Vote USA 2004

http://newsimg.bbc.co.uk/media/images/39706000/gif/_39706351_vote_usa_2004_hyper.gif

Well today of course is Super Tuesday, and more and more television netwroks are unveiling their presentation for the presidential elections coming up in November.

News 24, as I suspect most other news channel will be, are covering Super Tuesday throughout the night, and already they have been having broadcasts from their Washington studio on todays events.

Here are some captures from a few minutes ago.

http://www.rtsnet.tv/temp/captures/voteusa2004/001.jpg

http://www.rtsnet.tv/temp/captures/voteusa2004/002.jpg

http://www.rtsnet.tv/temp/captures/voteusa2004/003.jpg

http://www.rtsnet.tv/temp/captures/voteusa2004/004.jpg

I saw some very nice special graphics on a trailer for the elections shown last night, on News 24. They looked like they could be part of some special titles. Well, it would be a waste if they weren't!

I think I caught a bit of that. Was that with the red stripes breaking away and acting like bars flying around the screen?

Has anyone got any captures of this, or any American news networks presentation for the elections?

No wonder the turnout in US elections is so low - I think even people interested in politics would be bored by the amount of coverage their elections get. The actual election isn't until November, yet because of the pre-nomination process of primaries and caucuses, the media goes mad already! I pity people living in America - they'll have this continuously now until January 2005!! And there aren't just presidential elections - there are also Congressional elections at federal level, as well as many more at state level.

Anwway, back to presentation - I saw a clip of Mishal Husain advertising BBC World's coverage on the breakfiller the other day, with what looks like special titles.

the results for all the polls come in at 0100 GMT which is 6 mins from now so they might unveil their special graphics then.

I caught some of the Fox and CNN coverage last night. Fox had built quite a nice studio especially for the coverage, in what I think was the Fox & Friends studio. CNN were using their Atlanta newsroom, which was decorated with a slightly excessive amount of red, white and blue - looked a bit like a village fete!

At one point, CNN were talking to a correspondent in Georgia, and a load of protestors filled the background of the shot, waving banners with 'CNN is bad news' written on them - needless to say, the interview was cut short! Anyone know what this protest was about - Fox News fans, mabe...?

Probably ex-CNN staff, rather than Fox News fans.

I have seen the CNN election night set up before now, on their Congress elections in 2002. Village fete is certainly apt. I'm sure there are pictures of it somewhere on the Zabalo/Informativos TV site.

Rob: I would say that such a drawn out process probably does, as you say, put a lot of people off, but as a political junkie I find it absolutely brilliant. I really wish we had this big-spending, dirty-tricks set-up in the UK.

Utterly bizarre to see that Sky have today sent Martin Stanford to New York. I only watched coverage until about 2am, but I didn't see him appear at all last night. So why send him today? All he's been doing is giving reaction, etc... very nice, but they do have correspondents that could've done it, surely? All he keeps saying is "we now have to wait 8 months until the election proper". Hardly going to keep him there, are they.

Perhaps because the other US correspondent is in Haiti that he's there. But does seem a little odd to send him today to cover reaction, rather than yesterday to cover the thing itself.

all seems a bit soon for discussion and coverage...

Well, not really, Martin.

I criticised ABC on here a few months ago for having a "Vote 2004" DOG up throughout all of their news programmes. That was too soon; they weren't doing blanket coverage of it, it wasn't even the top story on their news bulletins.

Now, however, the race has really kicked off. Bush starts his campaign tomorrow with the largest funds anyone has ever had for a campaign (thank you, oil industry), there are still plenty more primaries to come, though Kerry will win them all, because technically not all candidates have dropped out of the race, just the main ones.

There is the massive convention season throughout the summer (I'm off to Boston for the Democratic National Convention with Mr Kerry. Meet and greet duty. Most fun). The Republicans are holding their effort in New York, the city they outspokenly attacked for its inability to hold a good convention four years ago, but it has suddenly got their vote this time... I wonder why.

Yep - just found out that they were protesting against CNN firing technicians who were union members, and replacing them with non-union staff.

http://www.unionvoice.org/campaign/CNN_is_bad_news

In the UK it is a bit soon. I can understand america starting their coverage. They believe they are the world, and so a presidential ellection is big for them.

But the UK should not start devoting their time to cover these events till election night in November...

Sorry, Martin, that's complete twaddle.

America is the most powerful country in the world, and its politics are the most important by a very, very, very long way.

To say that UK broadcasters should essentially just ignore Super Tuesday, a massively important night in American politics, is frankly stupid. It does matter, and it did deserve to get coverage.

Mark: CNN have always had trouble with unions. They made the mistake of having a really half-arsed approach to it at first, with technical staff being union and non-technical not; now they are trying to remedy that, and not making themselves hugely popular in the process.