This time, networks to make calls cautiously

[leftchick]

http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/features/20041102-9999-lz1c2remote.html

<snip>
"My gut feeling is that they are going to be super-careful before they go out with projections, with calling, all of that," said Marvin Kalb, former NBC and CBS newsman, now senior fellow at the Joan Shorenstein Center on Press, Politics and Public Policy at Harvard University.

"They were so burned by what happened last time, they became the story," Kalb said from his office in Washington, D.C. "So many bad things have happened in journalism since the year 2000, they don't want to add to the problem. So I think they'll approach their responsibility Tuesday with a very sober realism that they had best be right before they are first."

This year, all the broadcast and cable news networks have joined together to form the National Election Pool, which will conduct exit polling. It has replaced the Voter News Service, a similar organization that took the rap for the mistakes made in 2000 and was disbanded after the 2002 election.

In 2000, VNS exit polls predicted Gore would win Alabama by 1.2 percentage points. Bush won by nearly 15.

This year, television's news divisions may be more

[zzapatista]

1. Think FOX has the balls to be the first to announce again? nt

[AtTheEndOfTheDay]

5. Probably.

Isn't that how it's done? Once the networks see what Fox says they quickly fall in line?

[Bunny]

2. Only if Cousin "Jebbie" is in the control room tonight. n/t

[Jack from Charlotte]

3. About a week after JK is inaugurated the networks will declare him the ...

winner. Just to be safe.

[lebkuchen]

4. The networks lost all credibility a long time ago.

Face it, the US media is shot.

[samtob]

6. They will have a disclaimer statement before they

give every projection. Something like;

"please note this is only a speculation, a projection based on information provided to us by an independent company performing exit polls." "We are not stating these figures as a result, merely and indication"

They will repeat it before they announce ANY news.