TV's Election Perk: 3-D Maps

摘要

In a bid to set their election- night coverage apart from dozens of rival television outlets and Web sites, the TV networks last week turned to software-driven graphics and other digital displays to give viewers better insight into voting patterns. Every half hour during evening broadcasts, CBS News turned to chief White House correspondent John Roberts, who presented detailed maps of voter turnout based on demographic data such as race, income, and education from his post at the network's Election Data Center. As state-by-state results poured in, CBS filtered its exit-poll data through geographic-information-system software to give viewers 3-D renderings of voting patterns. The network also presented viewers with color-coded digital maps that showed the various methods—paper ballots, punch-card machines, and electronic touch screens— that Americans used to vote.