First, Gore was pronounced the victor in Florida by the networks and the Associated Press. Later, they changed that call and declared that Florida was undecided. The Texas governor was then prematurely proclaimed to be the next president by many news outlets. Instead of egg on the faces of the broadcasters who made that call, there was an entire omelet, according to NBC-TV's Tom Brokaw. But as much as they wanted to win, their editors knew better than to announce a state winner until they knew they had accurate information.
Some eminent correspondents swear on the reliability of exit polls.
Granted, exit polls can show trends as the day of voting wears on. But they are surely not infallible, as evidenced by the sorry spectacle on Nov. 7. We haven't heard the end of it. Rep. Billy Tauzin, R-La., chairman of the House Commerce Committee's telecommunications panel, is investigating what led to the early erroneous announcements that Gore had won Florida and how they affected voter turnout at the polls. CBS News chief Andrew Heyward blamed computer errors for flawed exit polls in Florida.