The Longest Day!

 I miss a lot of things from my radio and television reporting
career. Election Day coverage is NOT one of them!
 It is usually a difficult day for both the reporter and the
audience.
 The political commercials we're already heard and seen
for the past month or so now dominate the airwaves as
candidates buy every second available to try to get in
the 'last word' over their opponents. A couple of them
might be surprised to hear their spots running after the
polling places have closed for the day!
 And while candidates spend their last day trying to win
your vote,  news outlets spend it trying to convince
you to watch or listen to them to get the results.
  Coverage usually begins early in the morning well
before the polls open. You can't talk about results
because nobody has even voted yet. You can't talk
about turnout because there isn't any. So, if things
go as they usually do, morning reports will remind
you about what should be the biggest race or races
of the day.
 There will also be a lot of talk about the
weather and speculation as to what that will or will
not  mean to turnout!
 By Noon 'turnout' and/or trouble at any polling
places will be the topics of choice! There
will also be speculation as to how that turnout will or
will not impact results for one party or the other.
 By 5 o'clock all three subjects..Big races, turnout and
problems are likely to make up the first 5 minutes
of every newscast!
  Each will likely to end with a reminder that ...
"You can hear or see all of the election results
 right here!"  Only the call letters are likely
to change!
 Many of the field reporters who produced those
morning, Noon, or 6 o'clock reports will stay on
duty to provide those election results.
  That coverage is likely to begin at 8pm.
  Now the trick is to say something before you
know anything!
 Electronic or not it can take a very long time to get
any numbers to report.
 We use to try to watch one particular polling
place as election workers filled out their forms
so we could actually call in those results to our
news desk.
 Any resemblance to those numbers and the
final count were purely coincidental!
 The stations themselves have some big
decisions to make!
 If you cut into regular programming with election
returns you'll probably get a lot of calls from angry
viewers who didn't want  'Dancing With The Stars'
 or 'NCIS Los Angeles interrupted!
 NBC, however, could get clever and tie election results
into the evening's 'Biggest Losers' show!
  Of course, judging from registration figures, there's
a fair chance most  listeners and viewers
didn't even vote!
 But let the competition cut in and you're
likely to face a day- after-
 election promo boasting
that you 'saw or heard it first' on their station!
   Here's the real irony. The people who care most
about the results, the candidates, are likely to have them
well before any listeners or viewers. Most of
them have representatives at the polling
places doing their own count.
  Still you do the best you can and the day is
not without benefits!
  Since nobody knows who's going to win or lose
all of the major candidates schedule  'Victory Parties"
where there's usually a lot of  free food.
  And that 12 to 14 hour day starts looking a lot
better when you see the overtime in that next
check!
 Don't forget to vote!
 Hope all your NEWS is good!