As usual, I’m hanging out with my laptop watching CNN and awaiting the results of yet another Democratic Primary. My attention is sporadic as I juggle the needs of my four kids and four dogs. I am watching Campbell Brown and a bunch of pundits discussing Geraldine Ferraro’s controversial comment about Barack Obama. Because I am a media junkie, I get a text message and email message every time CNN issues Breaking News. At 8:02 PM ET I receive a text and email that states “Barack Obama wins the Mississippi Democratic primary, CNN projects.” I was surprised that I received this notification because Wolf Blitzer hadn’t interrupted Campbell Brown to make a simultaneous announcement on TV. I wait and I wait and there is no announcement on CNN television that it projects Obama as the winner. Most normal people wouldn’t even notice this disconnect, but I knew something was wrong. I continue to wait. Still nothing. At 8:13 PM ET, I receive another text and email that states “Correction: Exit polls show Obama leading Clinton in Mississippi. CNN has not projected this race.” Yikes! Can you imagine the panic that went on behind the scenes at CNN when they realized they had incorrectly projected and communicated the winner? I can’t help but wonder who was responsible. Was it some innocent low-level production assistant who misunderstood direction from someone above? Was it some statistical geek who found a mistake in the highly complex algorithm he used to predict winners? Was it just some technical guy who inadvertently hit send on the email and text communication? At 8:13 PM ET, I received another text and email that stated “CNN projects that Sen. Barack Obama will win the Mississippi Democratic primary.”  Too bad the same didn’t happen after the national television networks incorrectly projected Gore won Florida in the 2000 U.S. Presidential Election. Imagine where our country would be today. 

Do you follow the live primary coverage and wait for projected results or do you wait until the next day to see who won?

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