You think tonight's election is competitive between competing political parties and ideologies? Take a look at the donnybrook being launched in cyberspace between news organizations.
Newspapers, TV networks, cable networks, online publications: they're in a no-holds-barred dogfight for attention, and market share. Then there's the cutthroat competition between the internet and smartphone versions of many of these major players. It's a night of drama worth of "The Real Housewives of New Jersey." One wonders in advance if there will be really enough fresh, original news to go around. Ah well.
We've gathered what we believe to be a representative list of election night sites. Click on the links below for the site you want to visit. Android, Blackberry, and iPhone smartphone apps will be found in your respective app stores, or as a mobile link that you'll need to type into your browser.
If you have others to recommend, please use our comments section at the end of this piece. All times listed here are local PDT.
Our state and local races, of course, will thoroughly covered by local TV media. KIRO (CBS), KING (NBC), and KOMO (ABC) wlll have special features planned for their websites in addition to the coverage they already have on their respective websites. Their websites may not unveil their special election features coverage until close to the poll closings. KING-TV, for example told Crosscut that their special web coverage will start at 5 p.m. KCPQ (Fox) already has a "real time election results" feature posted as well as a live webcam from the King County ballot-counting room.
ABC, CBS and NBC will host their usual strong TV and internet coverage. NBC and MSNBC will offer some combined coverage. Fox TV, not normally considered a major news source —in direct contract to its ratings-leading cable counterpart Fox News — will host news coverage tonight, and combine their coverage with their cable sibling. PBS is scheduled to begin its extended News Hour coverage at 7:00 pm local time. And here's the link to the CNN website.
Here are some interesting sites that may offer some intriguing coverage a bit off the beaten track.
* Beginning at 4:00 PM, Bloomberg TV will have election coverage; renowned TV host Charlie Rose will anchor their 10:00 PM coverage.
* Howard Kurtz, CNN "Reliable Sources" host, former Washington Post media critic and now The Daily Beast Washington D.C. bureau chief, hosts a 3-hour live Internet chat on The Daily Beast website starting at 6 p.m.
* On-line news site Politico.com will stream its own live video coverage starting at 5. I(t also has a fully printable version of their election coverage guide available as a 40+ page PDF.) Rival Politics Daily, the AOL-founded site, will have updated coverage during the night.
Fresh from the massive Washington D.C. "Rally to Restore Sanity and/or Fear," Jon Stewart, along with colleague Stephen Colbert, will host their annual Daily Show/Comedy Central "Indecision" take on the 2010 election. Each host will present their election take in their regularly scheduled times; in other words, delayed for us on the West Coast. Unfortunately, neither show will be aired on line, according to a Daily Show spokesperson.
If the name "Nate Silver" isn't familiar to you, the New York Times blogger is almost scary because of the accuracy of his election predictions based on his original algorythms. His Five Thirty Eight blog is must reading among all serious analysts, and tonight he plans a continuously updated forecast of state-by-state election returns.
Want some smartphones to buffer your TV watching, iPad-touching, computer-keying election night feast?
* CNN coverage will be available by downloading its multi-platform phone app.
* Google has a multiplatform Election Center map mobile browser app.
* NPR has its multiplatform app here.
And if that's not enough, see the choices that PC Magazine and ComputerWorld have in mind.
Of course, if you're running around in a car, the most convenient option is likely to be one of the local radio stations, a number of which traditionally do a good job of covering election results.
Oh, and other thing: Did you remember to vote?
