Votecastr: Difference between revisions
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== Background == |
== Background == |
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During the U.S. Presidential Election of 1980, NBC News projected Reagan as the winner at 8:15 pm EST (5:15 PST), before voting was finished in the West, based on exit polls; it was the first time a broadcast network used exit polling to project a winner, and took the other broadcast networks by surprise. Carter conceded defeat at 9:50 pm EST. Read more on Wikipedia [[United_States_presidential_election,_1980#Results]]. |
During the U.S. Presidential Election of 1980, NBC News projected Reagan as the winner at 8:15 pm EST (5:15 PST), before voting was finished in the West, based on exit polls; it was the first time a broadcast network used exit polling to project a winner, and took the other broadcast networks by surprise. Carter conceded defeat at 9:50 pm EST. Read more on Wikipedia [[United_States_presidential_election,_1980#Results]]. |
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Since that year, Sasha Issenberg explains the "self-imposed gag order" of the Media Networks:<blockquote>The networks’ early calls prompted a congressional inquiry into whether they had depressed West Coast turnout. The three broadcast networks rejected demands that they wait until everyone in the country had voted to report or forecast any results. (There was scant evidence that NBC’s early call had exerted any influence on voter behavior or outcomes.) As a concession, however, the networks promised not to use their exit polls to project the race in a given state until polls had closed there. In the years that followed, other news organizations that had not been subject to the same political pressure—radio stations, newspapers, wire services, cable networks, and websites—nonetheless accepted it as a controlling precedent. Now a de-facto self-imposed gag order hangs over the daylight hours of the year’s biggest news event, sequestering the civic exercise of Election Day from the media spectacle of election night. This distinction is enforced only by the pieties of good-government advocates who, in the wake of the 1980 episode, paternalistically argued that voters cannot be trusted with live information. |
Since that year, Sasha Issenberg explains the "self-imposed gag order" of the Media Networks:<blockquote>The networks’ early calls prompted a congressional inquiry into whether they had depressed West Coast turnout. The three broadcast networks rejected demands that they wait until everyone in the country had voted to report or forecast any results. (There was scant evidence that NBC’s early call had exerted any influence on voter behavior or outcomes.) As a concession, however, the networks promised not to use their exit polls to project the race in a given state until polls had closed there. In the years that followed, other news organizations that had not been subject to the same political pressure—radio stations, newspapers, wire services, cable networks, and websites—nonetheless accepted it as a controlling precedent. Now a de-facto self-imposed gag order hangs over the daylight hours of the year’s biggest news event, sequestering the civic exercise of Election Day from the media spectacle of election night. This distinction is enforced only by the pieties of good-government advocates who, in the wake of the 1980 episode, paternalistically argued that voters cannot be trusted with live information.<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/politics/2016/09/slate_and_votecastr_are_teaming_up_to_publish_real_time_projections_on_election.html|title=Election Day Shouldn’t Be a News-Free Zone|last=Issenberg|first=Sasha|date=2016-09-10|newspaper=Slate|language=en-US|issn=1091-2339|access-date=2016-10-16}}</ref></blockquote> |
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== Controversy == |
== Controversy == |
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Revision as of 21:11, 16 October 2016
| Company type | Private |
|---|---|
| Industry | Politics |
| Founded | September 10, 2016 |
| Founders | Ken Smukler Sasha Issenberg Trevor Cornwell |
Area served | Worldwide |
Key people | Ken Smukler (CEO/Co-Founder) Sasha Issenberg (Co-Founder) Trevor Cornwell (Co-Founder) |
Votecastr is a private company, founded in 2016, to track, model, and publish real-time election results from the 2016 Presidential Election, on November 8th, 2016.
On September 10th, 2016, Votecastr was profiled in The New York Times by Nick Corasaniti[1], and announced it's partnership with Slate.com to publish the data on Election Day[2]. Additionally, co-founder Sasha Issenberg published a piece on Slate.com outline Votecastr's Election Day strategy[3].
Background
During the U.S. Presidential Election of 1980, NBC News projected Reagan as the winner at 8:15 pm EST (5:15 PST), before voting was finished in the West, based on exit polls; it was the first time a broadcast network used exit polling to project a winner, and took the other broadcast networks by surprise. Carter conceded defeat at 9:50 pm EST. Read more on Wikipedia United_States_presidential_election,_1980#Results.
Since that year, Sasha Issenberg explains the "self-imposed gag order" of the Media Networks:
The networks’ early calls prompted a congressional inquiry into whether they had depressed West Coast turnout. The three broadcast networks rejected demands that they wait until everyone in the country had voted to report or forecast any results. (There was scant evidence that NBC’s early call had exerted any influence on voter behavior or outcomes.) As a concession, however, the networks promised not to use their exit polls to project the race in a given state until polls had closed there. In the years that followed, other news organizations that had not been subject to the same political pressure—radio stations, newspapers, wire services, cable networks, and websites—nonetheless accepted it as a controlling precedent. Now a de-facto self-imposed gag order hangs over the daylight hours of the year’s biggest news event, sequestering the civic exercise of Election Day from the media spectacle of election night. This distinction is enforced only by the pieties of good-government advocates who, in the wake of the 1980 episode, paternalistically argued that voters cannot be trusted with live information.[4]
Controversy
Since Votecastr's announcement, many have called for them to stop their work. Namir Yedid said on Twitter "ABSOLUTELY APPALLING. @votecastr should be shamed out of business."[5]
But some have questioned the validity of the claim that publishing Election results before all polls have closed will reduce turnout in Western states. Little Miss Doom said on Twitter "@NamirYedid @votecastr @BrennanCenter they see nothing wrong with it (i heard them on a podcast last week) & it's not illegal..."[6] and later said "@NamirYedid @votecastr @BrennanCenter the thing is, what is the real proof that this kind of thing diminishes west coast turnout?"[7]
Co-Founders:
Listed on their website:[8]
- Ken Smukler, Entrepreneur
- Sasha Issenberg, Journalist
- Trevor Cornwell, Entrepreneur
Partners:
Listed on their website:[8]
- InfoVoter Technologies
- appbackr
- Haystaq DNA
- General Industries Network
See also
References
- ^ Corasaniti, Nick (2016-09-10). "Real-Time Election Day Projections May Upend News Tradition". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2016-10-16.
- ^ Turner, Julia (2016-09-10). "A New Approach to Covering Election Day". Slate. ISSN 1091-2339. Retrieved 2016-10-16.
- ^ Issenberg, Sasha (2016-09-10). "Election Day Shouldn't Be a News-Free Zone". Slate. ISSN 1091-2339. Retrieved 2016-10-16.
- ^ Issenberg, Sasha (2016-09-10). "Election Day Shouldn't Be a News-Free Zone". Slate. ISSN 1091-2339. Retrieved 2016-10-16.
- ^ https://twitter.com/NamirYedid/status/784785728874045440
- ^ https://twitter.com/PhD_femme/status/784787776352976898
- ^ https://twitter.com/PhD_femme/status/784787935371595777
- ^ a b "Votecastr -". www.votecastr.us. Retrieved 2016-10-16.