a documentary, but offer a live online feed of its staff working feverishly on projections on Election Night. Then again, that might be a better show than what's on air.

  • Comment
  • Recommend

Be the first to comment on "Great Material Awaits In How Networks Make The Call"

Leave a Comment

Sign in to leave a comment. Don't have an account? Join Now

Recent Television News Daily Articles

  • How Much Will Sports Become All About Cable Money?  May 17, 5:25 p.m.

    Normal 0 false false false MicrosoftInternetExplorer4 st1\:*{behavior:url(#ieooui) } /* Style Definitions */ table.MsoNormalTable {mso-style-name:"Table Normal"; mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0; ...

  • DirecTV Could Pose Aereo-type Threat  May 16, 5:26 p.m.

    Normal 0 false false false MicrosoftInternetExplorer4 st1\:*{behavior:url(#ieooui) } /* Style Definitions */ table.MsoNormalTable {mso-style-name:"Table Normal"; mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0; ...

  • Research Plays Prominent Role At Upfront Events   May 15, 5:10 p.m.

    Normal 0 false false false MicrosoftInternetExplorer4 /* Style Definitions */ table.MsoNormalTable {mso-style-name:"Table Normal"; mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0; mso-tstyle-colband-size:0; mso-style-noshow:yes; ...

  • Madison Avenue Meets Washington During Upfronts  May 14, 5:49 p.m.

    Normal 0 false false false MicrosoftInternetExplorer4 st1\:*{behavior:url(#ieooui) } /* Style Definitions */ table.MsoNormalTable {mso-style-name:"Table Normal"; mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0; ...

  • NBC Offers Upfront Evoking Nostalgia  May 13, 4:35 p.m.

    Normal 0 false false false MicrosoftInternetExplorer4 st1\:*{behavior:url(#ieooui) } /* Style Definitions */ table.MsoNormalTable {mso-style-name:"Table Normal"; mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0; ...

  • Harbert's Upfront Screed Resonates, Ergen Avoids One  May 10, 4:59 p.m.

    Normal 0 false false false MicrosoftInternetExplorer4 st1\:*{behavior:url(#ieooui) } /* Style Definitions */ table.MsoNormalTable {mso-style-name:"Table Normal"; mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0; ...

  • Many Large Markets Suffer During Sweeps   May 8, 4:54 p.m.

    Normal 0 false false false MicrosoftInternetExplorer4 st1\:*{behavior:url(#ieooui) } /* Style Definitions */ table.MsoNormalTable {mso-style-name:"Table Normal"; mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0; ...

  • Bundling Will Help Big Media If Aereo Survives   May 7, 4:53 p.m.

    Normal 0 false false false MicrosoftInternetExplorer4 /* Style Definitions */ table.MsoNormalTable {mso-style-name:"Table Normal"; mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0; mso-tstyle-colband-size:0; mso-style-noshow:yes; ...

  • Magazine Publisher Offers ROI Guarantee  May 6, 5:28 p.m.

    Normal 0 false false false MicrosoftInternetExplorer4 st1\:*{behavior:url(#ieooui) } /* Style Definitions */ table.MsoNormalTable {mso-style-name:"Table Normal"; mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0; ...

  • Netflix, Amazon Could Impact Original Content Ecosystem  May 3, 4:15 p.m.

    Normal 0 false false false MicrosoftInternetExplorer4 st1\:*{behavior:url(#ieooui) } /* Style Definitions */ table.MsoNormalTable {mso-style-name:"Table Normal"; mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0; ...

» Television News Daily Archives