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Networks To Pull Out All The Stops For Election Coverage

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By WALT BELCHER | The Tampa Tribune

Published: November 4, 2008

Questions to ponder while watching the election coverage tonight:

If Sen. Barack Obama wins, will he give a full pardon to the Dixie Chicks?

If Sen. John McCain wins, will they drill for oil in Lake Okeechobee?

Will Joe the Plumber get his own reality show?

Did anyone wait until the Chris Berman interview with the candidates on "Monday Night Football" to finally decide on whom to vote for?

Soon the attack ads will be gone, and television can go back to what it does best: selling us things we don't need.

Tonight's election-viewing television audience is expected to surpass the estimated 64 million viewers who watched in 2004, and the audience will be spread among the broadcast and cable networks.

Tonight's coverage will be the first for CBS with Katie Couric at the helm. Her tough, newsmaking interviews during the campaign, especially the one with Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin, squelched speculation about Couric's future with "CBS Evening News."

She will have Jeff Greenfield and Bob Schieffer as her top analysts. Then she's hosting a 2 a.m. webcast with political junkies who are still up and online.

Over on NBC, it's the first presidential election night since the death of political analyst Tim Russert. His energy, insight and little whiteboard will be missed.

NBC anchor Brian Williams and special correspondent Tom Brokaw will lead the coverage team. NBC and MSNBC will project the electoral vote count on the side of Rockefeller Center in New York while a "red state, blue state" map of the United States will appear on the skating rink.

On Fox News Channel, it's a swan song for veteran commentator Brit Hume, who is going into semiretirement after tonight. He will anchor FNC's coverage, but Fox News' Shepard Smith will anchor simultaneous coverage on the Fox broadcast affiliates such as WTVT, Channel 13. Chris Wallace will offer commentary.

ABC's Charles Gibson, who has enjoyed strong ratings thanks to his fair-handed style, will be joined by Diane Sawyer and George Stephanopoulos in Times Square, where three mammoth video screens will carry the network's coverage.

PBS goes with another no-frills election night. Stressing analysis over flashy graphics, "The NewsHour" begins coverage at 9 p.m. with anchor Jim Lehrer and analysts Mark Shields and David Brooks.

MSNBC has prospered during this election by showcasing more liberal points of view at a time when the more liberal candidate is popular. Tonight's coverage will be anchored by David Gregory with the outspoken Keith Olberman, rising star Rachel Maddow and veteran grump Chris Matthews.

CNN pulls in its stable of talent including Wolf Blitzer, Anderson Cooper, Campbell Brown and John King. With MSNBC on the left and Fox on the right, CNN has moved toward the center.

The network will dazzle with graphics including the familiar "magic wall," a giant touch-sensitive screen that allows King to pop out and zoom through results from states and counties on a computerized electronic map.

In addition, the network adds a 3-D hologram of the U.S. Capitol that will show the balance of power in the House and Senate.

Just for laughs, Comedy Central offers Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert giving their take on election-night events in the live special "Indecision 2008: America's Choice" at 10.

There's also coverage with perspective on CNBC, Fox Business News, Univision, BET, TV One and BBC America (where Ted Koppel has signed on as a commentator).

Walt Belcher can be reached at (813) 259-7654.

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