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ELECTION MEDIA WRAP
Wed Nov 3, 2004 11:55
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MEDIACHANNEL.ORG -- ELECTION MEDIA WRAP
MediaChannel.org
November 3, 2004 (8:00am)

Good Morning After,

The balloons have dropped at the GOP headquarters in Ohio, after Fox News Channel and then NBC declared the state for Bush. But is Ohio firmly in the Bush column? Not if you were watching the other networks. ABC, CBS, PBS, and CNN each chose to hold off giving Ohio and it 20 electoral votes to the incumbent. As of 7:00am Wednesday morning, after all of the states precincts reported in, Bush holds a 136,000 vote advantage over Senator John Kerry. But there’s a catch. Anywhere between 125,000 to 250,000 provisional ballots have yet to be counted. These ballots were cast by voters who encountered problems voting across the state.

The final tally from Ohio may take more than ten days to tabulate, according to Ohio Secretary of State J. Kenneth Blackwell. It’s just a matter of time, Blackwell told the networks earlier this morning, “but we’ll get the count right.”

What’s less certain, though, is why Fox News Channel (at 12:41am EST) and NBC (at 1:00am EST) opted to call Ohio for the president.

"This race is all but over," NBC anchor Tom Brokaw told viewers shortly after putting Ohio in Bush’s win column.

Thus far, there’s no clear explanation of the early decision from these two news networks. Media for Democracy has asked both to give us a full brief on their procedures. As always, we will let you know how and when they respond.

In the meantime, join the debate at or MediaWatchBlog where members are reporting in on election media coverage from across the country:

http://www.citizensmediawatch.us/blog/

Stay Tuned and Ready,

Timothy Karr
MediaChannel.org
Media for Democracy

Here are other news items from this morning:

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MEDIA FOR DEMOCRACY:

** SOME NETS FEAR 2000 REDUX, FOX AND NBC CALL OHIO EARLY
Fox and NBC called Ohio for Bush a little after 1 a.m., with CNN, ABC and CBS not willing to follow suit, particularly given the provisional ballot issue. They were probably glad they didn't.
(Broadcasting & Cable)
http://www.broadcastingcable.com/article/CA477628.html?display=Breaking+News&referral=SUPP


** NETWORK DISTORTION
Evidently, Fox News and NBC didn't bother to do the basic reporting one would hope that networks projecting a critical state would do. At 12:41 a.m. EST, Fox News Channel called Ohio for Bush, saying it was based on tabulations and some math suggesting there weren't enough potential Kerry votes out there to close the gap. At 1:00 a.m., NBC and MSNBC followed suit.
(Campaign Desk)
http://www.campaigndesk.org/archives/001080.asp 


** NATIONAL ELECTIONS POOL A LOSER IN 2004
The alliance of ABC, CBS, CNN, Fox, NBC and the Associated Press -- to tabulate exit poll surveys – pointed early on toward a decisive John F. Kerry win in key battleground states, an outcome that failed to materialize.
(The Washington Post)
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A21274-2004Nov3.html 


** HOW BAD WAS SLATE’S EXIT POLL POSTINGS?
On Tuesday afternoon, Slate lived by the Exit Polls. And now it's dying with them. Read some of the hypes posted by Jack Shafer on Slate's home page. Their rationale for posting exit polls early? “regard these numbers as a sportswriter does the line scores from the fourth inning of a baseball game. The leading team might win the game, but then again it might not.” It’s not pretty.
(Dan Kennedy’s Media Log)
http://www.bostonphoenix.com/medialog/2004/11/how-bad-were-exit-polls-slate-lived.asp

Slate’s Early Numbers:
http://slate.msn.com/id/2109053/


** FOX NEWS JUMPS GUN ON OHIO
But despite pre-election promises to avoid rush announcements and a repeat of Florida in 2000 when they got the result spectacularly wrong, Rupert Murdoch's rightwing station called Ohio for the Republican incumbent before there being at least 100,000 votes to come in the largely Democratic Cuyahoga County.
(Media Guardian)
http://media.guardian.co.uk/broadcast/story/0,7493,1342416,00.html


.. .. .. .. ..
WAR & PEACE MEDIA MONITOR:

** KIDNAPPING VIDEOS - THE NEW NIGHTMARE SCENARIO
Colin Freeman writes: “In the old days, film footage of hostages - if the kidnappers had the means to take it - was rarely ever broadcast, while more gory episodes, such as the sending of severed ears and fingers as "proof of life", could usually be kept out of the media. Now there is no such censorship.”
(The Scotsman)
http://news.scotsman.com/opinion.cfm?id=1267592004


** REUTERS DISPUTES US VERSION OF CAMERAMAN'S DEATH
News agency Reuters today demanded a full investigation into the shooting of one of its cameramen in Iraq, after rejecting the US military's explanation of the incident.
(Media Guardian)
http://media.guardian.co.uk/site/story/0,14173,1341711,00.html


** RISKS FOR JOURNALISTS MULTIPLY IN DEADLY IRAQ
A devastating attack on an Arab news channel in Iraq and a threat by Islamic militants to slaughter journalists have raised fears that reporters have become direct targets in a country already rife with peril.
(Reuters)
http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/world/iraq/20041102-0735-iraq-media.html


.. .. .. .. ..
OWNERSHIP EYE:

** NAB PANS PUBLIC-INTEREST INQUIRY
By examining the need for specific public-interest obligations on broadcasters, the Federal Communications Commission is walking down a path that is "unlawful, unnecessary and fraught with peril," the National Association of Broadcasters said.
(Broadcasting & Cable)
http://www.broadcastingcable.com/article/CA477557.html?display=Breaking+News&referral=SUPP


** ACTIVISTS PUSH MORE COMMUNITY MEDIA
A group of media activists have asked the FCC to take several steps to boost broadcast localism. The suggestions came in response to the FCC's broadcast localism inquiry, which was pushed by FCC Chairman Michael Powell, in part as an alternative to derailing the FCC's ownership rule revamp over those issues.
(Broadcasting & Cable)
http://www.broadcastingcable.com/article/CA477559.html?display=Breaking+News&referral=SUPP


.. .. .. .. ..
NEWS DISSECTOR:
The Dissector blogs in time as the late-night networks ponder our vote.
http://www.newsdissector.org/weblog/


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