Originally published November 5, 2013.
I remember planning the election night coverage at an old Boston talk station a few years back.
My job was to bring together all of the resources we had at our disposal and deliver to our listeners a comprehensive program featuring up-to-the-minute breaking news as well as insightful commentary from the "sharpest political minds in town."
Or so the promo said.
The "glitch"--to coin a term, was that we had no actual news team and so anything "up-to-the-minute" was in reality being pulled off of a Tv. and fed to listeners second or third hand. It was true hack radio.
It gets worse.
Our "sharpest political minds" were a talk host from out of town who was about as enthused as a captive in a hostage tape, paired with a crotchety news reader whose supposed insight managed to elude us for the duration of the broadcast.
No one in the building but a small group of us cared. Our station was an afterthought to our parent company and they were just fine with mailing it in, doing the bare minimum it took to call ourselves a news/talk station while keeping a straight face.
It was bad radio. We put on a clinic on how not to cover an election and I swore that I'd never be part of anything like that again as it was downright disrespectful to listeners, voters and well, mankind in general.
To me it signaled the sad end of the news radio era. Gone forever.
Until now.
Beginning at 6PM tonight Boston Herald Radio will air the most comprehensive coverage of the mayoral election available anywhere.
Joe Battenfeld and Hillary Chabot are real reporters and they will serve as in-studio anchors for the evening. Not only do they live and breathe local politics but they love what they do and they know the subject matter like no one else.
And speaking of resources...
Herald reporters will be embedded with the campaigns as well as at polling places and throughout the city's neighborhoods. These men and women will provide live dispatches to Boston Herald Radio all through the night until we finally hear from the new Mayor-elect.
In studio, Hillary and Joe will be complemented with analysis and commentary from the best of the best in media and politics. These are people who have held office or have held officeholders responsible through tough reporting and commentary.
Our squad of multimedia reporters will produce compelling video packages right from the streets. They'll shoot,voice and produce multiple pieces right from the field to be uploaded to Bostonherald.com in seconds and re-purposed on Boston Herald Radio instantaneously. They'll move all over the city and keep us informed on Facebook and Twitter and by phone or Skype all night.
The best photographers in the country work for the Boston Herald and they will shoot photos and capture video that will serve as the definitive visual history of the evening. We'll also get eyewitness reports from these photogs as they canvas the 617's City on a Hill.
All the while the newsroom will compile and disseminate to Boston Herald Radio every bit of data and relevant fact needed to begin to make accurate projections on all races in the state and its capital.
Boston Herald Radio's special mayoral coverage is a programmer's dream. Never before has any radio station had the ability to deliver to listeners live, breaking news and information directly, in real time on such an immense level.
I am new to the world of these Boston Herald folks.
They live for this stuff.
They are the hardest-working bunch of people I've worked alongside.
They don't sleep enough.
They will start early tomorrow and they won't stop until the job is done.
Election night is their World Series.
Join us tonight at 6PM for special Boston Herald Radio election coverage. Get informed. Get entertained.
And get respected.
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