ClickOnDetroit.com
5:04 p.m.
Reif: Jim -- I see lots of red -- which is fine by me on Election Day. The homepage is very busy-looking with lots of election-related stories -- also good for E-Day. The centerpiece story was a timely election update from 4:04 p.m. When I reloaded, the centerpiece featured a quirky story about a tiny town of midnight voters in New Hampshire. A nice, quick break from the standard election blitz.

I liked the index of voter guide-type information in center left. It included interesting resource tidbits from the FEC, plus national stories about weather-related voting troubles, last-minute campaigning, etc.

My favorite thing that almost worked was the list of candidates with the opening line of their television ad and links to watch them. I'd heard about this ad from a friend just yesterday -- Republican Party ad, female narrator: "There's Al Gore, reinventing himself on television again. Like I'm not gonna notice?" -- and was glad for the chance to see it. Unfortunately, RealPlayer was unable to connect to the server.

The link to Publius.org (http://www.publius.org/) is fun because Michigan residents can enter their names and view a sample ballot -- a useful tool that should be standard for election pages.

Erika

KYW.com
5:12 p.m.
Hinkle: I have included the snapshot of part of the home page. They have several things going for them. The election is the first story, the second story and the fourth story. Want to try and win one pair of N'SYNC tickets? KY is a sponsor of the concert, and that's the third story.

Opening the first story, it gives their links to three state elections and CBS.com for presidential election results. This is where I'll spend the night, flipping back and forth between PA and CBS. The CBS link has a great map and links going for it.

There are three links on the right edge, but ignore them. The first campaign link didn't work. (Sree's "Bill Gates moment," a couple of times.) The commentary from Larry Kane -- well, I guess I would have to be from Philly and like Larry Kane to get through this ponderous piece. Long blocks of text that made me almost immediately click out. The third campaign link takes you to CBS again and a chance to be part of chat.

5:23 p.m.
Hinkle: I like that you sent me the election page and not the other news. This time of day (5:15) I would be getting that from the newspaper, an hour and half of mostly fluff local news. My linking to
your site, I can get to the results I want quickly.

I like all the help, the talking to me about voting and what I need to vote, the issues, etc.

6:03 p.m.
Hinkle: The fact that the websites are so busy is a statement about how much people have adapted to this new technology. I wouldn't have expected this to occur so early. I would have thought it would have been around closing time for polls in their home states. Or, as the polls closed, the Web sites will be like Drudge was all day. No one could get in.

6:02 p.m.
Reif: Jim -- Like I said, it's a good-looking site with tons of information, if only I could access the online extras in the margins.

Erika

7:30 p.m.
Reif: I am impatient about this waiting. I noticed the NBC map is being updated but no figures for the marked states.

Question #2: How are online journalists using interactivity to tell the story of the 2000 presidential election?

Jim -- Oh, oh. Clicked on the lead story "Kentucky, Indiana Go Bush" and it tells me the page can't be found. Next, I got tricked into clicking on "YouDecide.com -- your decision engine" but it's an ad, not a voting guide. There's also a link to the Washington Post election site -- sort of sends me wandering.

There are lots of stories but I don't have time to read them. And since it's only 6:50 p.m., the charts are still blank. In my search for something more interactive, I click on the subhead "Grab" and found a discussion on rating the media's election coverage. So far, only "RevJim" and "Buba" have weighed in.

"Who Gets Your Vote?" seemed a more interesting interactive option, but the feature wasn't loading.

The black "Interactive Election, Instant Results" clickable box and map was so clear, complete and easy to use that it shouldn't be at the bottom of the page, it should be up top!

7:03 p.m.
Hinkle: I noticed that KYW.com changed the location of the national coverage from last on its list to first and it goes to CBS.com I then went to the chat room to see who was talking about what. I copied this message because of where the person alleges to have gotten his or her information.

From: WAGNERE58
4:47 pm
To: ALL
1 of 19
Just saw an exit poll that puts Gore way ahead (www.telegraph.co.uk).
52-43 IL
48-44 ME
50-46 MI
55-40 NJ
48-44 WA
Also, NPR just reported that Nader supporters were now voting for Gore in Washington. Thanks you guys! Keep the momentum going by encouraging all your friends and relatives to vote for Gore.

KYW isn't offering interactivity at this time. Their state coverage begins at 8. The only thing going on is the national race and that is a CBS.com connection. .com was behind CNN when they announced the Indiana-Kentucky results. I instantly went to the map and clicked to see state results. I love with only 1 percent of the vote in about 100,000 votes, Bush wins 57 to 42 in Indiana.

7:13 p.m.
Hinkle: More people have signed in to that discussion, but it's developed into anything other than its the media's fault and the media is biased. I can't stand the waiting on my site. It has changed a little but it's all been CBS. I've been looking at the Albany Times-Union to follow the Hillary race, but that page hasn't changed since I first clicked in about 4 p.m. I tour the Web center next week. I'll have to ask how many folks were working Election Night and how they were assigned.

Reif: Jim, Your site is crawling -- backwards. I'm not getting anything. I tried to click on a video icon and got locked up. Too bad.

Erika

Erika

9:33 p.m.
Reif: Here's the good map and chart I was talking about. I'm checking the site out on Internet Explorer because it was pulling up screwy on Netscape.

Here are the top stories on the site as of 9:20 p.m.

The lead story -- updated at 8:36 p.m. -- about a judge ruling against keeping polls open longer in Detroit is a short and important spot story in a swing state. But the second story was short with no news beyond the "Gore gets Fla., Mich., . . . " headline. Then, I got no response when I clicked on the "up-to-the-minute Electoral College count" at the end of the story. That's all as far as today's presidential election stories.

9:21 p.m.
Hinckle: All I see are numbers from the KYW-TV site. The station is relying on CBS to do the reporting. The local coverage so far has been limited to giving numbers. With 3 percent of the vote counted, Gore is leading 54 to 43 percent. Should I call Pennsylvania for Gore? I just saw a map someone has on their computer. Gore has Pennsylvania. Good call on my part.

It's too early for local analysis, but I don't think I'm going to hear (read) anything on this broadcast website. So the numbers are writing the story, but there isn't enough detail to satisfy me. I'm an information hound. I wanted to know things. I wanted to understand the context. I don't think I'm going to get this on this broadcast site.

Details. Details. Details. Where are you?

9:39 p.m.
Hinckle: I like your snapshots. Your site actually changed. My site looks the same. The same joint photo they used as the second lead is the same, but the story has changed as new states are decided.

9:43 p.m.
Reif:Yes, the Detroit site was altered and updated, so there was some fresh information throughout the night. Up-to-date stories were limited, but that makes sense on a television site. I'd suggest a few more quick-hit stories, even if only a few graphs, to give a taste of elections in key states.