How to Track an Election

Three Cronkite School teachers reveal what voters should pay attention to when reporting and what it’s really like in a newsroom on election night (spoiler alert: there’s pizza galore!)

Every election night, adrenaline pumps through newsrooms across the country as journalists feel the pulse of democracy. We gathered three seasoned reporters — all faculty from Arizona State University’s Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication with decades of experience covering elections — to take a deep dive into the chaos, excitement and unpredictability that characterize this electrifying night .

Ida B. Wells Professor Angela Hill has held positions at ABC News, Scripps News and the Washington Post, while Professor of Practice and Executive Editor of Carnegie-Knight News21 Pauline Arrillaga spent nearly three decades at The Associated Press; Both teach Cronkite reporting courses to journalists. Assistant Professor Allysa Adams has worked in the television news industry for more than 30 years, including working at CBS News for Walter Cronkite himself; Now she leads student journalists in election coverage for Cronkite News, which reaches 1.9 million households statewide on Arizona PBS.

From print to pizza, our seasoned pros reveal what it’s really like to follow updates as the nation holds its breath, and what audiences should know as they watch the results announcement on November 5.

Note: The interview has been edited for clarity and brevity.

Question: How would you describe a newsroom on election night?

Arrillaga: An election night newsroom comes down to three things: lots of people, pizza and patience. The first two are self-explanatory. Third: Election night is a waiting game.

Adams: We often refer to election night as the Super Bowl of news. The newsroom is lively and loud; Reporting teams come and go, constantly moving to new locations to cover as much of the community as possible. Despite the long hours, the energy rarely flags: the atmosphere is fun and full of collegiality. Election Day means takeout pizza, coffee, and sugar as we roll toward the finish line full of junk food and anticipation.

Hill: Election night in a newsroom can be one of the most exciting and stressful experiences in the news business. The pace is fast, the energy is high, and the information from the newsroom and beyond is constantly changing.

Q: What do journalists really do on election night?

Hill: Journalists report, investigate, call sources, receive feeds and broadcast footage from colleagues on the ground, interact with the political data team, and more. Depending on the newsroom, colleagues may also work on live shows with reporters and producers across the country. Most of these moving parts are planned and coordinated weeks and months in advance to ensure that election nights run as smoothly as possible. Even if some things don’t go as planned, there is a backup plan to the backup plan, and journalists are adept at pivoting. All of this makes for an unforgettable evening!

Arrillaga: I worked for nearly three decades as a reporter and editor at The Associated Press, the outlet many others rely on for information about who is likely to win or lose a race. In close races, these calls often come late at night. On the night of the 2016 presidential election between Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton, I was the lead editor of the AP story about American voters and their reaction to the race. It wasn’t until 2:29 a.m. ET that the AP declared Trump the winner. At that point, despite the hour, I directed my reporters to reach out again to some of the voters we spoke to earlier in the evening so we could quickly update our story and at least get a reaction. I went home around 3 a.m. Arizona time, slept for a few hours, and then headed back out to begin work on the many follow-up stories to come.

Q: Do student journalists prepare in the same way?

Adams: Our journalists receive their assignments at least three weeks before Election Day and prepare who or what they will cover. But we tell them that everything could change depending on the news, so we talk about election news daily, hire special speakers to keep us abreast of trends, and read and watch other coverage throughout the semester.

Q: Journalists have a duty to be fair in their reporting, but they are also private citizens outside of their work who can and should choose. How do journalists maintain this balance during an election?

Arrillaga: Most journalists take their role in covering elections extremely seriously – so much so that some even go so far as to not vote to ensure their reporting remains fair. I left AP in 2019 to join ASU’s Cronkite School, but to this day I do not sign petitions, participate in political protests as a citizen, or put up political signs in my yard. People know that I am a journalist and a professor of journalism, and it is important for me to separate my own political views from my work.

Adams: We tell our reporters that the best thing about elections is the opportunity to talk to a variety of people. We witness and become part of the democratic process that is so much larger than the world in which they live. These one-on-one conversations are exactly the kind of discussions that help our students see different perspectives and understand how opinions that may be different than their own are important.

Q: What should people read and watch on election night to ensure they get the best information?

Hill: People should consume news from various media sources and platforms, from mainstream and independent news outlets to social media.

Adams: For your information, go to primary sources – the government agencies responsible for elections, the Arizona Secretary of State, county recorders – and then turn to trusted media organizations that compile information from those primary sources.

Q: What should people look for in election coverage to know if it’s a good thing?

Adams: If there’s one thing I hope we’ve all learned from the recent election, it’s to be cautious about early predictions based on exit polls. Anything that does not come from a primary source, but rather someone’s predictions, should be viewed with caution. Words like “unconfirmed,” “unofficial,” and “personal prediction” should raise eyebrows.

Arrillaga: It’s important to remember that news organizations don’t decide elections. They may call elections and predict winners, but these are not the final results, which often take days or weeks to compile. In addition to watching the news on election night, I keep my computer open to the Arizona Secretary of State’s office so I can watch in real time, officially Results by county as they come in.

Q: How should people use social media to supplement what they read and watch?

Adams: Social media is still a great place to stay informed about changes in the voting process, election updates and results. But always use the warnings as a starting point for your own research. If someone reports that there is a large line at a particular polling location, go to the county elections website and see if there are any warnings or announcements about that location.

Hill: When following election coverage at all levels of government, social media can be a great source of breaking news. It’s also a useful tool to get a sense of how people with different political views process and respond to the information they receive, and to get a sense of what different expert voices are saying – which may not be in the media you read or watch – talk about a problem. However, when it comes to getting reliable news and information, it is important to consult well-known sources that have well-known processes for confirming and fact-checking information.

Q: How should we talk to kids about election coverage?

Hill: Children and young people often consume election coverage – whether passively or actively – without the education and context they need to fully understand what is going on. Looking at what they see through the lens of civics can be an informative and entertaining way to help them understand the value of election coverage, the role elections play in our daily lives, and the importance of engaging with the to better understand democracy. It is vital that we teach young people that everything they see and read is not true or accurate and that we research the facts from reputable and reliable sources.

Adams: Children need perspective, and sometimes it feels like choices play an outsized role in our psyche. I tell kids that’s how democracy works: it’s often loud and boisterous, fun and frustrating, but for hundreds of years we’ve been running elections and living with the results. It is an important part of how our country functions.

Stay up to date on election coverage from Arizona State University student journalists at Cronkite news And AZPBS.org.