-Caveat Lector- >--------------------------------------------------------------------------- > www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/aponline/20001121/aponline162817_000.htm > > Tuesday, Nov. 21, 2000; 4:28 p.m. EST > > > CBS Head Details Wrong Florida Calls > > By Curt Anderson > Associated Press Writer > > > WASHINGTON -- The networks' mistaken early calls Election Night that Al > Gore -- and later George W. Bush -- had won Florida were due in part to > flawed exit polls in the Tampa area and a "significant computer error" in > Volusia County's election agency, the CBS News chief told Congress. > > CBS News President Andrew Heyward said in a letter to Rep. Billy Tauzin, > chairman of the House Commerce Committee's telecommunications panel, that > his network's initial call for Gore at 7:50 p.m. EST on Nov. 7 was based > on Voter News Service exit polls and actual vote data, interpreted > through tested statistical models. > > But at about 9:20 p.m., Heyward said in the letter released Tuesday, CBS > found that exit poll results in the Tampa area had overstated Gore's lead > and that tabulated votes in Duval County were probably wrong. That call > was retracted at 9:54 p.m. > > When the networks then erroneously called Florida for George W. Bush > a few hours later, Heyward said, "another series of confusions took > place -- including what at this juncture appears to be a very significant > computer error made by the Volusia County Elections Department -- which > led to another series of bad calls by the television networks and > newspapers across the nation." > > That mistake has been traced to a faulty government computer disk. > > Tauzin, R-La., is investigating what led to the early election calls, how > they affected voter turnout where the polls were still open and whether > any inherent biases were involved, partisan or otherwise. Tauzin, > planning congressional hearings in January, on Tuesday released responses > from the networks and The Associated Press to a series of questions he > has asked in preparation. > > CBS, ABC, NBC, Fox, CNN and the AP make up the consortium that uses Voter > News Service exit polls and actual results to project election results. > The AP never called Florida for Bush but did give, and then retract, the > state's critical 25 electoral votes to Gore earlier in the night. > > Although Tauzin received responses from all six news organizations, > Heyward went into the most detail about what led to the mistaken early > Florida calls. He said the matter will be thoroughly reviewed by a > three-person panel headed by Linda Mason, CBS' vice president of public > affairs. > > "We were as good as the information we were getting from sources we > trusted," Heyward said. "In this case, that information was not good, and > neither were we." > > Top executives at ABC, CNN, Fox and NBC also said they had begun > intensive internal examinations of what went wrong and assured Tauzin of > their future cooperation. > > CNN Chairman Tom Johnson stressed that "there was no intentional bias in > the election night reporting" at his network. > > "Nothing is more upsetting than to make an incorrect projection," added > Robert C. Wright, NBC's president and chief executive officer. > > Tauzin has indicated it may be time to update a 1985 agreement between > Congress and the networks on when races should be called so all of a > state's polls would have to be closed, not just most of them. > > On that point, CBS' Heyward noted that in Florida "it would be extremely > difficult to argue any impact on turnout" because all but 5.8 percent of > the state's precincts were closed when the call for Gore came at 7:50 > p.m. EST -- and the rest closed 10 minutes later. > > Republicans have complained that the initial Florida call for Gore might > have depressed voter turnout in California and elsewhere, tipping the > balance in close House races and helping Gore to a lead in the national > popular vote. > > Meanwhile, the senior Democrat on the Commerce Committee, Rep. John > Dingell of Michigan, has complained to Tauzin that no Democrats have been > involved in the investigation. Of particular interest, he said, is the > presence at Fox of a Bush cousin in a position to influence when the > network called state results. > > "If the work of this committee on this important inquiry is to have > credibility, bipartisan cooperation is necessary," Dingell said. > > > www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/aponline/20001121/aponline162817_000.htm >--------------------------------------------------------------------------- > (C) Copyright 2000 The Associated Press >--------------------------------------------------------------------------- <A HREF="http://www.ctrl.org/">www.ctrl.org</A> DECLARATION & DISCLAIMER ========== CTRL is a discussion & informational exchange list. Proselytizing propagandic screeds are unwelcomed. Substance—not soap-boxing—please! 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