We're very nervous about the results of tomorrow's election -- and we suspect, no matter what your political orientation, you are, too. And so is the media, since 2012 has been "the year of the big
media gaffe," with TV folks "gearing up for... the finale of the year’s biggest story" and the "chance to regain some credibility — presuming, of course, that television networks and other
news organizations get their state-by-state projections right," writes Brian Stelter in The New York Times.
Chris Ariens of TV Newser describe the preparations at TV stations: "The graphics
are being tweaked, vote totals and exit polls are being tested, steadi-cams are on the move, anchors are rehearsing, directors are calling shots, decision desks are pouring through scenarios..."
If you're trying to follow the game at home, of course, you'll probably be using second-screen options -- and TV stations will have "their own journalists actively" participating in social
media conversations, writes David Bauder. He also provides a handy
scorecard of what various TV stations are preparing -- including NBC "turning the Rockefeller Center skating rink into a giant map of the United States to be filled in with results."
But for most viewers, who "are probably going to spend Tuesday night glued to a computer or television that is repeatedly announcing it’s too soon to tell who got elected president," Gail
Collins has this sensible suggestion: "The time will go much faster if you’re diverted by the Senate returns. Since there are only about a dozen races in which there is any conceivable contest,
it’s really not all that hard to become an expert. ('I believe Heidi Heitkamp has an excellent chance of beating expectations in North Dakota, which by the way is the only state with no voter
registration.')"
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