Election

Election coverage gives news a bump

NEW YORK -- It was a pretty good election week for TV news teams, with ABC and NBC tops in the evening news race and Fox News Channel taking the top spot for the week in cable primetime. "NBC Nightly News With Brian Williams" won the week of Nov. 3 in viewership, while ABC's "World News With Charles Gibson" tied NBC for the lead in the adults 25-54 demographic, Nielsen Media Research said Tuesday. NBC averaged 9.35 million viewers and a 2.5 rating/9 share in adults 25-54, while ABC averaged 9.28 million viewers and a 2.5/9. Full story

John McCain to appear on 'Tonight'

Sen. John McCain will make his first post-election TV appearance on the "Tonight" show next week, NBC said Friday. The Republican presidential candidate is set to join "Tonight" host Jay Leno on Tuesday in honor of Veteran's Day, the network announced. McCain is a former Naval officer and prisoner of war in Vietnam. Picking a talk show over a news show for his first TV interview guarantees McCain a more lighthearted experience after his loss to President-elect Obama. Full story

'South Park' takes on Barack Obama

Trey Parker and Matt Stone have always turned around "South Park" episodes with impressive speed, but Wednesday night was ridiculous. The latest "Park" was entirely about Barack Obama and John McCain -- post election. Though much of the content could have prepared in advance, the opening was directly from Obama's Grant Park acceptance speech Tuesday night (complete with those unsettling bulletproof walls). There was also a segment from John McCain's concession speech. Full story

Fox gets Sarah Palin interview exclusive

Fox News Channel secured the first and exclusive interview with Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin since Tuesday's election, which will be aired Monday night. "On the Record" anchor Greta van Susteren, who interviewed Palin twice during the campaign, is flying up to Alaska on Saturday. When or where the interview will occur has yet to be announced. Van Susteren will host the show Monday night from Alaska before flying back to New York. Full story.

HBO acquires rights to Obama doc

HBO has closed a seven-figure deal for U.S. rights to an untitled Barack Obama documentary from producer Edward Norton. Norton's Class 5 Films approached the Obama campaign in early 2006 about a doc chronicling the new president elect's history in politics. Directors Amy Rice and Alicia Sams were granted extensive access to film Obama before he launched his presidential run in 2007 and have continued their shoot through his historic victory this week. Full story

Obama speaking to media Friday

NEW YORK -- For the first time being elected Tuesday night, President-elect Barack Obama will hold a news conference Friday afternoon that will likely get wide exposure on TV. Details are still being worked out for what the Obama campaign is calling a "press availability" and not even a news conference somewhere in Chicago at 2:30 p.m. ET Friday. CBS and ABC confirmed they would carry the address. So, presumably, would NBC and MSNBC. Fox News Channel and CNN said earlier Thursday that they would as well. Full story

Historic numbers for Election Night

Barack Obama's historic presidential election victory was viewed by an equally historic number of viewers: 78,583,000 watched coverage across 14 networks Tuesday evening, according to Nielsen. Full story

It's a wrap: Election Day timeline

From the tiny township of Dixville Notch, N.H., to the sidewalks of Santa Monica, voters flocked to the polls in record numbers Tuesday in what is arguably the most important as well as the most exhilarating election in decades. And for these last crucial 24 hours, the media -- starting abroad with foreign broadcasters, the worldwide blogosphere, cable news networks, radio pundits and the Big Four -- rose to the occasion with blanket coverage of the historic returns. Full story

Jeff Bewkes assesses post-election landscape

By Georg Szalai

NEW YORK -- Time Warner CEO Jeff Bewkes opened his company's third-quarter earnings conference call Wednesday with a reference to Tuesday's elections.

"Thanks for ripping yourselves away from your (TV) sets and joining us today," he said.

Later in the call, an analyst asked about how TW's CNN is doing and whether the election helped business at the news network so much that next year will face a tough financial comparison. Bewkes lauded CNN for hauling in a "fairly significant increase in ad sales" in the third and current fourth quarters around the election.

But he added that this does "not necessarily cause problems" next year as his team is confident that CNN can sustain its overall momentum. Bewkes provided no comment on the result of the election, and a spokesman said the CEO wouldn't do so for now.

'Indecision '08' coverage has real moment

Culminating their satirical coverage of the campaign, Comedy Central's Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert teamed up for a live one-hour comedy special -- though Stewart had his Cronkite moment, too. Full story

Will.i.am debuts Obama song

Will.i.am felt so confident about Barack Obama winning the presidency, he's created a song and video -- much like his viral hit "Yes We Can" -- to celebrate. Full story

Tim Robbins encounters voting trouble

Many Americans endured long lines to vote. Tim Robbins had to get a court order before he was allowed to cast his vote for president. The 50-year-old actor's voting woes began Tuesday morning when he ran into trouble at his polling station: His name was missing from the registration rolls. Full story

Too close to call for Al Franken

He may be good enough and smart enough -- but does he have enough votes? Long after most races had been decided, the bid of a former "Saturday Night Live" comedian to join the United States Senate remained uncertain Tuesday night. Full story

Making the call

When Fox News Channel made its call of the election for Barack Obama at exactly 11 p.m. ET, it was the culmination of a series of events that began when the exit polls were released a little less than six hours earlier. Full story

The networks wasted no time

By Paul J. Gough

NEW YORK -- In a night of voting that broke Barack Obama's way, the networks called the election at 11 p.m. ET for the Illinois Democrat.

It was the earliest time that Fox News Channel called a presidential election in its 12-year history.

After 10:40 p.m. ET, it became clear that Fox was moving in that direction from inside the control room and the decision desk. Virginia went to Obama a half hour earlier.

The 11 p.m. poll closings on the West Coast made it clear that Obama would reach 270.

"California in and of itself will put him over the top," said senior vp Joel Cheatwood just before the 11 p.m. call.

It wasn't a surprise to the tens of millions of people who no doubt tuned in.

"I don't see any path that will take him to victory," anchor Brit Hume said to Fox News viewers just before the call. Fox News had dropped other hints on the air.

The networks kept their promise not to call before the polls closed on the West Coast. But the speed, exactly at 11 p.m. ET, made it clear that the network decision desks, all working in isolation, made the same conclusion. The other nets said that it became clear to them just before 11.

The nets also took the cheers from the Obama rally in Grant Park, Chicago, where Obama would give his acceptance speech.

John McCain and Sarah Palin, accompanied by their spouses, came out at about 11:20 p.m. ET to concede.

Watch McCain's concession speech:

Networks call election for Obama

By Paul J. Gough

NEW YORK -- In a night of voting that broke Barack Obama's way, the networks called the election at 11 p.m. ET for the Illinois Democrat.

It was the earliest time that the Fox News Channel called a presidential election in its 12-year history.

After 10:40 p.m. ET, it became clear that Fox was moving in that direction from inside the control room and the decision desk. Virginia finally went to Obama a half-hour earlier.

The 11 p.m. poll closings on the West Coast made it clear that Obama would reach 270.

"California will in and of itself will put him over the top."

"I don't see any path that will take him to victory," anchor Brit Hume said to Fox News viewers just before 11 p.m.

Watch Obama's acceptance speech:

 

McCain campaign: Nets called Pennsylvania too early

By Paul J. Gough

NEW YORK -- The McCain campaign early Tuesday evening hit back at the news networks that in the minutes after Pennsylvania's polls closed called for Barack Obama.

NBC called the battleground state for Obama at 8 p.m., and the other nets followed over the next 40 minutes or so. CNN was last at 8:40 p.m.

Nicolle Wallace, a former CBS News executive who is a senior adviser to the McCain campaign, said that there were concerns that the networks had jumped the gun.

"We wanted to see a little more information from other parts of the state," Wallace told Fox News Channel's Carl Cameron in the 9 p.m. hour.

But Michael Barone, Fox News Channel's political and polling guru, said that the network was confident that the exit polling and actual votes in key precincts were lining up within the margin of error.

But it also looked less like it would matter as the hours wore on, as Fox News and then ABC called Ohio for Obama. No Republican has won presidency without the Buckeye State.

CNN's Rick Sanchez grills Joe the Plumber

Celebs cast their vote

New York is a deep blue state, and was almost assured to go the way of Barack Obama on Election Day. Still, as Diddy cast his ballot for the Democratic presidential candidate Tuesday, he couldn't help but feel that he had made a difference. Full story.

Kirsten Dunst in North Dakota for vote docu

In making a documentary about how the nation votes, actress Kirsten Dunst and filmmaker Jacob Soboroff were drawn to North Dakota, the only state without voter registration. Full story.

Cable news hopes to keep election viewers

Is tonight's the end of the quadrennial good ratings times, or does tomorrow mark the beginning of a new period of heady times at the cable newsers? To CNN U.S. president Jonathan Klein, there's a sense of reality that the ratings after this week won't be what they have been in the months leading up to Nov. 4. Full story

Chris Matthews believes the polls

By Paul J. Gough

NEW YORK -- The voting might be going on, but "Hardball" host Chris Matthews has in a sense already turned the page.

In a brief interview at 30 Rock a few hours before he takes to the air, Matthews pooh-poohs any chance that the polls that show Barack Obama with a commanding lead are wrong.

Matthews said he believes the polls.

"Every politician I've ever met believes in polls," Matthews said. "Politicians love pollsters because they tell them what they don't know." Matthews knows this not only because he's covered politics a while but also because before that, he was a staffer to the late House speaker Tip O'Neill.

Is there any chance of a Dewey-beats-Truman case, where it was believed that the New York governor was going to knock off the sitting president, Harry S. Truman, on Election Day 1948?

"No," Matthews said flatly. "The polling"s much better."

He's so sure that he makes a prediction.

"All eyes will be on Chicago," Matthews said, referring to the Obama administration will take shape if elected.

"You want a scoop," Matthews tells a reporter. The new administration will be, his sources tell him, bipartisan and diverse.

"And young," Matthews said. "No retreads from previous administrations."

(photo by Getty Images)

Obama, Oscar, Overload

What, no Election Bot? CNN's promising us holograms tonight so viewers can see voting results, and the cable network's correspondents, in a whole new "Star Trek" meets "Invasion of the Body Snatchers" kind of way. Full story.

'Early Show' gets up pre-dawn, stays up late

By Paul J. Gough

NEW YORK -- On the marathon that is Election Night 2008, there's one group that got up early, will stay up late ... And then be back on the early shift again Wednesday when the dust settles.

It was a typical pre-dawn wakeup for the cast and crew of "The Early Show," the CBS News breakfastcast. It was all hands on deck at its Fifth Avenue and 59th Street studios across from the eastern corner of Central Park. But on this morning, with the news about high early turnout at polling places, they had a special guest: CBS News chief Washington correspondent Bob Schieffer, in town to cover the election.

The last hour of "The Early Show" on the East Coast on Tuesday shuttled between correspondents in Arizona and Illinois, live video of Barack Obama voting in Chicago, and singer Ashanti with Rock the Vote outside the studios. Schieffer and co-anchor Harry Smith stood on a large electoral map and talked about how the night might go.

But this was a more typical day, albeit one that was chock full of the election. Even Dave Price's weather forecast had a political theme. The anchors, including Julie Chen and Maggie Rodriguez, went another 90 minutes for the other time zones.

But no one thinks Wednesday will be typical, no matter what happens in tonight's voting. "The Early Show" will be live across all time zones, five hours beginning at 7 a.m. EST. Many of the key people are going to be staying in hotels if they don't live close. Executive producer Zev Shalev, who came to "The Early Show" from Canadian television earlier this year, won't even make it that far. He's planning to sleep in a cot in his office, when he gets to sleep. Morning shows are usually staffed around the clock. Shalev said during a brief break that he expected to only get a few snatches of sleep before dawn Wednesday.

"Tomorrow is a much more crazy day," Shalev said. "We'll be up very late tonight."

That's mostly the rule of the day for "Early Show" on-air staff. Even though they have to go to bed early to get up for a cruel wakeup time, don't bet on it on an historic night like tonight.

"I don't think you can go to sleep until it's over," Smith said Tuesday morning. "You stay up as long as you need to." In the close election of 2000, that meant that Smith didn't sleep at all.

Schieffer knows it's a marathon, not a sprint.

He was up at his hotel in New York about 5:30 a.m. and reported for duty before "The Early Show" got on the air at 7 a.m. Schieffer did "Early Show" hits all morning and hoped to get a jog and some breakfast before getting to West 57th Street studios for the long haul.

There's no particular secret, he said during a break on "The Early Show" set.

"You just keeping going ... All night," Schieffer said.

Election Day marathon

As part of Hollywood Reporter's team Election Day coverage, I have a particularly brutal assignment. My marching orders are to stay home and watch CNN's political coverage all day Tuesday. If I notice anything interesting, I write it up. This is like ordering an alcoholic to buy an assortment of exotic vodkas and not leave home until he's tried them all. There is no other way I would prefer to spend this Nov. 4 and I’m just relieved I don’t have to fake a case of cretinism or black lung in order to do it. Full story

Fox News set for high-tech Election Night

It's going to be a busy Election Night made even busier at Fox News, which will christen two HD studios, a raft of new technology and broadcast five live streams out of its Sixth Avenue headquarters. Full story

Vote broadcast TV Tuesday

Could the big winner on Election Day be "Knight Rider"? With the race for the Oval Office considered the most exciting and dramatic narrative this fall, struggling broadcast TV shows might get some ratings relief once election fever subsides. Full story

Oscar races and presidential campaigns

The Oscar race, it's often said, is akin to a presidential campaign, a comparison one suspects has at least something to do with both being filled with dinners of indeterminate length and purpose. So as Americans go to the polls today, there might be a few things the candidates can suggest about this year's Oscar contenders. A shortlist: Full story

Nets will call it when they see it

No matter who wins Tuesday's presidential election, you can be sure of one thing: The networks aren't going to hold back calling the election for Barack Obama or John McCain if either gathers the magic number of 270 electoral votes. Full story

Hip-hop stars endorse Barack Obama

With two days remaining until Election Day, Jay-Z and Sean "Diddy" Combs told voters in South Florida not to be scared away from the polls by long lines. "It's bigger than us," Combs said. "We have to do it for our children, we have to do it for the people that died for us to have the right to vote." Combs and Jay-Z, whose real name is Shawn Carter, appeared before a crowd of about 800 at the Chester Robinson Athletic Center at Florida Memorial University for a "Last Chance for Change" rally Sunday afternoon. Full story

McCain helps 'SNL' to strong ratings

The last "Saturday Night Live" before Tuesday's election -- and featuring a joint appearance by John McCain and Tina Fey as running mate Sarah Palin -- didn't disappoint in the ratings. Full story

Danny Elfman starts pre-election PAC

By his own admission, Danny Elfman is something of a recluse. But that isn't preventing him from making a very public statement about John McCain's running mate, Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin. Full story

John McCain to appear on 'SNL'

My friends, it's John McCain, live from New York, just three days before the election. Aides to the Republican presidential candidate said Friday that McCain will make a detour from battleground states to appear on "Saturday Night Live," the late-night show that has been a must-watch for many during the political season. Full story

Obama ad boosts network ratings

If Barack Obama fails to win the election,  perhaps the networks should hire him to entertain viewers on Wednesday nights. Early ratings are coming in for the Barack Obama primetime infomercial, and the numbers suggest the paid ad outperformed the usual programming in the time period. Full story

IAC's Barry Diller going with Obama

Barry Diller said Wednesday that he will vote for Barack Obama even though John McCain would be better for his business. Speaking at the Cable & Satellite Broadcasting Association of Asia Convention, the InterActiveCorp. chairman and CEO said he considers the two candidates friends and has supported both campaigns because he believes a change from the current administration will be "only for the better." Full story

Obama ad will have live portion

Wednesday night's Barack Obama primetime ad will contain a live segment near the end of the telecast. The Democratic candidate is in Florida tomorrow and teaming with former president Bill Clinton for the first time on the campaign trail. The live portion will be broadcast from an evening rally, though it's not clear if Clinton will share the stage during the segment. Full story

CNN rejected Obama ad; Fox News not asked

Make of this what you will: CNN says the Barack Obama campaign tried to purchase airtime tomorrow night on the network to run its 30-minute primetime ad. The news network says it rejected the request. Full story

Obama will appear on 'Daily Show'

Gotta make time to laugh in a campaign -- and court the youth vote. In the midst of a mad dash toward the election, Democratic presidential nominee Barack Obama will make time Wednesday to appear on Comedy Central's "The Daily Show" with its host, Jon Stewart. Full story

Targeted ads key in election battlegrounds

Barack Obama might be outspending him on TV, but John McCain may have some effective, cheaper options for advertising in the crucial battleground states. A new Nielsen PreView study scrutinizing the media consumption habits of U.S. voters in 13 of the most hotly contested states found that strategic media buying in cable could yield easy-to-overlook channels that offer high concentrations of viewers belonging to particular political parties.
Full story

Celebrity, politics and commerce

These days, TV viewers can't seem to escape Virginia Madsen. Madsen, who made a splash in movies like "Sideways" and "Candyman," has hit the airwaves to spread the word about a couple of seemingly disparate matters of interest to women -- encouraging them, via a public service announcement, to get involved in the political process, and selling them, via a highly visible multimedia campaign from Grey, on the benefits of a popular, wrinkle-combating drug. Full story

Both sides of aisle rip MSNBC

In a room full of television industry executives, no one seemed inclined to defend MSNBC on Monday for what some were calling its lopsidedly liberal coverage of the presidential election. Full story

ABC will air 'Daisies' -- not Obama ad

ABC will air "Pushing Daisies" in its usual time period on Wednesday -- not the Barack Obama ad. The Obama campaign bought airtime on NBC, Fox and CBS for the ad this month. ABC was initially absent from the list and remained silent about its intentions, lending some to wonder whether the network would air "Daisies" as usual, air the Obama ad or run something else entirely. Full story

Networks set Election Night plans

wo broadcast networks are taking advantage of their centrally located Manhattan real estate to offer not just a broadcast on Election Night but something of a gathering place. Full story

Sarah Palin: future media star?

As campaign managers for Sarah Palin plot last-minute tactics to get her elected, Hollywood bigwigs are convening strategy sessions of their own. Their goal: finding the ideal on-air vehicle for the vp candidate if and when she exits politics. Love her or hate her -- there doesn't seem to be much middle ground with Palin -- the 44-year-old hockey mom has captured the public imagination in a way no politician has since, well, Barack Obama.
Full Story

Beastie Boys prep Get Out and Vote tour

As the Beastie Boys prepare to begin their barnstorming Get Out and Vote tour, the group also is at work on the follow-up to the 2007 instrumental album "The Mix-Up." "We're actually in the middle of recording it right now," group member Adam "Ad-Rock" Horovitz said. "We hope to have it out sometime next year. It's a lot of vocals, a lot of words -- very wordy. And it's political, depending on what you call political. You know, if toilet talk and fart jokes are political, which they can be, in that sense yeah, very." Full story

Gary Hart, Bob Kerrey address campaign coverage

By Georg Szalai

NEW YORK -- What if politicians turned the table and discussed the media for a change? Former Democratic presidential hopefuls Gary Hart and Bob Kerrey did just that Wednesday under guidance from "The New Yorker" media guru Ken Auletta.

Both former senators argued that one of Barack Obama's breakthrough achievements this election season is his successful use of the Internet to sign up loads of volunteers and get small donations.

Hart even suggested that the Web could become a tool for Obama to communicate directly to the people, should he win the White House. "I could see a President Obama bypass traditional media," he said, suggesting Obama could at least at times forgo traditional press conferences with accredited journalists to "communicate without a filter." Hart added, though: "Whether that's a wise thing is another issue."

Both Hart, who repeatedly joked about his expertise in how media cross the privacy line, and Kerrey argued that the digital age can help candidates get out messages without having to persuade traditional media outlets to give them time and space.

For example, both recalled moments during their campaigns when they tried to give major policy speeches, but media coverage focused on other issues.

They also both argued that the often-cited liberal bias of the media is an overstatement.

Discussing the current presidential race, Kerrey suggested that Obama's "immense spending advantage" should guarantee him vctory over his Republican rival.

"If all else is equal, (John) McCain doesn't have a chance," he said. "It's game, set, match."

Kerrey also suggested he himself and the media should make a bigger deal out of Obama's forgoing public campaign finance limits to be able to dig into his deeper pockets filled by many small donors despite originally signaling that he'd take public funds.

"Now that it's working to my advantage, I haven't said a thing," Kerrey quipped. "I'm a bit of a hypocrite."