Those who should not be forgotten

The 2008 elections have been an exciting yet strenuous event, particularly for the presidential and vice-presidential candidates. But we should not overlook the amount of work people behind the scenes had put into the overall turnout of this historical event.

What a day! The majority of the population in the mass media was on a mission yesterday. Imagine the amount of volunteers needed and consider the chaos in newspaper industries, broadcasting networks, and other corporations yesterday. Can you imagine the amount of time and energy anchors, cameraman, reporters, and those in charge of technological operations have spent? People were probably running around frantically, making phone calls diligently, and keeping themselves and the public updated.

For some, it was one long and tiresome day; others however have been involved in the entire campaigning process. I think they are happy that the elections are over and that things are winding down (at least for now). But there are more to come. We all know that President Obama has a long to-do list waiting for him to take do. Right now, America needs time for Obama to embark his journey and make the promised changes that the people are hoping for.

What the world expects of Obama

BBC News released a menagerie of world expectations for Obama as president. Correspondents gave their take on nation’s opinions of our new leader.

I found this very unique and interesting because America plays such an intrical part on the global scale as a leader. No matter what, we are involved some way in the political, economical, and social outcomes of other nations.

Check out the hyperlink and see what they said.

History is Made: OBAMA 08

The morning after:

Although I am now writing this post during the results, i thought it was necessary to have a time of reflection and gather the reactions and thoughts of others besides myself.

OBAMA: Mr. President

I watched the results from seven in the evening until after John McCain’s concession speech and was extremely impressed with the news coverage. ABC News was my station of choice because the anchor reporting was split between three different people which never allowed the news to get old or boring. What i found the most effective was the use of technology in their broadcast. ABC employed touch screen maps with detailed information that was oddly reminiscent of the iPhone and how it operates. This visual was extremely effective in keeping the results straight and keeping the viewer as up to date as possible.  What made me choose this channel over all the others though was that I felt it had the most up-to-date information in comparison to other channels I would flip to. Furthermore, their news broadcast was complimented by the visually engaging and interactive website.

Unfortunately I wasn’t able to see Obama’s speech in Grant Park because I was actively taking part in history, at least in Elon’s history. After Obama won, i joined about 100 other students and marched around campus in the rain yelling and shouting in support of Obama. I have never felt such a part of the political process as i did then. We were a group of young students that had been a part of making history, and there is nothing better than that feeling. The group I marched with had so much energy and support, the world felt like it was within our grasp. It was a once in a lifetime experience and I will never forget this historic day.

The Morning After: A Wealth of Information

 

Obama delivering his acceptance speech. cnn.com

 

 

Since I wanted to cover a second day story to the election, I woke up a little earlier this morning and logged onto CNN’s website. The first and obviously main story outlined the drama that occurred last night as Obama went on to win the popular vote and the Electoral College. This great second-day lede drew me in with its strong verbs:

CHICAGO, Illinois (CNN) — Sen. Barack Obama did more than thump Sen. John McCain in the Electoral College tally; he also handily won the popular vote and redrew the great divide between red states and blue states.

The story itself was captivating. It had strong verbs throughout, vivid quotes that captured the essence of Obama’s acceptance speech and the reactions of those who voted for the “change.” However, it was the interaction of the page that left me distracted from the story. I was constantly clicking away to see how my county in Massachusetts voted, what Obama’s speech looked like in print, photos of the evening and video that covered this historical event. Everything I possibly could be wondering about the election seemed to present itself to me in simple link-form. Other stories about specific facets of the Election—How Obama does in transition, “Why McCain Came Up Short”—are displayed on the far right of the page, easily accessible for the reader. Overall, CNN.com did an amazing job covering the event. They’ve made it easy for those who fell asleep too early to see the action and those who needed an indepth recap to get their information quickly and effectively. 

Speeches

After viewing Senator McCain’s speech I was impressed with his deliverance and professionalism that he exuded at such a difficult time. I watched Obama’s acceptance speech after and found both stories posted online practically as they spoke. President Obama’s speech was being captured live on the CNN website and was available for people to view immediately. The constant improvement of technology allows the public to be more and more informed with updated information literally right at their fingertips.

I found both candidates to be extremely gracious and I truly appreciate the way they both spoke about one another.

Election 08

Obviously, this was the most popular election of all-time. I noticed that each television channel that covered the election had a different approach. Each station kept a vote count between the two candidates (Some were faster than others). CNBC used a 3-dimensional map that zoomed in on each state and displayed the voting results. Hands down, this election was very popular and most channels released their results at 11 pm. I believe one of the first channels to release the results were Fox News.

Chicago Tribune

I thought it would be fitting to check out the website of the Chicago Tribune after Obama’s victory last night.  One story I found pretty interesting talked about how Dr. Martin Luther King spoke in Marquette Park in August of 1966 when he was hit in the head by a brick after angry white mobs protested his presence there.

Last night, Obama made his acceptance speech in Grant Park, which is only about 11 miles away. The distance this nation has come in such a short time is remarkable. In his speech last night, he talked about that 106-year-old woman that voted in Alabama (I think?) and how she had been born just a generation after slavery, and how she at one point wasn’t even able to vote because she was a woman and because of the color of her skin. Now she is able to live under a black president.

Obama supporters make impromptu party outside of Danieley!

      At least 50 to 100 students rushed outside of their flats in Danieley Center this evening to express their emotions related to the results of the election. 

      Students yelled, 

   “YES WE CAN,” and screamed, ” Obama.”

     Cars driving by blasted music related to the president elect. Students flooded the streets and breezeways screaming. 

      Sour spectators could be seen looking out from the balconies overhead. And campus security was spotted a multiple  times circling the area. The students may have been loud but never got out of control. 

    Eventually everyone rushed back into their rooms to watch Obama claim his victory. 

ABC News

       I’ve been watching abc news with a bunch of friends tonight, and we’ve been following  the results as they were coming in. 

       The press did a really good job of not giving away information on certain states until they were sure which candidate had one them.  

        By 8 p.m. they had received enough results from Georgia to say whether the votes had got to McCain or Obama. 

       It felt like the newscasters were very careful with their words. They made sure they kept saying these results were just estimates and were not the actual results. That would not be known until later in the night. 

       From when I started watching the station there was a clear gap between Obama and McCain, Obama was in the lead the majority of the time. 

       The station was good about updating the number of electoral votes each candidate won with each state.

Students March

Three hundred Elon students marched across campus in light of Obama being proclaimed president. The march started at the Alpha Phi Alpha house in the Loy Center with about twenty people. Members of NPHC, National Pan-Hellenic Council, organizations gathered and began to march while chanting “OBAMA”, “YES WE DID”, and “CHANGE”. They sang songs and hymned. As they marched past Maynard, Coclough, and Chandler, then through Moseley, the crowd multiplied. The march went past Smith and Carolina, and passed by McEwen. Students with cameras recorded and took pictures. The march ended at Young Commons where the students formed a circle and sang the national anthem and said the Lord’s Prayer. It was an amazing site to see so many students marching peacefully through the rain in support of their new President.