How did you get your election news?

Beatnik · 11-08-2006, 02:56 AM

Just out of curiosity, how did you get your election news tonight/last night? I started off with The Daily Show/Colbert Report Midterm Midtacular, which was very good but not quite as funny as past coverage. I planned to just go to sleep but with the Montana, Virginia, and Missouri drama ended up flipping around the news networks for coverage for a few hours.

I was actually very surprised at the differences in the coverage (I was watching from about 12 am - 3 am EST). CNN basically bored me to tears, and didn't really convey information meaningfully. They were very micro and didn't contextualize the results well. I tuned to Fox News after I saw the Democrats took the House (OK I had some schadenfreude going at that point) and was really surprised at some of Sheppard Smith's commentary/facilitation of their panel. Something along the lines of "Who will stand up and tell the American people that the war on terror is a war for civilization?", which I took to be extremely partisan, as well as actively using "we" when talking about Republican results. Not that their sympathies were any surprise, but being so on the nose about it was surprising, though I haven't seen much of Sheppard Smith aside the famous YouTube clip of him talking about J-Lo. Bill Kristol was as usual very sharp and candid in his analysis, and had some significant insight into some macro issues on trends in House races. While I disagree with his politics, he's definitely a sharp guy and seemingly not just a staunch partisan.

The big surprise was MSNBC. They had what seemed to be the most clearly communicated coverage as well as the best analysis. Keith Olberman (who is a flamethrower but undoubtedly very intelligent) Tom Brokaw, Brian Williams, and Tim Russert had what I thought was a lot of insight into the incoming results, certainly more than the other networks. Chris Matthews was less than insightful, but I was very surprised that I ended up sticking with MSNBC for most of the night, and more surprised that I was generally impressed with their coverage. I normally avoid the news networks like the plague (except for my daily 2 Minutes Hate for Bill O'Reilly or Sean Hannity

), but did come away feeling well informed after watching MSNBC. Who knew?

Any other reactions to the coverage of the election, be it news network or whatever other method you used? Please leave comments on the election itself to another thread.

Diceman · 11-08-2006, 03:14 AM

Daily Show/Colbert Report Indecision 2008, followed by tabbing between CBC.ca and TG.

Trooper · 11-08-2006, 03:19 AM

Foxnews....HA! i said it

**CingularDuality** · 11-08-2006, 04:14 AM

I was at work, so it was www.DallasNews.com and www.CNN.com for me. I have little use for televised news coverage anymore... Actually, little use for televised anything anymore...

**Switchcraft** · 11-08-2006, 04:15 AM

I only touched the news twice today.

Like always, I poked through the Early Bird (DoD employees only) to see what all the papers had to say for the day.

At midnight Pacific Time, I went to CNN.com, counting on them to have posted a handy chart or graphic outlining the current state of things.

But in keeping with my current election tradition, I opted to spend the rest of they day ignoring the news.

No analysis, no breaking coverage of the vote count after 5% of the precincts report in. No battling talking heads arguing over the meaning of each exit poll or spokespeople trying to encourage stragglers to show up in close races.

No politcal blogs, either. People may love a good "breaking news" conspiracy theory about vote fraud or voter intimidation or whatever, but I realized a couple of years ago that election day to me is kinda like Halloween was to the characters on Buffy the Vampire Slayer...a vacation from the rest of the year's drama.

To me, the only thing that matters on election day is whether or not you voted, and what the final tally was. No exit poll or pundit or spokesperson or reporter is going to change the tally, and that means everyone talking about it is almost certainly completely useless. This is the day when all the political newsmakers can do nothing but smile all day long and thank their supporters, and that makes them even more incredibly boring than normal.

So no coverage for me, exactly. Just the infographic on CNN's website, and me able to skip the news completely. I did read two really great books though!

tau_neutrino · 11-08-2006, 10:33 AM

cnn.com, msnbc.com, reuters.com

It looks like Democrats won in Montana and Virginia.

**leejo** · 11-08-2006, 10:38 AM

I got my election news with vodka tonics that got stronger and were drunk more quickly as the evening progressed.

**El_Gringo_Grande** · 11-08-2006, 10:39 AM

Fox news and CNN, Local PBS and MSNBC.

Fox was pretty subdued.

Steeler · 11-08-2006, 10:40 AM

There was an election?

**Pokerface** · 11-08-2006, 10:41 AM

I did the Daily Show/Colbert combo last night, along with a minor amount of internet surfing (I wasn't awake long enough for any really good numbers to have come in yet).

This morning, local TV news filled in most of the gaps, but I'll be hitting the 'net a little later for a more national view.

Diceman · 11-08-2006, 10:45 AM

Holy cow! Did you guys see the final election results?

xTYBALTx · 11-08-2006, 11:05 AM

Telepathy.

It'll be interesting to see what happens with a close 51D-50R Senate. Cheney does get to vote for everything there, right? Not just procedural stuff? I do wish that the Republicans had held onto the Senate... oh well, it won't really matter for another two years anyway.

Oh, and I was flipping through CNN and FOXNews. I found the former's coverage far better - CNN also had a recount 'specialist' on whom gave a very insightful look into the Virginia race. Basically, those races are not 'too close to call,' recount or no recount. He said that last election Virginia had a recount in which 36 votes out of 2 million cast changed hands. The recount in Florida 2000 Presidential was split by some 550 votes out of 6 million cast. And finally, the current split in Virginia favors the Dems by 7,000 votes out of 3 millions cast. So, he said there's no way to make those numbers up in a recount. The same would presumably apply for Montana, where the Dem has an even larger (proportional) advantage.

Anyway, that's kinda what he said, we'll see if his prognostications were correct. I suspect that they are.

**TG_Bubba** · 11-08-2006, 11:18 AM

Fox news, CNN, and the local channel this morning.

**Grunt 70** · 11-08-2006, 01:26 PM

I was most interested in the local elections here in MA. After a long evening of gaming (and getting our butts handed to us in a COD2 Scrim) I shut down the computer before checking any websites. It was about 1 a.m. and I settled for CNN for a picture on the National scene.

This morning I switched over to the local fox news channel and got the local picture--not for their slant but more because it was the only local channel doiing news at the time.

icky · 11-08-2006, 03:25 PM

I was hoping to find the news in this thread, because I'm not interested enough to make any more clicks to find it.

11-08-2006, 02:56 AM	#1 (permalink)
Beatnik Join Date: Jun 2005 Location: Austin, TX Age: 33 Posts: 4,322	How did you get your election news? Just out of curiosity, how did you get your election news tonight/last night? I started off with The Daily Show/Colbert Report Midterm Midtacular, which was very good but not quite as funny as past coverage. I planned to just go to sleep but with the Montana, Virginia, and Missouri drama ended up flipping around the news networks for coverage for a few hours. I was actually very surprised at the differences in the coverage (I was watching from about 12 am - 3 am EST). CNN basically bored me to tears, and didn't really convey information meaningfully. They were very micro and didn't contextualize the results well. I tuned to Fox News after I saw the Democrats took the House (OK I had some schadenfreude going at that point) and was really surprised at some of Sheppard Smith's commentary/facilitation of their panel. Something along the lines of "Who will stand up and tell the American people that the war on terror is a war for civilization?", which I took to be extremely partisan, as well as actively using "we" when talking about Republican results. Not that their sympathies were any surprise, but being so on the nose about it was surprising, though I haven't seen much of Sheppard Smith aside the famous YouTube clip of him talking about J-Lo. Bill Kristol was as usual very sharp and candid in his analysis, and had some significant insight into some macro issues on trends in House races. While I disagree with his politics, he's definitely a sharp guy and seemingly not just a staunch partisan. The big surprise was MSNBC. They had what seemed to be the most clearly communicated coverage as well as the best analysis. Keith Olberman (who is a flamethrower but undoubtedly very intelligent) Tom Brokaw, Brian Williams, and Tim Russert had what I thought was a lot of insight into the incoming results, certainly more than the other networks. Chris Matthews was less than insightful, but I was very surprised that I ended up sticking with MSNBC for most of the night, and more surprised that I was generally impressed with their coverage. I normally avoid the news networks like the plague (except for my daily 2 Minutes Hate for Bill O'Reilly or Sean Hannity ), but did come away feeling well informed after watching MSNBC. Who knew? Any other reactions to the coverage of the election, be it news network or whatever other method you used? Please leave comments on the election itself to another thread. __________________ -F- Beatnik

11-08-2006, 03:14 AM	#2 (permalink)
Diceman Join Date: Aug 2005 Location: Yellowknife, NT Age: 30 Posts: 986	Re: How did you get your election news? Daily Show/Colbert Report Indecision 2008, followed by tabbing between CBC.ca and TG. __________________ [drill][medic][conduct][tg-c1][tpf-c1] [ma-c2][taw-c1] Principles of good Sandbox Etiquette: Assume good faith - Be polite, please! - Work toward agreement. - Argue facts, not personalities. - Concede a point when you have no response to it, or admit when you disagree based on intuition or taste. - Be civil. - Be prepared to apologize. In animated discussions, we often say things we later wish we hadn't. Say so. - Forgive and forget. - Recognize your own biases and keep them in check. - Give praise when due. Treat others as you would have them treat you

11-08-2006, 03:19 AM	#3 (permalink)
Trooper Join Date: Jun 2005 Location: In my wifes house......if she says i can Age: 25 Posts: 8,640	Re: How did you get your election news? Foxnews....HA! i said it __________________ that sounds like a good idea trooper. -Vulcan

11-08-2006, 04:14 AM	#4 (permalink)
CingularDuality Join Date: May 2003 Location: Dallas/Ft. Worth area of Texas, USA Age: 33 Posts: 16,816	Re: How did you get your election news? I was at work, so it was www.DallasNews.com and www.CNN.com for me. I have little use for televised news coverage anymore... Actually, little use for televised anything anymore... __________________ Become a supporting member! -- Shop at the Tactical Market! Take the world's smallest political quiz! "I was touched by His Noodly Appendage." TacticalGamer TX LAN/BBQ Veteran:

11-08-2006, 04:15 AM	#5 (permalink)
Switchcraft Join Date: May 2003 Location: New York, NY Age: 30 Posts: 1,006	Re: How did you get your election news? I only touched the news twice today. Like always, I poked through the Early Bird (DoD employees only) to see what all the papers had to say for the day. At midnight Pacific Time, I went to CNN.com, counting on them to have posted a handy chart or graphic outlining the current state of things. But in keeping with my current election tradition, I opted to spend the rest of they day ignoring the news. No analysis, no breaking coverage of the vote count after 5% of the precincts report in. No battling talking heads arguing over the meaning of each exit poll or spokespeople trying to encourage stragglers to show up in close races. No politcal blogs, either. People may love a good "breaking news" conspiracy theory about vote fraud or voter intimidation or whatever, but I realized a couple of years ago that election day to me is kinda like Halloween was to the characters on Buffy the Vampire Slayer...a vacation from the rest of the year's drama. To me, the only thing that matters on election day is whether or not you voted, and what the final tally was. No exit poll or pundit or spokesperson or reporter is going to change the tally, and that means everyone talking about it is almost certainly completely useless. This is the day when all the political newsmakers can do nothing but smile all day long and thank their supporters, and that makes them even more incredibly boring than normal. So no coverage for me, exactly. Just the infographic on CNN's website, and me able to skip the news completely. I did read two really great books though!

11-08-2006, 10:33 AM	#6 (permalink)
tau_neutrino Join Date: Jun 2005 Location: San Diego, CA Age: 26 Posts: 1,059	Re: How did you get your election news? cnn.com, msnbc.com, reuters.com It looks like Democrats won in Montana and Virginia. __________________ TacticalGamer TX LAN/BBQ Veteran:

11-08-2006, 10:38 AM	#7 (permalink)
leejo Join Date: Sep 2003 Age: 39 Posts: 7,690	Re: How did you get your election news? I got my election news with vodka tonics that got stronger and were drunk more quickly as the evening progressed.

11-08-2006, 10:39 AM	#8 (permalink)
El_Gringo_Grande Join Date: Jun 2005 Location: OKIE HOMY Age: 39 Posts: 2,546	Re: How did you get your election news? Fox news and CNN, Local PBS and MSNBC. Fox was pretty subdued. __________________ Sen. Barack Obama (IL) For President '08 --- I’m not racists, I have republican friends. Radio show host. - "The essence of tyranny is the denial of complexity". -Jacob Burkhardt - "A foolish consistency is the hobgoblin of little minds" - Emerson - "People should not be afraid of it's government, government should be afraid of it's People." - Line from V for Vendetta - If software were as unreliable as economic theory, there wouldn't be a plane made of anything other than paper that could get off the ground. Jim Fawcette

11-08-2006, 10:40 AM	#9 (permalink)
Steeler Join Date: Aug 2005 Location: Taxachusetts Age: 30 Posts: 2,952	Re: How did you get your election news? There was an election? __________________

11-08-2006, 10:41 AM	#10 (permalink)
Pokerface Join Date: May 2003 Location: MD, USA Age: 29 Posts: 5,722	Re: How did you get your election news? I did the Daily Show/Colbert combo last night, along with a minor amount of internet surfing (I wasn't awake long enough for any really good numbers to have come in yet). This morning, local TV news filled in most of the gaps, but I'll be hitting the 'net a little later for a more national view. __________________ NS Game Officer. TF2 Admin. BF2 Admin / Scripter. PM with issues. Tempus: Pokerface is nailing it right on the head. Everyone who is arguing against him is simply arguing against reality. <anmuzi> it is not permitted to have privacy or anonymity <LazyEye> yeah when I play on TG the server digs though my trash Arm yourself with knowledge: TG NS TF2 BF2

11-08-2006, 10:45 AM	#11 (permalink)
Diceman Join Date: Aug 2005 Location: Yellowknife, NT Age: 30 Posts: 986	Re: How did you get your election news? Holy cow! Did you guys see the final election results? __________________ [drill][medic][conduct][tg-c1][tpf-c1] [ma-c2][taw-c1] Principles of good Sandbox Etiquette: Assume good faith - Be polite, please! - Work toward agreement. - Argue facts, not personalities. - Concede a point when you have no response to it, or admit when you disagree based on intuition or taste. - Be civil. - Be prepared to apologize. In animated discussions, we often say things we later wish we hadn't. Say so. - Forgive and forget. - Recognize your own biases and keep them in check. - Give praise when due. Treat others as you would have them treat you

11-08-2006, 11:05 AM	#12 (permalink)
xTYBALTx Join Date: Aug 2005 Posts: 3,851	Re: How did you get your election news? Telepathy. It'll be interesting to see what happens with a close 51D-50R Senate. Cheney does get to vote for everything there, right? Not just procedural stuff? I do wish that the Republicans had held onto the Senate... oh well, it won't really matter for another two years anyway. Oh, and I was flipping through CNN and FOXNews. I found the former's coverage far better - CNN also had a recount 'specialist' on whom gave a very insightful look into the Virginia race. Basically, those races are not 'too close to call,' recount or no recount. He said that last election Virginia had a recount in which 36 votes out of 2 million cast changed hands. The recount in Florida 2000 Presidential was split by some 550 votes out of 6 million cast. And finally, the current split in Virginia favors the Dems by 7,000 votes out of 3 millions cast. So, he said there's no way to make those numbers up in a recount. The same would presumably apply for Montana, where the Dem has an even larger (proportional) advantage. Anyway, that's kinda what he said, we'll see if his prognostications were correct. I suspect that they are. __________________ Current good song: Justice - Stress "$250,000 a year won't get me to Central Park West." Last edited by xTYBALTx; 11-08-2006 at 11:33 AM.

11-08-2006, 11:18 AM	#13 (permalink)
TG_Bubba Join Date: Jul 2005 Location: In the cell next to Icky. Age: 54 Posts: 5,952	Re: How did you get your election news? Fox news, CNN, and the local channel this morning. __________________ Tactical Game Primer\|Call of Duty - Official Rules, Announcements & SOPs\|Have a problem? Need an admin? TG_Mateo: "Forget freedom, democracy, the blues, New York Pizza: our lasting contribution to human society is Bourbon." Sloppy Joe: "Don't play this game like you are on your own, because if you do... it might become a reality." kin3: "I'll try but I have the grandchildren all day today and if I'm not wiped out I'll play."

11-08-2006, 01:26 PM	#14 (permalink)
Grunt 70 Join Date: Sep 2005 Location: Massachusetts Age: 43 Posts: 2,504	Re: How did you get your election news? I was most interested in the local elections here in MA. After a long evening of gaming (and getting our butts handed to us in a COD2 Scrim) I shut down the computer before checking any websites. It was about 1 a.m. and I settled for CNN for a picture on the National scene. This morning I switched over to the local fox news channel and got the local picture--not for their slant but more because it was the only local channel doiing news at the time. __________________ \|TG-22nd\|Grunt "When force is necessary, it must be applied boldly, decisively, and completely. But one must know the limitations of force; one must know when to blend force with maneuver" - Leon Trotsky

11-08-2006, 03:25 PM	#15 (permalink)
icky Join Date: Jul 2005 Location: Ottawa Valley Posts: 6,154	Re: How did you get your election news? I was hoping to find the news in this thread, because I'm not interested enough to make any more clicks to find it. __________________ Peace through fear... since 1947!

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