Anyone thought about the dynamics of the newscasts tonight and how the white hot spotlight on this race will push the networks to be the first to call the race? This won't impact the voting, as they of course will not call the race until at least 8:00pm after the polls close. But, how will this impact the entire night of news on CNN, MSNBC, Faux News, and the major networks (on their web pages)? The timing of "the call" of the race tonight, early or late, could significantly impact the coverage...
Will CNN and/or MSNBC call this race at 8:00pm the minute the polls close, based on exit polling? If they do, then most of the discussion will be on Clinton's victory and how it may shake up the race. Sure hope KO keeps Matthews muzzled! The earlier they call the race, the better it is for Clinton regarding tonight's news. Given that Obama's strongholds are urban areas that come in late, Clinton is likely to look golden early on. Hopefully, there aren't too many voting irregularities and they don't need to hold open the polls too late. But, if the lines are still loooong at the 8:00pm closing time, I'm all for extending the voting time.
Or, will the exit polls show a close race and force "the call" later into the night, thus focusing the context of the MSM on how the fact that it's a close race may be ending things for Clinton tonight? So, who calls it first: CNN, MSNBC, or Faux?
As an Obama supporter, I think the heavy voter reg push in the inner cities and on college campuses may allow him to edge Clinton tonight. One of my buds in Philly said he thought the voter reg was a big deal and that he'd be surprised if the polls closed on time, especially given the nice weather. I also hope the exit polls are close enough to hold off "the call" by the media until later in the evening.
We'll see shortly...
I started to do a poll on the time that CNN/MSNBC/Faux will call the race tonight, but it wasn't what I really wanted to know...and like everyone else here, I'm more interested in the outcome tonight, by how many percent BO or HC wins. I did a poll before the 2006 election on how many House seats the Dems would gain and the folks here nailed it almost exactly. Just curious if you can do it again...