Date: 30th November 2000

Will Voter News Service Be Dismantled?


Voter News Service, the consortium created by the major broadcast news organizations and the Associated Press to conduct exit polls on election night, appeared to be on the brink of collapse Wednesday as NBC and Fox each indicated that they plan to pull out of the group unless they receive suitable explanations for the Florida miscalls on election night.

NBC said it would split unless VNS took "steps needed to ensure the accuracy and inegrity of the data." Fox News President Roger Ailes told today's (Thursday) Washington Post that he had left himself "a little wiggle room" to change his mind, but, he said, "I probably won't renew." Fox was the first network to call the Florida vote for George W. Bush.

Source: Studio Briefing