Hurray for Gannett, which laid out some decent coin for a statewide poll on the upcoming election. The poll could have been a yawner, in a red state that seems sure to re-elect Saxby Chambliss to the US Senate.
Instead, the poll revealed that challenger Jim Martin had substantially tightened the race. It gave WXIA and WMAZ in Macon a nice exclusive on a pretty big political story (criticism from the righties at Peach Pundit notwithstanding, which faulted the poll for asking good churchgoing Georgians such unseemly questions on a Sunday and Monday).
But here’s our question: WTF is up with that graphic used by Denis O’Hayer to illustrate the poll? We believe that’s a static pie chart displayed by — yes, a slide projector! Awesome.
OK, maybe it was a computer projector. Even in the 70s, WXIA could have put O’Hayer in front of a green screen and displayed that graphic in chroma-key. But apparently, not this week. WXIA opted for a nostalgic 1950s look instead. In an age when a guy like CNN’s John King can move and draw and re-shape political data on a TV screen (see below), we are wistfully heartened by WXIA’s stubbornly quaint use of older than old-school technology.
At least WXIA showed it in HD.
Posted by CD on October 1, 2008 at 8:21 pm
We paid a couple of hundred dollars for that projector (Gannett waited until they were cheap). We have even held training sessions on how to use it in the morning, mid-morning, afternoon, evening, internet and next-day planning meetings. I do not understand why you are not properly impressed!
Posted by imabeliever on October 2, 2008 at 8:40 am
What’s next?
A recap of the Brian Nichols trial on 16mm film? A “throwback” 6pm show in black and white?
Posted by rptrcub on October 2, 2008 at 8:44 am
What I’d like to see is an American equivalent the swingometer: basically a Wheel of Fortune -like device used during the 1960s and 70s on BBC during the coverage of their parliamentary elections (yes, I’m a nerd who watched too many online archival pieces). The devices were used to calculate the number of seats a party would have, based on an electoral swing in one direction or the other.
Even the Beeb these days uses an electronic version a la John King — the iCNN Touch — though.
Posted by scott hedeen on October 2, 2008 at 5:20 pm
slide projectors are making a huge comeback. i’m watching all my media on a view master.
Posted by Edward on October 2, 2008 at 9:22 pm
“Lord of the Rings” on ViewMaster is awesome, dude!
Posted by BW on October 4, 2008 at 7:29 pm
You’re in luck! The news director has ordered a stop to it! She called it “bad college TV”!