For those who don't have much of a stomach for politics, this Tuesday might be a good time to visit your local Blockbuster and check out that movie you always wanted to see. Because beginning at about 8 p.m. Tuesday, most television networks and news Web Sites will be working on high alert in bringing viewers the most up-to-date election results in key battleground states from coast-to-coast.
Since the balance of power in the U.S. Congress is at stake, Tuesday's midterms have taken on even more importance than has been the case in past years. The election will additionally be viewed as a barometer over whether the public has grown weary of President Obama, and the Democratic controlled Congress, paving the way for a Republican resurgence.
In preparation for Tuesday’s epic night, then, I compiled a listing of what the major U.S. newspaper online sites and television networks have in store for its viewers and online users.
U.S. Newspapers:
• Beginning at 6 p.m. on Election Night, The New York Times will have live video reports from inside the Times’ newsroom from its veteran team of reporters and editors.
Live blogging can be found at The Caucus and FiveThirtyEight . The Times has additionally created a Big Board , which will show the very latest election results for the House, Senate and Governor races, including State Results. And if users hover their mouse over the main tabs labeled ``House’’, ``Senate’’, ``Governor,’’ and ``State Results’’, they will find a pull down menu for additional election data, including a map and the latest from the exit polls.
As an added bonus, readers will be able to keep on top of the latest Tweets from The Times’ political team throughout the night. The Times’ also will be showcasing a robust mobile site with live results from across the country, including a electoral map, county-by-county returns, live blogging, breaking news and the latest analysis
• The Washington Post’s political page features a map of all 50 states which will have the latest election results with news broken down by region of the country: Midwest, South, Mid-Atlantic, etc. Another slick map ``Campaign 2010’’ tracks all 435 House races, analyzes past election results, drilling down to district level data; the Senate tab will have the latest on all the 37 Senate races up for grabs. The map additionally incorporates a tool to track fundraising, showing spending by interest groups and political parties in the 2010 midterm elections. Another nice feature is an impressive interactive graphic display called ``Battleground Races'', which shows the districts on the U.S. map currently held by both Democrats and Republicans. Finally, with Sarah Palin wielding so much influence on the political landscape, the Post features a ``Palin Tracker'', which will show how the more than two dozen candidates the former Alaska Governor endorsed has fared on Election Night.
Post reporter Chris Cillizza, meanwhile, will be providing the latest video feeds with live reporting and analysis at The Fast Fix
• Beginning at 8 p.m. ET, The Wall Street Journal will carry six hours of live video coverage with Campaign Journal Live, hosted from Journal headquarters in New York by Gerald F. Seib, assistant managing editor and executive Washington editor; Alan Murray, deputy managing editor and executive editor, online, and Gerard Baker, deputy editor in chief.
In addition, on the WSJ’s Opinion Journal Live James Freeman, assistant editor of the Journal's editorial page, and Jason L. Riley of the editorial board will provide video updates in the last 10 minutes of every hour, beginning with the 8 p.m. ET hour, featuring commentary from editorial page editor Paul Gigot, Potomac Watch columnist Kimberley A. Strassel and WSJ.com columnist John Fund.
And throughout the night at the WSJ’s home page readers will be able to feast on breaking news updates, analysis and observations with contributions from Journal reporters and editors; an interactive map will keep track of key races, overall election results and the latest news whether the House is shifting its balance of power.
Cable News
• On Tuesday, lead political anchor Wolf Blitzer, will be joined by Anderson Cooper, Candy Crowley, John King and Soledad O’Brien to headline ``Election Night in America’’, beginning at 7 p.m. and continuing into the following day. CNN correspondents will fan across the country, from Delaware to Nevada to Alaska and report on the crucial races impacting the balance of power in Congress. The home base for CNN’s online community can be found at their Election Center
In addition to analyzing the latest election data and monitoring Twitter activity through the ``Data Wall’’, CNN’s wizard of the touch-screen, John King will unveil his ``Election Matrix’’ , which is a visual representation that will break down election data and show which party is winning key races and shifting the balance of power in Congress.
As final tallies come streaming in throughout the night, viewers at CNN’s Election Center just need to enter their zip code to get the most up-to-date election data from their local communities. In addition to displaying the latest voting results in races for the House, Senate and Governorships, CNN Election Center will display how ballot measures are faring from key states across the country.
As races are called through the night, analysis will be offered by CNN’s political team, including new hosts Kathleen Parker and Eliot Spitzer, Gloria Borger, David Gergen , Jeffrey Toobin national political correspondent Jessica Yellin, along with senior congressional correspondent Dana Bash, Congressional correspondent Brianna Keilar; senior White House correspondent Ed Henry and White House correspondents Dan Lothian and Suzanne Malveaux. Also on hand to offer their sharp commentaries and in depth analysis will be John Avlon, Paul Begala, Bill Bennett, Donna Brazile, James Carville, Alex Castellanos, Erick Erickson, Roland Martin, Mary Matalin, Ed Rollins and Hilary Rosen.
• Fox News will kick of their Election Night Coverage at 6 p.m with co-anchors Bret Baier and Megyn Kelly, followed by the FOX Report with Shepard Smith at 7:00 PM ET who will be joined by FOX News Sunday anchor Chris Wallace, along with FNC contributors: Nina Easton of Fortune and Stephen Hayes of The Weekly Standard.
Beginning at 8 p.m, Baier and Kelly will return to report on the latest election results; and will be joined by senior political analyst Brit Hume and a panel of FNC contributors, including: Juan Williams, Democratic consultant Joe Trippi and former senior White House advisor to President George W. Bush, Karl Rove. FOX Veteran news anchors Martha MacCallum and Bill Hemmer will also cover exit polls and track historical live data on the giant Touch Screen, respectively, as chief political correspondent Carl Cameron provides minute-by-minute reporting on election results.
A rotating panel of contributors will additionally weigh in throughout the night to report on what the results mean for the future of Congress and President Obama’s agenda. Contributors will include: former vice presidential candidate and Congresswoman Geraldine Ferraro, former Alaska Governor and vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin, former Arkansas Governor and presidential candidate Mike Huckabee, Democratic strategist Bob Beckel, Democratic pollster Pat Caddell, Democratic strategist Kirsten Powers, Washington Examiner senior political analyst Michael Barone, former House Speaker Newt Gingrich and political analyst and columnist Charles Krauthammer. And as always, commentators Bill O’Reilly, Sean Hannity and Greta Van Susteren will be right in the thick of it, offering their biting commentaries and analysis during their respective primetime hours.
Among the online tools Fox is showcasing, one includes ``America's Election HQ Midterm 2010 Map’’ which allows user to customize the races they’re most interested in with a pull down menu for individual states. As an added feature, Fox has identified the closest ``Races to Watch’’ as being critical to the balance of power, along with ``Races in Play’’, which highlights all seats up for election this year.
In addition to finding the latest election results, including live streaming, real time analysis and political blogs at the Fox News web site , live analysis throughout the night can also be found at Fox’’s live webcast at the Strategy Room
Television Networks
• Live from its headquarters at 30 Rockefeller Plaza in New York, NBC’s ``Decision 2010" special coverage will begin with a two-hour "Decision 2010" special report from 9:00 – 11:00 pm, ET and then continue with coverage from 11:35 pm, ET- 3:30 am, ET. Brian Williams will anchor "Decision 2010," and will be joined by "Meet the Press" moderator David Gregory and NBC News Special Correspondent Tom Brokaw.
Correspondents Andrea Mitchell, Savannah Guthrie and NBC News Washington Bureau Chief Mark Whitaker will also offer reports and analysis. In addition, NBC News Political Director and Chief White House Correspondent Chuck Todd will conduct live results analysis for both NBC News and MSNBC; while Lester Holt will report on exit polls for both NBC News and MSNBC as well.
Over at MSNBC, election coverage beginning at 6.p.m and continuing through 6 a.m, will be led by Keith Olbermann, Chris Matthews, Rachel Maddow, Lawrence O'Donnell and MSNBC contributor Eugene Robinson from election headquarters in New York. Ed Schultz, host of the "Ed Show" will report live from Las Vegas, who is covering the closely watched Harry Reid-Sharron Angle Senate race.
At MSNBC’s political online site users on Election Night will be able to read blog posts, interactive maps, exclusive multimedia features, live votes, social media integration and world-class video from NBC News, while MSNBC’s home page will feature live stream of NBC News’ coverage throughout Election Day, with morning-after results and analysis.
Among its online tools, MSNBC is featuring their Voter Confidence Index (VCI) which gives consumers the tools to measure the country’s mood by averaging three key questions from national polls. At First Read users can find the latest blogging on the Election throughout the day, including insight and analysis from NBC News’ leading political team.
Consumers additionally at MSNBC.com on Election Night can submit pictures and reports from their local polling stations. And for those who rely on mobile devices for their Election Night coverage, users can log onto to mismo to check MSNBC or NBC News election coverage; NBC News will additionally text projected race results as the polls close for subscribers who text 622639.
Telemundo, meanwhile, will launch its special Election Night coverage under the title Tu Voto, Tu Futuro" (Your Vote, Your Future); a multiplatform editorial initiative which will focus on three key issues of special importance to the Hispanic community: the economy, immigration and education. In addition, the network will select Latino families from key communities around the country (CA, TX, AZ, NM, NV FL, and NY) and cover the issues through the eyes of each family and how they are making their voting decisions.
• At ABC, Diane Sawyer and George Stephanopoulos will kick off their special election coverage beginning at 8 p.m and continuing through until at least 4:00 a.m. ET. Sawyer and Stephanopoulos will be joined by Senior Political Correspondent Jonathan Karl, Senior White House Correspondent Jake Tapper, and “This Week” Anchor Christiane Amanpour who will be reporting from Connecticut. Also updating viewers with live reports from key battleground states will be Sharyn Alfonsi, Ron Claiborne, Neal Karlinsky and John Quinones. Weighing in and offering insightful analysis as the evening unfolds will be ABC political contributors: George Will, Cokie Roberts, Donna Brazile and Matthew Dowd. They will be joined by Ron Brownstein, Editorial Director for the National Journal Group and conservative commentator Dana Loesch.
“Nightline” will air a special hour-long broadcast beginning at 11:35pm ET and then will air another new one-hour broadcast for the West Coast at 11:35pm PT. “Nightline” co-anchors will report from across the nation with Terry Moran in Washington, D.C., Cynthia McFadden in Chicago, Illinois and Bill Weir in Los Angeles, California.
On the Web, ABC News NOW, anchored by John Berman and Claire Shipman will be live-streamed on Yahoo!, Hulu, and a variety of additional mobile and broadband platforms beginning at 7:00 p.m. ET. As the results begin to come in, ABC’s David Muir and Facebook’s Randi Zuckerberg will have live reaction from the campus community at Arizona State University.
ABC’s online community will additionally be able to take advantage of their interactive map on individual states, including analysis on what the Republicans need to do in order to take control of the House; A striking’ Tipping Point’’ tool bar will also be displayed on the interactive map which will show which way the balance of power is shifting: Red (Republicans) or Blue (Democrats).
ABC’s features on the ipad will also be in full display on Election Night with the ability to view results as they happen, including allowing users to imagine different scenarios for Senate and House races through an interactive touch-screen map, by tapping on either the Republican or Democratic parties, and watch how their predictions would impact the balance of power.
• CBS News’ election broadcast coverage will be led by CBS EVENING NEWS Anchor and Managing Editor Katie Couric beginning at 8 p.m ET. who will be joined by Chief Washington Correspondent Bob Schieffer, Senior Political Correspondent Jeff Greenfield and CBS News Congressional Correspondent Nancy Cordes.
Beginning at 9 p.m CBSNews.com will air a special one-hour live Washington Unplugged Webcast featuring breaking developments on the top Election Night races with analysis from CBS News correspondents and political analysts. Immediately following ``Campaign 2010: Election Night’’ in the 10 p.m hour, Katie Couric will anchor a live webcast at 11:00PM ET that will also present extended analysis from the CBS News political team, interviews and special guests.
From 1-2:00 a.m. “Campaign 2010: Election Night” anchored by Katie Couric will be streamed live at cbsnews.com Online users can additionally check out CBS’s Interactive Election Map for race-by-race ratings for each Senate, House, and governor race this year.
Internet Resources and Web Tools
• In addition to up-to-the-minute House, Senate and Governor race results, live blogs, interactive electoral maps and graphics, and analysis from its top reporters, columnists and editors throughout the evening, beginning at 8 p.m. and lasting until 11 p.m. POLITICO is featuring a live election night show, which will be anchored by Executive Editor - Jim VandeHei - and Chief White House Correspondent - Mike Allen - and streamed live. The continuous coverage will go inside the POLITICO newsroom with appearances by Editor-in-Chief John Harris, Assistant Managing Editor Jeanne Cummings, Senior Political Reporter Jonathan Martin and Deputy Political Editor Alexander Burns.
• Google News has a special section for U.S. Midterm Elections, including election news for specific states simply by typing the state in the URL. Google also is featuring``Election Ratings’’
which displays trends from top pollsters across the country
• In time for the Midterm Elections, Yahoo News has launched Ask America, which is a new amazing Social Media hub in which users can answer questions and track what other members of the online community think about some of the burning issues of the day, such as the economy, Islam, the environment, etc.
• The National Conference of State Legislatures (NCSL) has set up StateVote2010 which will update the latest results from 46 legislative contests and 160 ballot measures throughout the night. NCSL has additionally launched a blog, Prop50 , an interactive site which covers the election news and ballot measure issues that are taking center stage in many states.
• For Mobile users, The Associated Press’s, most up- to-date election results and news can be found either at iTunes or at AndroLab.
-Bill Lucey
[email protected]
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