LOS ANGELES (AP) Even before the polls closed, cable news
viewers could guess the ending of the California recall drama
starring Arnold Schwarzenegger.
Making liberal use of exit polls Tuesday, some cable shows
seemed to barely skirt agreements to avoid signaling an election's
outcome while votes were still being cast.
On Fox News Channel's ``Hannity & Colmes,'' Sean Hannity noted
during an interview with a Democratic California assemblyman that
voter polls pointed toward a Schwarzenegger victory.
``This is it,'' Hannity said. ``Gray Davis is going to be out.
Are the Democrats ready to work with Governor Schwarzenegger?''
Almost instantly after the polls closed at 8 p.m. PDT, all the
networks projected Davis had lost the recall and that the actor
would succeed him.
``This state has undergone a political earthquake,'' Tom Brokaw
said on NBC.
Anchors Brokaw, Peter Jennings of ABC and Dan Rather of CBS all
were in California for special reports on the election, but the
broadcast networks stuck with entertainment programming during
primetime. In California, however, the final network primetime hour
was given over to local election reporting.
Cable channels, with time to fill, feasted on the recall
spectacle as they had for months. With poll numbers and opinions
abounding, the outcome became easy to discern before the polls
closed.
At 6 p.m. PDT, NBC's Washington Bureau Chief Tim Russert on CNBC
talked about how exit polls show women split 47-47 on favorability
for Schwarzenegger, indicating he wasn't badly hurt by accusations
that he groped women.
MSNBC correspondent Davis Shuster, at Davis headquarters, noted
the governor's somber mood in earlier interviews. Democrats at the
headquarters were ``already talking about moral victories,''
Shuster said.
Chris Matthews, interviewing Russert on MSNBC, was already
looking ahead to next year's GOP national convention.
``Do you expect Schwarzenegger will get a prime-time spot at
next year's convention?'' Matthews asked.
``I do, indeed,'' Russert replied.
Fox News Channel, in a report filed about two hours before polls
closed, quoted Schwarzenegger's campaign as saying a majority of
voters, 57 percent, were backing Davis' recall.
Larry Rosin, president of Edison Media Research, which with
Mitofsky International was conducting exit polls for TV stations,
networks and newspapers, said subscribers know the rules about
using polling data.
They are expected to abide by an agreement barring the release
of any information that could characterize the outcome while polls
are open, Rosin said.
That reflects a ``handshake agreement'' the networks reached
with Congress after the 1980 presidential race was called on
national TV for Ronald Reagan while Californians were still voting.
MSNBC's ``Hardball with Chris Matthews'' reported a poll figure
on Davis' low approval rating among voters. ``We're being very
careful in terms of what data we're using,'' said MSNBC spokesman
Jeremy Gaines, excluding anything that would reveal the outcome.
Fox News Channel said it was using no subscriber data in its
reporting.
Fox News Channel's Greta Van Susteren marveled at only the
second gubernatorial recall in U.S. history, asking if it was the
tripling of the vehicle registration fee and Davis' backing of
driver's licenses for illegal immigrants that sealed his fate.
Larry Elder, a conservative syndicated talk show host, called
the recall a cautionary tale.
``This is anger. This is people being overtaxed,
over-regulated,'' Elder told MSNBC's Matthews. ``I'm hoping this is
an object lesson to the other 49 states.''
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AP Television Writer David Bauder contributed to this story.
(Copyright 2003 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)