In the spirit of Election Day here in the United States, I thought I would mention an article this morning in The Wall Street Journal highlighting the role weblogs play in election information dissemination. Specifically, how quickly they spread any and all tidbits of information. Indeed, the networks are so concerned about leaks to weblogs, that they are going to extraordinary measures to "lock up" information as long as possible.
Two-by-two, polling specialists from ABC, CBS, NBC, CNN, Fox News and the Associated Press will go into rooms in New York and Washington shortly before noon Tuesday. Their cellphones and BlackBerrys will be confiscated; proctors will monitor the doors; and for the next five hours, these experts will pore over exit-poll data from across the country.
If all goes well, only when they emerge from their cloisters will the legions of ravenous political bloggers have any chance of getting their hands on the earliest indication of which party will end up controlling Congress.
'The demand for info is intense, and if the safeguards aren't steel doors bolting people inside a room, it will get out," says Marc Ambinder, associate editor of National Journal's Hotline OnCall. "The insatiable appetite for this info will overwhelm the ability to keep it secret.'
Read the full article here [available today only].