WEBVTT - Election Special 

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<v Speaker 1>Pushkin. There's a place in our world where the paper

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<v Speaker 1>ballots go, a ballot box somewhere, I hope. Welcome to

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<v Speaker 1>the Last Archive Special Election Edition. I'm Jill Lapour. How

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<v Speaker 1>will we know the results of the twenty twenty election?

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<v Speaker 1>And when? Last year? On the Last Archive we did

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<v Speaker 1>a whole episode about the prediction of election results and

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<v Speaker 1>how all that changed in nineteen fifty two. Turn back

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<v Speaker 1>the hands of your clock and go listen to that episode.

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<v Speaker 1>It's the fifth one Project X. When I was reporting it,

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<v Speaker 1>I telephoned the wonderful, delightful Bob Schieffer to ask him

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<v Speaker 1>about calling elections on election night. Schieffer, who's now retired,

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<v Speaker 1>was for a very long time the host of CBS's

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<v Speaker 1>Face the Nation. The interview didn't really fit in the episode,

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<v Speaker 1>but it's haunted me ever since this election season. Twitter's

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<v Speaker 1>announced that it's going to slow the flow of information

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<v Speaker 1>not so fast people keep saying about this year's voting,

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<v Speaker 1>So one question keep snagging me. How did we get

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<v Speaker 1>so caught up in a fetish for speed in the

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<v Speaker 1>first place. Honestly, what's the hurry? My daughter just always

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<v Speaker 1>asked me to see, Dad, did you want to be

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<v Speaker 1>a TV reporter when you were a little boy, and

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<v Speaker 1>they didn't have TV when I was a little boy,

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<v Speaker 1>come to Fort Worth until the eighth grade, and I

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<v Speaker 1>remember very well we were going out to eat one

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<v Speaker 1>night and we had this Mashican restaurant we always went to,

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<v Speaker 1>and we got out. There was an appliance store next

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<v Speaker 1>door to the restaurant and we there was a little

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<v Speaker 1>TV in the window and they had it on and

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<v Speaker 1>I remember that's the first time I've ever seen TV

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<v Speaker 1>and I was just mesmerized by it. My dad said,

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<v Speaker 1>come on, I'm hungry, I don't have time to watch.

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<v Speaker 1>So that was my introduction to television. Wow. And did

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<v Speaker 1>your family watch the news when you then, like when

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<v Speaker 1>you're in high school? Oh? Absolutely. We always watched the news,

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<v Speaker 1>and for some reason, and I don't really know why,

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<v Speaker 1>I guess we watched CBS, although the local affiliate, and

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<v Speaker 1>Fort Worth was an NBC station. But my mother once

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<v Speaker 1>Walter Cronkite came along and all of that, she really

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<v Speaker 1>liked Walter and so we kind of we kind of

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<v Speaker 1>grew up with Hunley and Brinkley and Walter Cronkite. Yeah, yeah,

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<v Speaker 1>you know, I had forgotten I went was watching the

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<v Speaker 1>nineteen fifty two coverage. So it's Cronkite and Morrow and

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<v Speaker 1>then Charles Collingwood. I had forgotten how kind of dashing

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<v Speaker 1>and debonair Cronkite was in the fifties. Yeah, Willie. And

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<v Speaker 1>he had a mustache, which not many people on television

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<v Speaker 1>journal his hand in those days. But he was he

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<v Speaker 1>was very urbane, you know, and he had he'd been

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<v Speaker 1>to World War Two and uh, you know, he had

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<v Speaker 1>been you know, foreign correspondent, and so he'd been around

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<v Speaker 1>by that time. And a lot of people said that,

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<v Speaker 1>you know, if Walter walked into a television station today,

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<v Speaker 1>I'm applied for a job, he wouldn't get hired because

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<v Speaker 1>he didn't look like a reporter. But he and he

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<v Speaker 1>had that you know, that cadence in his voice, the

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<v Speaker 1>soul correspondent and uh, you know, and nobody talks like

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<v Speaker 1>that anyway, but Walter really did talk like that, and

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<v Speaker 1>he talked like that off camera as well as uh

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<v Speaker 1>one camera. Yeah. Well, so trying to grapple here what

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<v Speaker 1>the consequences are of the kind of explosion of information

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<v Speaker 1>available to news broadcasters and reporters around elections that really,

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<v Speaker 1>you know, this is kind of watershed moment in fifty

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<v Speaker 1>two when CBS decides to try to predict the election

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<v Speaker 1>the very night using the returns as they're coming in

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<v Speaker 1>that can be calculated with a Unix. CBS announced that

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<v Speaker 1>they would be giving the fastest election prediction ever given,

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<v Speaker 1>and that they would call the election before anyone else

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<v Speaker 1>could call it, because I'm fifty two. The worry was

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<v Speaker 1>like they would if they made a prediction, it would

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<v Speaker 1>be wrong. But if they didn't make a prediction, no

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<v Speaker 1>one would watch. And so they bring in this machine

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<v Speaker 1>to grant legitimacy to their prediction, but then maybe they

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<v Speaker 1>lead us into a different kind of political trouble. So

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<v Speaker 1>I would just love to hear your vantage about what

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<v Speaker 1>it means to bring in computer and what we would

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<v Speaker 1>now call, you know, big data into the newsroom on

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<v Speaker 1>an election night. You know it's CBS. When we would

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<v Speaker 1>talk about those early days, the thing that always surprised

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<v Speaker 1>us is they brought in this computer and then when

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<v Speaker 1>they got the results from the computer, they didn't believe it.

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<v Speaker 1>They i didn't know if it was true or not,

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<v Speaker 1>and they were hesitant about reporting it. They held the

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<v Speaker 1>information for a while, but the coming of the computers

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<v Speaker 1>changed everything about election night. I mean, in our romantic

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<v Speaker 1>rear view mirror, we look back and think about election

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<v Speaker 1>nights when the family gathered around the radio and you know,

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<v Speaker 1>they put on an extra cup of coffee and then

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<v Speaker 1>they waited and waited for the returns to come in,

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<v Speaker 1>and it was a lot of fun and in a

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<v Speaker 1>funny kind of way. Among other things. The computers sort

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<v Speaker 1>of took the fun out of election night and changed

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<v Speaker 1>it completely. I mean, you think back to you know,

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<v Speaker 1>back when Woodrow Wilson in nineteen sixteen he went to

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<v Speaker 1>bed thinking he had lost the presidency, and it was

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<v Speaker 1>not till four days later that he found out that

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<v Speaker 1>he had won. And down through the years that began,

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<v Speaker 1>you know, to speed up a little bit. But with

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<v Speaker 1>the coming of computers, it really changed everything. And some

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<v Speaker 1>people thought that was very unfair. They didn't like the

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<v Speaker 1>idea they were going to find out in an hour

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<v Speaker 1>or so who won the election. But in some cases

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<v Speaker 1>that was that was exactly what happened. And so when

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<v Speaker 1>you had those conversations, did anyone, I mean, aside from

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<v Speaker 1>sort of looking backward with a little bit of wistfulness,

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<v Speaker 1>did anybody ever say well, here's here's the way we

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<v Speaker 1>shouldn't be using them. Or were you at the table

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<v Speaker 1>for some of those conversations over the years, you know,

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<v Speaker 1>from the from the coming of the computers, from the

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<v Speaker 1>coming of all technological uh advanced You know, the one

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<v Speaker 1>thing about communications that is constant is it's always changing,

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<v Speaker 1>and as we have seen over the years, it always

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<v Speaker 1>gets faster. And the use of computers is like we

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<v Speaker 1>always do with new technology. And that goes all the

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<v Speaker 1>way back to the invention of the machine gun, and

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<v Speaker 1>you think about how many people died before the general's

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<v Speaker 1>understood that the way to attack a machine gun is

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<v Speaker 1>not to march your troops head on into machine gun fire.

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<v Speaker 1>You kind of go around to the side and just

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<v Speaker 1>like now we're we're grappling with what to do with

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<v Speaker 1>digital and all of that, and you know, we thought

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<v Speaker 1>this was going to end all the problems and just

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<v Speaker 1>make things faster, but we didn't understand the downside of

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<v Speaker 1>these new technological advances. You think Facebook knew what the

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<v Speaker 1>downside of what Zuckerberg had, you know, put on the

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<v Speaker 1>market there. I'm sure he didn't, nor did anyone else,

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<v Speaker 1>but we always in its understandable well we always use

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<v Speaker 1>technology before we completely understand it, and that was absolutely

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<v Speaker 1>the case with the coming computers to election night. So

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<v Speaker 1>what are the aside from taking the fun out of

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<v Speaker 1>election night, what are the other consequences do you think

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<v Speaker 1>for coverage or for how the elections themselves go. Well,

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<v Speaker 1>the computers do make mistakes, and I mean the technology

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<v Speaker 1>is sometimes wrong. I mean, and what I always think

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<v Speaker 1>about on election night. The first thing when people talk

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<v Speaker 1>about computers and things like that is in nineteen eighty

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<v Speaker 1>NBC called Ronald Reagan the winner at eight fifteen on

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<v Speaker 1>election night. It was such a huge landslide over Jimmy

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<v Speaker 1>Carter and Carter formally conceded at ten o'clock before the

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<v Speaker 1>polls had even closed in the West, and Democrats were

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<v Speaker 1>absolutely furious. Two Democrats, al Oleman and James Corman publicly

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<v Speaker 1>blamed Carter for their defeats out there. Whether that was

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<v Speaker 1>the cause or not, they actually said it was his fault.

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<v Speaker 1>Senator Warren Magnusson was also defeated because all these many

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<v Speaker 1>races in the Western time zone had been affected by

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<v Speaker 1>Carter's concession. House Speaker Tip O'Neill was so furious he

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<v Speaker 1>exploded in a conversation with a Carter aid telling him

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<v Speaker 1>you jerks came in like a bunch of jerks and

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<v Speaker 1>you're going out the same way. He was just absolutely furious,

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<v Speaker 1>and Washington State Congressman Tom Foley said it was vintage

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<v Speaker 1>Carter at his dead worst. And you know that, we

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<v Speaker 1>began to think about then we'll wait a minute here.

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<v Speaker 1>We've got the ability to do this. And the landslide

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<v Speaker 1>was so overwhelming that was there just wasn't much question

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<v Speaker 1>about whether it was right or not. It was right,

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<v Speaker 1>but the impact was something that nobody had really thought

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<v Speaker 1>very much about until that time. And would that happen now?

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<v Speaker 1>I mean, would people call a national election before the

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<v Speaker 1>local contests had been decided? Well? I think it would depend.

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<v Speaker 1>We instituted rules somewhere back that we never called a

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<v Speaker 1>state until the polls had had closed in that state.

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<v Speaker 1>If you had a situation, where would you call it

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<v Speaker 1>before eleven o'clock? I think that's an open question. If

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<v Speaker 1>it was a huge and overwhelming landslide, I think it

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<v Speaker 1>would be very difficult not to call it early in

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<v Speaker 1>a presidential race, but generally we have tried not to

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<v Speaker 1>do that. And would people ever, I mean trying to

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<v Speaker 1>think about the different rule that the kinds of computers

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<v Speaker 1>that are available now to newsrooms would have. You know

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<v Speaker 1>that first UNIVAC is this clunky thing, and as you say,

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<v Speaker 1>you know, CBS didn't even believe it's prediction, didn't report

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<v Speaker 1>on it initially. But you could know pretty early in

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<v Speaker 1>a day on election day how things are looking because

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<v Speaker 1>of computational models that your computer would be able to

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<v Speaker 1>kind of five thirty eight. Uh, you know, I don't know,

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<v Speaker 1>it's sort of the magical work of computer modeling that

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<v Speaker 1>could be done early on. Does that influence do you

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<v Speaker 1>think how how the coverage unfolds over the course of

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<v Speaker 1>the day. Oh? Absolutely, And and a lot of times,

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<v Speaker 1>you know, early on we'll go in and we'll get

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<v Speaker 1>our pulsers will tell us like it's CBS, uh, you know,

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<v Speaker 1>it looks like, you know, somebody's going to carry Virginia.

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<v Speaker 1>It looks like somebody's gonna you know, but we're not

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<v Speaker 1>going to call that, and so we will the closest

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<v Speaker 1>will come to that, as we'll say, you know, it's

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<v Speaker 1>leaning or something like that. But we we simply don't

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<v Speaker 1>don't call any of those early poll closing results until

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<v Speaker 1>the polls in that in that section have actually closed.

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<v Speaker 1>But the other thing, Jill is the polls are just

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<v Speaker 1>not as reliable as they once were, even even the

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<v Speaker 1>EGXIT polling, where people now tend to sometimes not till

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<v Speaker 1>the polsters. And what exit polling is is we just

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<v Speaker 1>hire people to go out and stand outside the polls

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<v Speaker 1>and ask people how they voted. Well, some years back,

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<v Speaker 1>when that first happened, people were happy to do it,

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<v Speaker 1>and but now they sometimes lie to the people, they

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<v Speaker 1>don't tell the truth, or they just simply won't won't

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<v Speaker 1>talk to them because they're such well, we're in such

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<v Speaker 1>a partisan like atmosphere right now. I mean, what computers

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<v Speaker 1>are doing on election day for a newsroom is making

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<v Speaker 1>more information available more quickly and detecting patterns that would

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<v Speaker 1>be hard for people working with pen and paper to detect.

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<v Speaker 1>So at some level, what we're talking about is better

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<v Speaker 1>evidence and more data and better information and more astute analysis.

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<v Speaker 1>And we will intuitively think, well, better evidence, more information,

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<v Speaker 1>more student analysis, even kind of bracketing for a question

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<v Speaker 1>the unreliability of polling data, but just thinking about other

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<v Speaker 1>forms of data that the computer would have previous. The

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<v Speaker 1>returns from previous previous elections, the kind of kind of

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<v Speaker 1>dog and pony show that you know on CNN when

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<v Speaker 1>they have the hologram and they can make a three

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<v Speaker 1>D interactive electoral map, and we suddenly can look at

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<v Speaker 1>patterns over the last for presidential elections, and we can

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<v Speaker 1>look at these county by county bits of information that

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<v Speaker 1>it is a tremendous amount of evidence that has presented

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<v Speaker 1>to us. And in a demidocracy, we're supposed to be informed.

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<v Speaker 1>Is there a version of the influence of computers on

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<v Speaker 1>election day reporting that is a good story, that is

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<v Speaker 1>about improvements to our specivic participation or our commitment to

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<v Speaker 1>democratic institutions. I think we can both point to all

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<v Speaker 1>the things that are kind of decaying around this. But

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<v Speaker 1>what's the good side. Well, the good side is that

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<v Speaker 1>we still this information is still valuable. But I mean

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<v Speaker 1>it's all part of this new world that we live

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<v Speaker 1>in because we've undergone this this communication revolution that goes

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<v Speaker 1>beyond just computers, I mean, the whole coming of the Internet.

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<v Speaker 1>We are we have more information available to us than

0:15:01.036 --> 0:15:04.036
<v Speaker 1>any people who've ever lived on Earth at any one

0:15:04.156 --> 0:15:07.196
<v Speaker 1>time in the history of the world. But does anyone

0:15:07.236 --> 0:15:11.756
<v Speaker 1>think we're or wiser or are we simply overwhelmed with

0:15:11.836 --> 0:15:16.356
<v Speaker 1>so much information that we can't process it? And my

0:15:16.796 --> 0:15:20.556
<v Speaker 1>feeling is we're overwhelmed. We're still working our way through this,

0:15:20.716 --> 0:15:23.796
<v Speaker 1>we're still trying to figure to figure all this out,

0:15:23.916 --> 0:15:28.436
<v Speaker 1>and it has had an impact on the credibility of

0:15:28.556 --> 0:15:34.156
<v Speaker 1>news organizations, and we find people more it's more difficult

0:15:34.156 --> 0:15:39.356
<v Speaker 1>for people to believe anything now. And so the credibility

0:15:39.396 --> 0:15:44.436
<v Speaker 1>of all news organizations every day of the year, uh

0:15:45.556 --> 0:15:48.716
<v Speaker 1>is not what he wants. Was simply because we're just

0:15:48.836 --> 0:15:53.116
<v Speaker 1>being drowned in more information than we can possibly process.

0:15:53.236 --> 0:15:56.916
<v Speaker 1>And I think I think this is all part of that. Yeah, no,

0:15:57.036 --> 0:16:02.436
<v Speaker 1>very that's absolutely the case. But we we I think,

0:16:02.516 --> 0:16:07.956
<v Speaker 1>do tend to still want to believe that datum does

0:16:08.036 --> 0:16:11.276
<v Speaker 1>mean wisdom it. I mean, you're absolutely right, it does

0:16:11.276 --> 0:16:14.556
<v Speaker 1>send to more information. But you know, Martin Luther thought

0:16:14.636 --> 0:16:16.836
<v Speaker 1>the invention of the printing press was going to make

0:16:16.876 --> 0:16:19.836
<v Speaker 1>everything just fine, that once people could read the Bible

0:16:20.356 --> 0:16:23.716
<v Speaker 1>in their own language, that all of the problems and

0:16:23.836 --> 0:16:27.396
<v Speaker 1>controversies they had would all be worked out. But after

0:16:27.436 --> 0:16:29.676
<v Speaker 1>the invention of the printing press, that we had thirty

0:16:29.756 --> 0:16:34.676
<v Speaker 1>years of religious wars. It don't everybody all at once

0:16:34.756 --> 0:16:39.516
<v Speaker 1>began to agree on things. And I think we're I

0:16:39.556 --> 0:16:42.636
<v Speaker 1>think the coming of the Internet is having as profound

0:16:42.636 --> 0:16:46.996
<v Speaker 1>an impact on our culture and Western cultures as the

0:16:47.036 --> 0:16:49.716
<v Speaker 1>invention of the printing press had on the people of

0:16:49.756 --> 0:16:53.756
<v Speaker 1>its day. Yeah, although the inventing the printing press makes

0:16:53.836 --> 0:16:57.556
<v Speaker 1>possible the rise of modern democracy, absolutely, so what does

0:16:57.596 --> 0:17:03.396
<v Speaker 1>the invention of the internet make possible? Confusion? I think

0:17:03.916 --> 0:17:07.516
<v Speaker 1>on the downside's there's no question, and we can get

0:17:07.556 --> 0:17:13.116
<v Speaker 1>more information fast than at any any time in the

0:17:13.196 --> 0:17:16.436
<v Speaker 1>history of the world. But just because we get it

0:17:16.516 --> 0:17:20.356
<v Speaker 1>faster does not necessarily mean that it's going to work

0:17:20.356 --> 0:17:23.236
<v Speaker 1>out all the problems. There are still just this myriad

0:17:23.436 --> 0:17:27.076
<v Speaker 1>problems that have to be resolved. But we're getting there.

0:17:27.596 --> 0:17:31.516
<v Speaker 1>But you know, we just kind of haven't reached equilibrium yet.

0:17:31.556 --> 0:17:35.756
<v Speaker 1>And the coming of the Internet and the use of

0:17:35.796 --> 0:17:39.996
<v Speaker 1>computers on election night is just all part of that. Yeah.

0:17:39.996 --> 0:17:42.356
<v Speaker 1>I was to my husband's a computer scientist at MIT,

0:17:42.516 --> 0:17:45.396
<v Speaker 1>and I was asking him yesterday to give me some

0:17:45.476 --> 0:17:48.436
<v Speaker 1>kind of a rule of thumb about the processing the

0:17:48.716 --> 0:17:52.796
<v Speaker 1>capacity of a computer of the nineteen fifties relative to today.

0:17:52.836 --> 0:17:55.316
<v Speaker 1>And I was sitting, of course with my laptop, you know,

0:17:55.356 --> 0:17:58.036
<v Speaker 1>my Mac in my lap. And he said, well, one

0:17:58.076 --> 0:18:01.156
<v Speaker 1>measure would be you have more memory on your Mac

0:18:01.676 --> 0:18:04.116
<v Speaker 1>sitting right here in this room than all the computer

0:18:04.236 --> 0:18:09.036
<v Speaker 1>storage in the entire world in nineteen sixty. Yeah, just

0:18:09.156 --> 0:18:11.436
<v Speaker 1>in terms of the storage of data, not even being

0:18:11.476 --> 0:18:15.316
<v Speaker 1>connected to the internet. Just what was on my hard drive. So,

0:18:15.356 --> 0:18:18.636
<v Speaker 1>if you were giving the task of coming up with

0:18:18.676 --> 0:18:23.636
<v Speaker 1>a plan for election date, election night coverage for twenty twenty,

0:18:23.996 --> 0:18:28.276
<v Speaker 1>what would be a priority for you, Well, just to

0:18:28.316 --> 0:18:32.276
<v Speaker 1>improve the accuracy and to I think I think the

0:18:32.396 --> 0:18:35.196
<v Speaker 1>secret is it's it's not so much the use of

0:18:35.236 --> 0:18:40.516
<v Speaker 1>the computers, but but the use of polling and finding polling. Uh.

0:18:40.596 --> 0:18:44.476
<v Speaker 1>That polling is not more reliable, it's it's one of

0:18:44.476 --> 0:18:47.356
<v Speaker 1>the things that has not improved. Polling has gotten worse,

0:18:48.356 --> 0:18:54.156
<v Speaker 1>not better. Uh, And we we're seeing that now on

0:18:54.316 --> 0:18:57.316
<v Speaker 1>election night is as much as any other time. And

0:18:57.636 --> 0:19:00.996
<v Speaker 1>finding a way to get polls that were as accurate

0:19:01.156 --> 0:19:04.556
<v Speaker 1>as we used to have when you know, we'd do

0:19:04.596 --> 0:19:07.876
<v Speaker 1>a national poll at CBS and we'd call, you know,

0:19:07.996 --> 0:19:11.796
<v Speaker 1>five thousand people to get fifteen hundred people. Well, now

0:19:11.876 --> 0:19:15.596
<v Speaker 1>we have to call thirty or forty thousand to get

0:19:16.316 --> 0:19:20.876
<v Speaker 1>fifteen hundred people and even so you wonder who are

0:19:20.956 --> 0:19:24.036
<v Speaker 1>the people that you're talking to you when you do

0:19:24.076 --> 0:19:27.116
<v Speaker 1>a poll like that, And I think that's that's where

0:19:27.156 --> 0:19:30.476
<v Speaker 1>the I think that's where the improvement could come. And

0:19:30.516 --> 0:19:32.276
<v Speaker 1>that's the part we have to work on. And it's

0:19:32.276 --> 0:19:35.916
<v Speaker 1>also the reason we have to be extremely careful, I

0:19:35.956 --> 0:19:39.956
<v Speaker 1>mean more careful than we've ever been before we broadcast anything,

0:19:39.996 --> 0:19:44.556
<v Speaker 1>because as you now know, I mean, once information gets out.

0:19:44.636 --> 0:19:47.796
<v Speaker 1>Now you know Mark Twain, what was it he said

0:19:47.876 --> 0:19:50.556
<v Speaker 1>that a like can go around the world while the

0:19:50.556 --> 0:19:55.476
<v Speaker 1>truth is still putting its pants on. And that's where

0:19:55.476 --> 0:19:58.636
<v Speaker 1>we are right now. I mean, what we're going through now,

0:20:00.036 --> 0:20:03.836
<v Speaker 1>and just the reporting of the news is it's not

0:20:03.916 --> 0:20:07.316
<v Speaker 1>the people have always made mistakes. They've always been part

0:20:07.316 --> 0:20:09.916
<v Speaker 1>of some people that are trying to put out all stories.

0:20:10.236 --> 0:20:14.556
<v Speaker 1>But the difference now is how quickly it gets it

0:20:14.596 --> 0:20:18.076
<v Speaker 1>gets to the public. And you know, we all have

0:20:18.156 --> 0:20:20.596
<v Speaker 1>to spend time now just sorting out where did this

0:20:20.676 --> 0:20:23.876
<v Speaker 1>come from? Is it true? How did they know that?

0:20:24.116 --> 0:20:27.796
<v Speaker 1>And that's that's what we've got, that's what we've got

0:20:27.876 --> 0:20:29.676
<v Speaker 1>to work on. But we also have got to be

0:20:29.836 --> 0:20:33.276
<v Speaker 1>very careful in what we report. You know, historians talk

0:20:33.316 --> 0:20:37.196
<v Speaker 1>a lot about this nineteen fifty two CBS election night. Um,

0:20:38.036 --> 0:20:39.756
<v Speaker 1>and it doesn't sound like it's a vivid memory for

0:20:39.796 --> 0:20:41.716
<v Speaker 1>you as a kid. But is it something that within

0:20:41.836 --> 0:20:46.956
<v Speaker 1>CBS people talk about or their stories about that. Yeah. Yeah,

0:20:46.996 --> 0:20:50.996
<v Speaker 1>I mean elections and how we cover them. It's always

0:20:51.276 --> 0:20:56.516
<v Speaker 1>it's always a topic the topic around CBS News and

0:20:56.996 --> 0:21:02.916
<v Speaker 1>you know, uh, political conventions, election years. People plan their

0:21:02.956 --> 0:21:07.636
<v Speaker 1>careers around those, those those big events. At least they did.

0:21:08.236 --> 0:21:10.756
<v Speaker 1>They were still doing it in my day when when

0:21:10.876 --> 0:21:13.636
<v Speaker 1>you know, when I was at there covering campaigns and stuff.

0:21:14.356 --> 0:21:16.756
<v Speaker 1>So you're always trying to figure out and what you're

0:21:16.796 --> 0:21:18.716
<v Speaker 1>always trying to figure out is how can you get

0:21:18.756 --> 0:21:22.316
<v Speaker 1>the information before the other guys too, which is what,

0:21:23.036 --> 0:21:25.516
<v Speaker 1>you know, one of the main things that journalism is about.

0:21:26.156 --> 0:21:29.436
<v Speaker 1>And I think sometimes we spent more time thinking about

0:21:29.436 --> 0:21:31.516
<v Speaker 1>how can we get the news first than we did

0:21:31.596 --> 0:21:37.476
<v Speaker 1>about what is the impact of the information we're getting. Yeah.

0:21:37.796 --> 0:21:45.196
<v Speaker 1>You know, one thing we thought in two thousand that

0:21:45.316 --> 0:21:48.076
<v Speaker 1>election night was going to go back to being an

0:21:48.076 --> 0:21:52.316
<v Speaker 1>old fashioned election night. We were going into that election.

0:21:52.356 --> 0:21:54.956
<v Speaker 1>We knew it was going to be very close, Gore

0:21:55.236 --> 0:22:00.036
<v Speaker 1>versus Bush, and I remember on the night before election night.

0:22:00.076 --> 0:22:02.836
<v Speaker 1>I told Ann Rather, I said, we are, and I

0:22:02.836 --> 0:22:05.236
<v Speaker 1>said this on television. I said, We're going to have

0:22:06.476 --> 0:22:10.316
<v Speaker 1>an old fashioned election night. We maybe up all night

0:22:10.476 --> 0:22:13.436
<v Speaker 1>before we know who wins this thing. Well under the

0:22:13.636 --> 0:22:17.636
<v Speaker 1>heading of be careful what you wish for. You know

0:22:17.676 --> 0:22:20.916
<v Speaker 1>what happened. It was December eleventh before we found out

0:22:20.916 --> 0:22:23.396
<v Speaker 1>who or twelfth, I guess it was before we found

0:22:23.396 --> 0:22:28.156
<v Speaker 1>out who who won that election, and it was it was.

0:22:28.396 --> 0:22:31.996
<v Speaker 1>It was one of the worst nights CBS ever had.

0:22:32.076 --> 0:22:37.516
<v Speaker 1>You know. We called Florida for Gore at seven forty

0:22:37.556 --> 0:22:41.956
<v Speaker 1>that night, we recalled it at ten o'clock. Gore conceded,

0:22:42.516 --> 0:22:45.796
<v Speaker 1>then he took it back. Then CBS called Florida for

0:22:45.956 --> 0:22:48.796
<v Speaker 1>Bush at two am, and then we had to take

0:22:48.836 --> 0:22:53.276
<v Speaker 1>that back at four am. So we got we got

0:22:53.316 --> 0:22:56.916
<v Speaker 1>an old fashioned election, all right, But it was something

0:22:56.996 --> 0:23:00.956
<v Speaker 1>none of us had anticipated. But it's one of those

0:23:01.076 --> 0:23:06.316
<v Speaker 1>nights I'll always remember. Yeah, I remember that night too,

0:23:06.396 --> 0:23:07.836
<v Speaker 1>because I think it was one of the few nights

0:23:07.876 --> 0:23:10.116
<v Speaker 1>I went to bed before it was resolved. I don't

0:23:10.116 --> 0:23:12.756
<v Speaker 1>know that there's been another one. The desire somehow to

0:23:12.796 --> 0:23:15.316
<v Speaker 1>have it all settled before you turn out the night

0:23:15.396 --> 0:23:18.396
<v Speaker 1>light is a very strong, very strong one from the

0:23:18.436 --> 0:23:20.956
<v Speaker 1>other side, not being the journalist trying to get the

0:23:20.996 --> 0:23:25.636
<v Speaker 1>news first, but being the listener and the viewer trying

0:23:25.676 --> 0:23:27.476
<v Speaker 1>to find it out so I could just go to bed.

0:23:27.996 --> 0:23:32.716
<v Speaker 1>I'm appreciating the speed in other reasons. Yeah, yeah, exactly

0:23:34.396 --> 0:23:37.276
<v Speaker 1>this election night, don't stay up late, go to bed.

0:23:37.516 --> 0:23:40.236
<v Speaker 1>The counting will take a while. Twenty twenty the Year

0:23:40.236 --> 0:23:43.756
<v Speaker 1>of slow voting. Good luck staying, saying and catching up

0:23:43.756 --> 0:23:45.916
<v Speaker 1>on sleep, and we'll be back in the spring with

0:23:45.996 --> 0:23:48.596
<v Speaker 1>a new season of the Last Archive about the rise

0:23:48.636 --> 0:23:55.196
<v Speaker 1>of doubt, psychological warfare, hoaxes, conspiracy theories, Russian misinformation, fake pandemics,

0:23:55.676 --> 0:24:00.076
<v Speaker 1>and maybe, but I hope not disputed elections. You won't

0:24:00.076 --> 0:24:02.676
<v Speaker 1>believe what we've uncovered. I mean, you should believe it,

0:24:02.716 --> 0:24:07.116
<v Speaker 1>but people don't believe anything anymore. Next season, believe it

0:24:07.276 --> 0:24:11.716
<v Speaker 1>or not. The