Ah, Election Night
Pizza. Politics. Panic.
That pretty much sums up a typical newsroom election night.
An hour ago, peaceful described the newsroom. Only a couple of news reporters were here.
Now, they're starting to trickle in and get ready for the long night.
Days ago, we put together an election story list, which we call a budget. We have to decide which races warrant stories and which races warrant just numbers in a box. I came up with editor assignments as well as story lengths and deadlines. There are three deadlines, but I'll get to that later.
Normally, we don't share our story budgets with the public. We don't want the competition to know what we're up to.
But we're all covering the same stuff, so here's what our election budget looks like:
ELECTION 2006
REPORTERS ON DUTY: Jennifer Avilla, Sarah Moore, Bro Krift, Beth Gallaspy, Dee Dixon, Christine Rappleye, Ryan Myers, Colin McDonald WITH SCOTT AND ROLANDO AT THE VOTING BARN.
EDITORS ON DUTY: BRIAN PEARSON, ELAINE WIKSTROM, PETE CHURTON
DEADLINES FOR EDITORS PUSHING COPY TO DESK:
EARLY EDITION – 9 P.M.
SECOND EDITION – 10:30 P.M.
LAST EDITION – MIDNIGHT
NOTE: THESE DEADLINES ARE UNBREAKABLE AND NON-NEGOTIABLE.
EDITOR – BRIAN PEARSON
Gallaspy — JCJUDGE w/art — Job vs. Walker. Clerk. 20 inches. 8:45 p.m./10:15 p.m./11:45 p.m.
Myers – HOWWEVOTED — A look at how Southeast Texans voted in statewide races. Needs to include information about voter turnout. Also, were there any problems reported with the voting? 20 inches – 8:35 p.m./10:10 p.m./11:35 p.m.
EDITOR — PETE CHURTON
Krift — COUNTYJUDGES — Who won? Which party won? County judge races in Jefferson, Orange, Jasper, Liberty, Chambers, Tyler, Sabine and San Augustine counties. 15 inches. 8:35 p.m./10:10 p.m./11:35 p.m.
Dixon – STATEDISTRICT19 — Hamilton vs. Clayton. 12 inches. Include other state races with local interest. (McReynolds?) – 8:30 p.m./10 p.m./11:30 p.m.
Krift — BUNAINCORPORATE – 8 inches - 8:25 p.m./9:55 p.m./11:25 p.m.
EDITOR — ELAINE WIKSTROM
Avilla – LAMPSON — Is he back in office? Include other U.S. races with local interest. 15 inches. 8:45 p.m./10:15 p.m./11:45 p.m.
Moore — COURTRACES — 279th District Court Race. 8 inches. 8:30 p.m./10 p.m./11:30 p.m.
Rappleye — USHOUSE2 — Include any other U.S races with local interest. 15 inches. 8:25 p.m./9:55 p.m./11:25 p.m.
Eslinger — ONLINENUMBERS — Numbers posted online from election barn.
NUMBERS
Gallaspy — JCCOUNTY
Dixon — OCCOUNTY
Krift — JASPERCOUNTY — NUMBERS ONLY.
Avilla — CHAMBERSCOUNTY — NUMBERS ONLY.
Rappleye — LIBERTYCOUNTY — NUMBERS ONLY.
Krift — TYLERCOUNTY – NUMBERS ONLY.
Moore — SABINECOUNTY – NUMBERS ONLY.
Moore — SANAUGUSTINECOUNTY – NUMBERS ONLY.
Of course, things could change. There could be a huge upset, maybe even trouble. We stay flexible.
The pizzas arrive at 6:30 p.m. Associate Managing Editor Sheila Friedeck is in charge of that, and I don't envy the job. It's tough to estimate how many pizzas will be needed and what toppings to get. You can't go wrong with pepperoni and mushroom, but there needs to be some veggie pizzas, supreme pizzas, meat pizzas and plain-jane cheese pizzas in there to attempt to make everyone happy.
I once ate an entire large pizza on an election night and paid for it by being sleepy all evening. I won't do that again. In fact, I might not have a piece at all.
After the polls close, frenzy ensues. We rush to get updated results online. We rush to get updated stories on line. We rush to meet not one but THREE deadlines for the trio of editions during the evening. Numbers are being fed to an editor to enter into a grid for tomorrow's box.
One key to a smooth evening is having reporters write what some call "A Matter" (advance matter) and others call "B Matter" (background matter). Basically, they're partially written stories that have nothing but background and Xs where numbers will go later.
They way, they don't have to write a whole story on deadline - and editors don't have to read a whole story on deadline. The A or B matter is pre-edited, so the reporter only needs to top it with numbers, quotes and whatnot, and editors only need to read that before shipping it to the desk.
Of course, few election nights go smoothly. The 2000 presidential election was a disaster for newsrooms, with busted deadlines and incorrect headlines aplenty. I almost needed therapy after that one.
Tonight should be simple, though I'll likely do some barking. I'll bark if they're pushing deadline to the limit. I'll bark if their story names don't match the budget. I'll say, "I don't care. Turn in what you've got!"
Reporters like to be thorough and obsess over their work. That's great, but tonight we need a M*A*S*H-unit mentality. Patch 'em up and move 'em along. We're not trying to be fancy. Get the facts. Turn in the story. Save the cosmetic surgery for the follow-ups.
Hopefully, I'll be out of here by midnight. But with these new electronic voting machines heavily into the mix, who knows?
I'll see you on the other side.
That pretty much sums up a typical newsroom election night.
An hour ago, peaceful described the newsroom. Only a couple of news reporters were here.
Now, they're starting to trickle in and get ready for the long night.
Days ago, we put together an election story list, which we call a budget. We have to decide which races warrant stories and which races warrant just numbers in a box. I came up with editor assignments as well as story lengths and deadlines. There are three deadlines, but I'll get to that later.
Normally, we don't share our story budgets with the public. We don't want the competition to know what we're up to.
But we're all covering the same stuff, so here's what our election budget looks like:
ELECTION 2006
REPORTERS ON DUTY: Jennifer Avilla, Sarah Moore, Bro Krift, Beth Gallaspy, Dee Dixon, Christine Rappleye, Ryan Myers, Colin McDonald WITH SCOTT AND ROLANDO AT THE VOTING BARN.
EDITORS ON DUTY: BRIAN PEARSON, ELAINE WIKSTROM, PETE CHURTON
DEADLINES FOR EDITORS PUSHING COPY TO DESK:
EARLY EDITION – 9 P.M.
SECOND EDITION – 10:30 P.M.
LAST EDITION – MIDNIGHT
NOTE: THESE DEADLINES ARE UNBREAKABLE AND NON-NEGOTIABLE.
EDITOR – BRIAN PEARSON
Gallaspy — JCJUDGE w/art — Job vs. Walker. Clerk. 20 inches. 8:45 p.m./10:15 p.m./11:45 p.m.
Myers – HOWWEVOTED — A look at how Southeast Texans voted in statewide races. Needs to include information about voter turnout. Also, were there any problems reported with the voting? 20 inches – 8:35 p.m./10:10 p.m./11:35 p.m.
EDITOR — PETE CHURTON
Krift — COUNTYJUDGES — Who won? Which party won? County judge races in Jefferson, Orange, Jasper, Liberty, Chambers, Tyler, Sabine and San Augustine counties. 15 inches. 8:35 p.m./10:10 p.m./11:35 p.m.
Dixon – STATEDISTRICT19 — Hamilton vs. Clayton. 12 inches. Include other state races with local interest. (McReynolds?) – 8:30 p.m./10 p.m./11:30 p.m.
Krift — BUNAINCORPORATE – 8 inches - 8:25 p.m./9:55 p.m./11:25 p.m.
EDITOR — ELAINE WIKSTROM
Avilla – LAMPSON — Is he back in office? Include other U.S. races with local interest. 15 inches. 8:45 p.m./10:15 p.m./11:45 p.m.
Moore — COURTRACES — 279th District Court Race. 8 inches. 8:30 p.m./10 p.m./11:30 p.m.
Rappleye — USHOUSE2 — Include any other U.S races with local interest. 15 inches. 8:25 p.m./9:55 p.m./11:25 p.m.
Eslinger — ONLINENUMBERS — Numbers posted online from election barn.
NUMBERS
Gallaspy — JCCOUNTY
Dixon — OCCOUNTY
Krift — JASPERCOUNTY — NUMBERS ONLY.
Avilla — CHAMBERSCOUNTY — NUMBERS ONLY.
Rappleye — LIBERTYCOUNTY — NUMBERS ONLY.
Krift — TYLERCOUNTY – NUMBERS ONLY.
Moore — SABINECOUNTY – NUMBERS ONLY.
Moore — SANAUGUSTINECOUNTY – NUMBERS ONLY.
Of course, things could change. There could be a huge upset, maybe even trouble. We stay flexible.
The pizzas arrive at 6:30 p.m. Associate Managing Editor Sheila Friedeck is in charge of that, and I don't envy the job. It's tough to estimate how many pizzas will be needed and what toppings to get. You can't go wrong with pepperoni and mushroom, but there needs to be some veggie pizzas, supreme pizzas, meat pizzas and plain-jane cheese pizzas in there to attempt to make everyone happy.
I once ate an entire large pizza on an election night and paid for it by being sleepy all evening. I won't do that again. In fact, I might not have a piece at all.
After the polls close, frenzy ensues. We rush to get updated results online. We rush to get updated stories on line. We rush to meet not one but THREE deadlines for the trio of editions during the evening. Numbers are being fed to an editor to enter into a grid for tomorrow's box.
One key to a smooth evening is having reporters write what some call "A Matter" (advance matter) and others call "B Matter" (background matter). Basically, they're partially written stories that have nothing but background and Xs where numbers will go later.
They way, they don't have to write a whole story on deadline - and editors don't have to read a whole story on deadline. The A or B matter is pre-edited, so the reporter only needs to top it with numbers, quotes and whatnot, and editors only need to read that before shipping it to the desk.
Of course, few election nights go smoothly. The 2000 presidential election was a disaster for newsrooms, with busted deadlines and incorrect headlines aplenty. I almost needed therapy after that one.
Tonight should be simple, though I'll likely do some barking. I'll bark if they're pushing deadline to the limit. I'll bark if their story names don't match the budget. I'll say, "I don't care. Turn in what you've got!"
Reporters like to be thorough and obsess over their work. That's great, but tonight we need a M*A*S*H-unit mentality. Patch 'em up and move 'em along. We're not trying to be fancy. Get the facts. Turn in the story. Save the cosmetic surgery for the follow-ups.
Hopefully, I'll be out of here by midnight. But with these new electronic voting machines heavily into the mix, who knows?
I'll see you on the other side.
posted by Brian Pearson at 2:07 PM
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