NBC Election Coverage Report Card

Due to all the buildup and media hype surrounding the 2008 Presidential Election, there was no doubt viewers would be tuning in all night long to witness history. However, with so many channel options to pick from, which station coverage was best?

I watched NBC throughout the night and graded the channel on a variety of areas. Here are the results:

Anchor, Brian Williams; Grade: A

No surprise here. NBC went to its go-to guy to hold down the fort in what surely must be one of the longest nights of the year for any television journalist. The anchor and managing editor of NBC Nightly News handled the chaotic electoral evening with poise and organization. Most of the segments seemed to flow rather nicely and that has everything to do with the anchor. Acting as the quarterback for the program, composure was his best attribute and he never rushed a segment, which is hard to do when state results come in unexpectedly.

Analysis; Grade: B+

This was lacking at times but overall it got the job done. Grizzled veteran Tom Brokaw offered his usual solid insight while political director Chuck Todd previewed possible scenarios throughout the evening. Aside from these two, however, there was little to get excited about. It would have been nice to have a slew of analysts, from both parties, providing some political banter. But I guess that's what CNN is for.

Technology; Grade: A-

In this era of rising technology the casual viewer is always looking for the next cool visual aid. While I hear other media stations offered holographic analysts, NBC perfected an old reliable tool: the green room. This was more than an average green backdrop, it was an entire room with decked-out bar graphs popping out of the ground in every which way. A political analyst stood in the middle of it all explaining all the statistics, most of which were based on exit polling. Additionally, NBC even took the viewer through a backstage tour of the green room to show how it all comes together. Very interesting.

Field Reporting; Grade: B+

This is one of those areas which don't seem too important at the time, but nevertheless, is greatly needed. Field reporting gives everyone a break from the studio and offers the sights and sounds from other parts of the country. NBC did not give extensive coverage in this regard but the bare minimum was certainly met. The obvious was covered, such as reporting from both McCain and Obama's home bases, but it was mostly just visuals. A few more interesting stories would have helped fill-in the dry moments of the night.

Website; Grade: B-

Lets face it: the internet is taking over all other media mediums these days. Therefore, a great website is vital in keeping the attention of the public. The election coverage is no different and unfortunately this is where NBC was lacking. It was rather plain and simple with the quintessential map of different colored states showing the election results. Granted, that map is what people want to see during election night but there was really nothing else the website offered. More so, the results were coming in awfully slow, sometimes 15 minutes after being reported on television. A website is supposed to offer speed and relevance, and NBC's site came up a bit short.

Overall; Grade: A-

From both a journalistic and casual viewer perspective, NBC did a pretty good job of covering such a hyped up election. There was very little bias across the board and that is hard to do in such a lengthy telecast. Williams set the pace for a very smooth evening and the virtual greenroom was really something else. There were also some nice commemorative plugs for the late Tim Russert, the NBC political analyst who past away last summer. Furthermore, although the website was lacking, it definitely did not take away from the overall performance of the station.