A question about TV coverage

[Silent Hunter]

When voting is actually going on, how do the news networks cover it?

[zorkpolitics]

Before the first state poll closes (6:00PM EST) they talk about turnout, they always overestimate it calling either  heavy or very heavy.  This coverage during the day is in the form of short updates 1-2 min.
After the polls actually close they stay on the air until a winner is declared, alternating with recapping the Presidential race, updating  the popular vote and electoral vote, then sporadically going to key House and Senate races.

They get all excited every time a state is "called" for one candidate or the other, failing to distinguish between a safe Bush or Kerry state or a swing battleground state.

They over interpret everything.  If a normally Republican state is a little slow to be called they imply it might be a good sign for the Democrat, and vice versa.  Ignoring the fact that they are making estimates based on a few key precints and sometime there is a problem in tabulating a precinct that can hold up the call.  In 2000 early in the evening the networks focused on the fact that they could not call VA, KY, GA early, though in the end, it wasn't even close in those states.

They always have a national map on display that they color in during the night based on who has won each state.  In the past the incumbent party has always been Blue and the challenger Red.  However, this year I'm not sure they will follow that tradition because after 2000 the press often refers to Republican states as the Red States and Democratic states as the Blue states.