It’ll be a lot different than folksy Tim Russert and his handheld whiteboard. This year’s election will capture the world’s attention in a television event comparable to the Super Bowl, just one that can extend into unlimited overtimes. Considering the uncertainty (and the stakes), producers know that people will be watching, they will be anxious, and they will be hopping channels.
The Hollywood Reporter spoke with execs and on-air talent at all the major networks, to see how they are preparing for this sure-to-be-unusual night.
“We are going into election day with a ton of preparation, but very few preconceptions,” Noah Oppenheim, president of NBC’s news division said. He added that his team is looking at every contingency, including the possibility not making “a call” for several days, which means a lot of hard work from a personnel and staffing standpoint.
“We are having a conversation on election night with a country that is exhausted,” ABC’s David Muir said, concerning the special sense of responsibility this year.
Susan Zirinski, CBS’s news president, recognized that this isn’t just any election. Apart from the obvious COVID-19 complications, she referred to the final showdown as “two of the most different candidates than you could possibly have put head to head.” Citing the year’s protests for racial justice and general heightened emotions, she concluded, “this is going to be wild, buckle up.”
ABC’s news head James Goldston said the pandemic “introduces just a degree of uncertainty into the entire proceedings that we haven’t seen before,” and that his team is ready to “run with this for as long as is necessary.”
“It is very possible that it will take several days,” ABC’s George Stephanopoulos said, managing expectations, though Fox News’s Martha MacCallum, co-anchoring her first election, said a clear winner in a single night “would be a relief for the country at this point.” NBC anchor Lester Holt noted that viewers may hear analysis distinctive to this year’s vote. “A term that you are not going to hear a lot of this time around is ‘precincts,’” he said, as the increase in early voting means they will be “looking at the percentage of expected vote.”
Holt is also prepared for the possibility of a candidate, say, I dunno, Donald Trump, making pronouncements of a triumph prematurely. “If a candidate wants to get out in front of the camera and make a claim for victory, that is certainly within their right,” he said. Stephanopoulos added “I don’t think we can censor one candidate, but we have to make sure we can fact check.”
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