I noticed that the network and cable media did what they called “a new way of reporting” during the election returns yesterday. They gave nearly a minute by minute update of who was winning according to exit polls.  However, if you happened to tune in and had not heard that, it appeared that they were giving “real” results, even when many polls had not closed. Was this type of reporting something that was decided by the broadcasting system to be allowed?  Also what are the rules that govern when official results can be announced using real numbers?  It seems to me that any of this information could either energize or deflate voters in other areas to either rush to the polls, or not bother to vote.

The media is self-regulating on when and how they report election results. The Los Angeles Times published a story Tuesday, about how the networks planned on projecting a presidential winner. From the Los Angeles Times story: “‘Based on everything we know about the speed by which the votes will be reported, I think it’s highly unlikely we’ll hit 270 before 11 p.m. Eastern time,’ said Sam Feist, CNN’s political director, who defended the networks’ right to report results as they come in.  ‘This is information in the public domain that is our responsibility to share with our viewers,’ he said. ‘Indeed, trying to hold back the results when both exit poll data and vote returns will be available online is fruitless, network executives said.”

Several media outlets went to some effort to explain how they announced the outcomes. CNN.com explains their process for announcing the outcome of this election. According to CNN.com: “CNN editorial policy strictly prohibits reporting winners or characterizing the outcome of a statewide contest in any state before all the polls are scheduled to close in every precinct in that state.” The Associated Press also posted their process for “calling” an election.

As for exit polling, Time.com explains how a consortium of media outlets made use of them: “Pollsters stand outside more than 1,000 precincts around the country, all of which have been scientifically chosen to represent a particular area. As voters leave their polling places, the interviewer tries to randomly select about 100 of them to fill out a questionnaire.”