In 2000, they thought they could get us to suspend our disbelief, as if we all walked into a movie theatre at the same time. Unfortunately, in their haste to call the race they actually got ahead of the news… which we all found out when we woke up the next day, anyway.
And have reminded them of it every day since. (Did somebody say, "
So, a mere six years later, news outlets made a solemn pact. They promised they'd try something that, no doubt, tugged at the very heart of their techno-savvy centers.
Now, there's something about technology that makes otherwise highly-skilled and perfectly-principled news editors and directors lose their minds.
They like gadgets.
They want to play with geegaws.
They want to see how many new things they can make whatever-it-is-that-came-out-of-the-very-big-box do to improve their news products.
But, after getting tired of playing with the new toys (and finally crawling out of the empty boxes), they made a promise: No election result announcements until we have actual election results. CNN went so far as to declare they would actually "rather be right than first."
Gulp.
Guess six years is a long time to walk around with egg on your face.
OK, in the end, they couldn't help themselves. A bit of prognosticating took place. NBC and MSNBC lead the way. A moment later, ABC came in with results. CNN took third, closely followed by CBS and finally, Fox News.
ABC won the night, ratings wise, buoyed by the popularity of "Dancing With the Stars." Seems that after teen honey Joey Lawrence got the boot, people stayed tuned into ABC to watch the election unfold.
Note to media: How about picking up that sentiment, "better to be right than first," and turning it into a daily mantra? When temptation strikes, simply repeat the following, three times slowly: Sago,
Note to Katie Couric: Since sitting on top of the anchor desk hasn't brought you ratings success, why not try boogying on top of it?
# # #
This time around, we saw further signs that newspapers' editorial influence is on the decline or, more pointedly, merely lingering on life support.
The editorial pages are one of the last great bastions of the old boys' club, but the influence they peddle has diminished as the editors lose touch with the pulse of the public. That fact, combined with the continuously diminishing return of readers, makes editorial page reading a passe activity. Case in point: The New York Times and Newsday both gave an obligatory nod to Spitzer and Cuomo but, combined, they didn't have enough mojo to get the only long shot - Mejias - into the seat long warmed by King.
The more interesting malady du jour that infiltrated the media was presented by Madison Avenue. This year's campaign ads took an intriguing twist: No longer simply satisfied to outdo previous year's negative campaigning, this year we saw the debut of the grin-and-grin contagion. As in: If I have a photo of me taken with Eliot Spitzer, I will win the election. We won't talk much about me, we'll just show me with the man of the moment. It won't matter if I'm better qualified or not, because all people will remember is me. Me with Eliot.
Grip-and-grin contagion also works in reverse: If someone can find a photo of me standing, sitting or walking anywhere near Pete McGowan at any moment in history, I will lose.
Note to future players: Watch out for the camera.
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