Television Analysts Anticipated A Clinton Win In Ohio

The 24-hour cable news channels called Ohio for Hillary Rodham Clinton at 10:55 p.m. The projection was framed as a long foregone conclusion by Brit Hume on Fox News almost at the same second that MSNBC and CNN put Ohio in the win column for Clinton.

Local Cleveland stations were more cautious, reporting that the cable channels had declared Clinton the victor. But during the wait for results from Ohio, TV’s political pundits and prognosticators did everything they could to suggest a Clinton victory.

Looking at the exit poll breakdowns, veteran analyst Bob Schieffer told CBS anchor Katie Couric during the 6:30 p.m. newscast that it “was not good news for Barack Obama.” It set the tone for the night’s coverage.

The specter of the disastrously premature projection on election night 2000 hangs over TV campaign coverage, so news operations were careful not to make too quick a call for the key battleground states of Ohio or Texas. “Too close to call” remained the rule for much of the night.

Although stressing caution and focusing on exit polls, the news teams clearly were looking beyond what Fox News was calling Super Tuesday II.

Unanimity typically is difficult to find among TV’s many political analysts. But behind all the talk was a strong sense that Super Tuesday II would be a super rebound day for Clinton. Reporting from Columbus, NBC’s Andrea Mitchell said that “the mood is as good as it has been” in a long time in the Clinton campaign. MSNBC’s Chris Matthews predicted that, before the night was over, the Ohio results would trigger a shower of celebratory confetti on Clinton.

Fox News, MSNBC and CNN were quick to call Vermont for Obama and Republican candidate John McCain the second the polls closed there. They also called Ohio for McCain after the polls closed here at 7:30 p.m., although later reporting that some polls in Cuyahoga County had been ordered to stay open.

Locally, WOIO Channel 19 was the only station cutting to news coverage when CNN called Ohio for McCain at 7:30 p.m. and when McCain declared victory at 9:47 p.m. But with WJW Channel 8’s regular newscast starting at 10 p.m., WKYC Channel 3 and WEWS Channel 5 aired primary specials at that time. Channel 19 stayed with the 10-11 “Jericho,” although its sister station, WUAB Channel 43, aired its regular newscast at that time.

Each of the national news operations had an Ohio presence. Couric anchored the CBS coverage from Columbus. ABC’s Charles Gibson was in Texas, but the network had Kate Snow reporting from Columbus. And Mitchell reported for NBC and MSNBC from Columbus.

Fox News had Jeff Goldblatt in Cleveland, reporting on the new ballots. MSNBC had Ron Allen and CNN had Jim Acosta stationed in Cleveland.

Cable was the place for political junkies at 9:15 p.m. when the Rhode Island race was called for Clinton and Mike Huckabee dropped out of the Republican race. The local stations still were airing entertainment programs.

Best toy of the evening: the clear winner was CNN reporter John King’s high-tech touch-screen showing states, counties and projected delegate totals.

– By Mark Dawidziak

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