In November 1952, Americans experienced the presidential election night in a profoundly new way: watching journalists provide updates and predict winners on television. The use of computers or ‘electronic brains’ as they were called proved to be an out-of-the box approach to analyzing voter results.
The 1952 CBS news broadcast was anchored by Walter Cronkite and featured Edward R. Murrow, Charles Collingwood and Eric Sevareid. The journalists delivered the latest poll updates as Americans voted for Republican Dwight D. Eisenhower or Democratic Illinois Governor Adlai Stevenson. Eisenhower defeated Stevenson in a landslide win—with 83% of the electoral vote.
The pressure was on Cronkite and other journalists to deliver accurate numbers. Just four years prior in 1948, the Chicago Tribune incorrectly published the headline “Dewey Defeats Truman.”
The infamous blunder was based on polls that predicted President Harry Truman would lose his reelection to New York Governor Thomas Dewey. A smiling Truman famously held up a copy of the incorrectly headlined newspaper days after his win.
Today, Tuesday, Americans are voting for either former President Donald Trump or Vice President Kamala Harris as the next President of the United States. There are endless ways for voters to follow live, election night coverage. With the race between Harris and Trump excruciatingly tight, some news outlets may be looking to prematurely announce a winner.
Ira Chinoy is author of the new book Predicting the Winner: The Untold Story of Election Night 1952 and the Dawn of Computer Forecasting. His book offers an insightful look into the 1952 election night and its impact on live coverage today.
Guest:
Ira Chinoy has 24 years of experience as a journalist. He is the author of Predicting the Winner: The Untold Story of Election Night 1952 and the Dawn of Computer Forecasting.
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This interview will be recorded on Tuesday, November 5, 2024.
