60 Minutes Saves My Journalist Dreams

Amanda Walters

amanda.n.walters@gmail.com

@amandawalters on Twitter

Election Day is almost here and all eyes are on the presidential candidates. And the sad part is that I can barely watch the news right now because all of the stories are starting to look the same. 

Every network’s coverage is filled with fancy graphics that look at the newest polling numbers (both national and state-by-state) and the newest soundbite from each candidate from (surprise!) Ohio.

Even a lot of the pieces focused on Ohio voters are starting to all look the same. It’s like I honestly can’t get away from President Obama and Mitt Romney.

When I turn off the news in hopes of getting away from the candidates, the ads start popping up. Now you might think that turning the TV would be the easiest way to solve the problem, but being in the biggest swing state makes it impossible.

I opened up my mailbox this weekend only to find 10 flyers from the Obama campaign for me and my boyfriend reminding us to early vote. (Which we already have)

I was starting to think that the election would become the bane of my existence as a journalist; something you have to be a part of but regret every minute of it. Needless to say, I’ve had it up to here with the presidential race. But 60 Minutes made me believe in journalism again.

Instead of covering the horse-race this week, they decided to do two pieces to remind us of where we are and how we got there.

The first piece was by Steve Kroft looking at Congress and how they got to a place where they only had a 13 percent approval rating, according to a Gallup poll in September.

Much of the distain people have for congress right now is because of many members’ inability to compromise on matters like taxes and the deficit.  5-week vacations to visit their constituents and partisan policies have Congress with little incentive to get things done.

Kroft interviewed two former Senators who both left their seats because of the partisanship. Republican Olympia Snow and Democrat Evan Bayh gave up their seats because they couldn’t deal with Congress’ inability to strike even the simplest compromise.

Both Snow and Bayh left in order to bring awareness to the issue of bi-partisanship. Snow said that she felt that she could do more for the country as a citizen, than as a member of the Senate.

Kroft then interviewed Democratic Majority Leader Harry Reid and Republican Minority Leader Mitch McConnell. While Kroft tried to talk to them about why there wasn’t any compromise, both McConnell and Reid tried to blame the other party for Congress’ failure.

I thought this piece was interesting because it’s something we’ve lost in all the hysteria about the election – compromise. Pinning two people against each other like we have pushes each side further away from making a deal.

We’ve also forgotten the importance of the congressional races in our coverage. No matter who the President is, they will have to be able to work with Congress.

The other story I found interesting was about how negative campaigns have been since the beginning of our country. We often like to color our past, and our founding fathers with it, as perfect statesman who are above our negative politics of today.

Historian David McCullough compared this year’s campaigning to years past, and his answer might surprise you.  “Well, Jefferson was paying a slander specialist, a journalist, to go after Adams, writing that he was mentally unbalanced. He was a hermaphrodite, all these things.”

The difference, he sees in this campaign, is that there hasn’t been anything remarkable in a campaign that has seen about a billion dollars in ad buys.

“Imagine the quantity of words that are being produced and you think there's anything that's gonna stand the test of time in there? I haven't heard it yet. We should demand more of them.” McCullough said.

Seeing stories that actually made me think about the election and sparked debate in my house, reminded me that covering the election does not mean that you have to do the same exact story that everyone else already has. For all that – I have to thank 60 Minutes. 

ABC Looks Toward Election Night

Sara Nealeigh
sn115009@ohio.edu
@saranealeigh

With just over 24 hours to go until election day, ABC News and other news outlets are focusing on how the candidates are giving their closing arguments.

Screenshot: ABC Politics page

ABC News has multiple articles on how President Obama, Vice President Joe Biden, and Governor Mitt Romney have been spending the last few days on the campaign trail.

One push that ABC's OTUS (Of The United States) blog suggests, is the final television ad that the Obama campaign launched in Florida and Virginia.

ABC says  these ads focus mostly on women and urging the people within the viewing areas to go out and vote. The Obama campaign's most recently released ads recall the 2000 election, where only 537 votes decided the winner.

Finally, you can go back to pacing the living room over the latest episode of The Walking Dead, without also freaking out over the election during commercial breaks.

But this week, the article that caught my eye right away was less of an article, and more of what the news should have been providing consumers with all along: a list of issues and how both candidates stand on them.

It was definitely a pleasant surprise to go down through the article and see standard issues, such as taxes, foreign policy and the economy. But there were also some more detailed issues, such as gay adoption and relations with Africa.

This helpful little tool was published earlier this week, but honestly should have been made available weeks ago. This sort of information is a large part of what voters want, and shouldn't wait to be published until the week of elections.

In order to provide even more election coverage on Tuesday, ABC News will be livestreaming from their website beginning at noon. Their special Election Night event show will begin at 7 p.m. and will also be streamed from their website.

CNN: Packing up the Circus

Keara Vickers

keara.vickers@gmail.com

@kearavickers

Ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls, Americans of all ages, the circus is nearly over. We’ve seen dancing elephants, braying donkeys, all sorts of rhetorical acrobatics, public relations magicians and an outstanding number of clowns. 

And in a few precious hours the election-hype media will pack up their tents and caravan off toward the horizon like journalistic gypsies, to return again in 2016 with the promise of a new show and a different cast of characters. 

CNN has turned its attention to hashing out a pantheon of hypotheticals and devoted a majority of its Election 2012 page to various what-ifs: What if Ohio goes Romney? What if Virginia votes Democratic? What happens if Romney wins?  What happens if President Obama wins a second term?

While these hypotheticals serve as good-fun ways to spend time (and I will admit that I’ve wasted shameful amounts of time playing out swing-state scenarios on those electoral college maps,) I see a real lack of coverage as these last hours tick away. 

Source: CNN

There’s stories here and there about how the candidates are zipping around from swing state to swing state, but I have no idea what issues they’re discussing -- I can’t imagine the same stump speech would go over in Colorado like it would in Florida. Even northeast and southeast Ohio have different needs to address in this upcoming election and I’ve yet to see deep coverage of most of these issues. 

But there’s another looming variable the CNN hasn’t ignored: Sandy. The hurricane obliterated the northeast and left with much of shoreline New York City still underwater. The campaigns were left to scramble their resources and deviate from the usual week-before campaign stops to refocus on photo-ops, rebuilding and most frustratingly the fate of FEMA. Rarely at this point in a campaign would something like federal emergency management come to the forefront of the public consciousness, and neither candidate seemed truly prepared to answer all of the questions that were thrown in the hours and days following Sandy’s wrath. 

And finally, it wouldn’t be the pre-election roundup without a quick glance at CNN’s Poll of Polls. Now, I don’t think it’s any big secret how much I hate polls -- statistics, samples and questions can all be made to reflect a certain predestined outcome -- but for the sake of our own sanity lets just assume this one is free of that kind of bias. If everything here is statistically accurate of the attitude of the voting public on November 6th, the race is literally too close to call.

Right now is the grand finale. All of the elephants, the dancing horses, the big brass band and the parade of clowns have worked themselves into a fever pitch just to have the next few hours. On Wednesday morning, somebody will have won, somebody else will have lost, the sun will come up, the world will spin on and our televisions will no longer be assaulted by a constant stream of campaign advertisements. I think that’s something both sides of the aisle can look forward to.  

Race Tightens, FOX Steps Up Their Game

Devin Bartolotta
DB181708@ohio.edu
@HighDEVinition


There have been many headlines that have actually evoked a physical eyebrow raise from me in the past, but this one took the cake. I was shocked to find this article, and even more shocked that it hasn't appeared on any other news outlets yet. A check to CNN and ABC News turned up nothing for me, in what seems to be an extremely important headline.

Rightly so, all of the headlines seem to be about the last 48 hours before the election. Luckily for news outlets, this race has become so close that they actually have things to write about other than rallies. Interesting coverage has also included this article about the Redskins loss, supposedly implying a Romney victory on Tuesday. In fact, I've actually enjoyed campaign coverage in the past few days.

This race will come right down to the wire, and candidates are scrambling. It's safe to say that neither President Obama or Romney will sleep tonight or tomorrow, as the whole world watches their last-minute campaign moves. FOX News' polls have Romney with an extremely slight lead, but is still calling Ohio a tossup.

FOX News has done a great job this week at finding smaller, interesting stories to keep the election exciting for readers. I'm looking forward to see how they cover election night, and how they can shake it up from the "norm" we've all gotten used to.

Candidates Focused On Ohio

Mike Bundt
mb374008@ohio.edu
@bundtm11

It shouldn't be any surprise where both candidates are focused on right now.

With the election only a day away, Ohio is drawing all of the attention of both campaigns. Whoever wins the state will most likely win the election and both are trying to get one final run in.

On both candidates facebook pages, you can tell that the election is nearing.

Both candidates are presently using their pages, urging people to vote and to make a difference.

Romney is focused on trying to sway Ohio voters onto his side, telling them why he would be the right choice for them and the United States.

Photo from Romney's facebook page

He has held rallies in Ohio over the past week and is trying really hard to reverse the current polls that have President Obama leading in the state.

President Obama has also been focused on the state of Ohio although he has been more focused on early voting in the state.

In 2008, early voting was at an all-time high and heavily favored President Obama over John McCain.

President Obama is hoping that trend continues this year as he has posted several messages urging people to vote early.

Message on President Obama's facebook page

One thing is clear, with the election coming up on Tuesday, both candidates are ramping up their efforts at making one last run to sway voters.

Both President Obama and Mitt Romney have been constantly urging their base to go out and vote and realize the importance of this election.

They both already know what it will take to win this election, hence the strong focus on the state of Ohio.

Now, all we have to do is wait two more day before we eventually find out who will be in office during the next four years.

As Election Day Nears, Focus Shifts from Candidates to Issues: NPR's Pre-election week coverage

Seaira Christian-Daniels

seaira.daniels@gmail.com

@seairacdaniels

Yes, People Actually Vote for Things Other than the President

Legalizing gay marriage, medicinal marijuana, and increasing taxes--both Democratic and Republican candidates have talked about these things on the stump. 

However, many voters will cast their ballots on this issue at the state level, where, according to NPR News, the issues are really decided. In Maine, Maryland, and Washington State, there are already initiatives addressing these three issues, but after citizens vote Tuesday, they will become law.

They Wouldn’t Vote if you Paid Them

Though some voters may not understand why candidates still urge Americans to vote, the candidates are not wasting their breath.

In fact, according to a Pew Research Center report, 43 percent of Americans chose to steer clear of the polls on Election Day in 2008.

The select group of people refuses to vote this election for a variety of reasons, from the plausible to the controversial. One non-voter is a student from California, a historically Democratic state, who feels his vote will not make any difference this election. Another who is a language interpreter from Alabama claims she will not vote, as a Christian, to keep biblical neutrality in all governmental matters.

Ironically, the non-voters responded to a query on NPR’s Facebook page to say they wouldn’t vote.  Which raises another issue: Who “should” vote? Is voting only for the politically astute or those educated on the issues? Political (and Constitutional) correctness advocates for all voters—informed or not. 

How Voters and Non-Voters Would Vote this Election

However, if the very people who are engaged enough to take the time to participate in a political poll while they’re strolling through Facebook do not want to cast their ballots, what does this say of those who form their decision from nothing but television campaign ads? When the twitter page @nonVotersVoice follows @CNN @washingtonpost and @TheRoot247, something seems a little backwards.

Sandy: Why-yi-yi-yi

Hurricane Sandy has already left her mark on major cities in the East Coast, but the amount of destruction she brought with her has some state officials wondering why the levee systems weren’t strong enough to withstand her surges.  The answer is the same one given to Katrina victims: the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers does not know exactly the total number of levees nationwide.

There are no national standards for levee construction, and often, citizens will build their own levees to protect their property from floodwaters. Until the issue of levees appears on the ballots in the near future, the potential for another breech will always loom over America’s coastal areas.

The Daily Show: "A Tribute to Institutional Competence"

By: Leah Petrovich
lp183908@ohio.edu

Last week I blogged about the suspense building in the country due to the nearing of the one week marker to election day. Well, 75 mph winds came and blew election stories into the gutter.

Hurricane Sandy ripped through the east coast last week causing million dollars of damage and killing nearly 150 people. Sandy's effects are no joke.

However, how did a natural disaster like Sandy effect the election?

The Daily Show was titled, "A Tribute to Institutional Competence" this week due to the decline of political banter and rise of emergency relief to Sandy victims.

Stewart says, "Once you remove political and partisan gamesmanship, performance improves dramatically!"

So far, it seems as if people are pleased with how President Obama has responded to the storm. Here is an article from The Washington Post tracking data of how people feel about the president's performance throughout the disaster.

Something even more interesting than all that poll data is the effect President Obama's response has had on a previously known Romney ally and Governor of New Jersey, Chris Christie.

The Daily Show with Jon Stewart
Get More: Daily Show Full Episodes,Political Humor & Satire Blog,The Daily Show on Facebook

On this weeks episode of The Daily Show, Jon Stewart shares with viewers that Governor Christie has been known for his support of Romney in this election. Stewart shows a speech given by Christie on October 19 in which he says that President Obama is in a dark room, "clutching for the light switch of leadership, and he just won't find it."

Governor Chris Christie, New Jersey

Yet, after a nine feet storm surge the tables turn.

Stewart then shows a recent news interview where Christie is commending the president's cooperation and acceleration of disaster declaration.  "I guess he found that fucking light switch," Stewart jokes.

The anchors in the news interview bring up the fact that Christie has been a supporter of Romney. "If you think right now I give a damn about presidential politics then you don't know me," was Christie's response. A bold remark from a politician, but I'm sure New Jersey hasn't had time to think it over amid mounds of debris.

Comedy Central is advertising their live election night specials on The Daily Show and Colbert Report.
The Daily Show’s “Election Night 2012: This Ends Now” 
and The Colbert Report Presents “Election 2012: A Nation Votes, Ohio Decides; The Re-Presidenting of America: Who Will Replace Obama? ‘012!” will both air live on Comedy Central from 11:00-11:30 p.m. ET (8:00-8:30 p.m. PT) and 11:30-midnight ET (8:30-9:00 p.m. PT) respectively. 

Our class will be busy in the newsroom, but these are two episodes that I will definitely be watching later online.