ABSTRACT
CNN's intention to narrowcast the news around the clock was unprecedented on television, and the network was organized around a unique set of objectives. The organizational structures of CNN and ABC support different command chains, staff sizes, deadlines, story volume, and levels of competition for air time. Normative self-judgments take several specific forms, but all revolve around the wish for television election coverage to be more substantive and less superficial than it usually is; thus, newsworkers would like to be able to cover the issues more and the horserace less, diminish the prominence of polls, deemphasize pictures, or at CNN, cover the campaign in greater depth. Something akin to a chemical reaction takes place between newsworkers and political officials on the campaign trail. Professional boundaries are altered by common experiences and concerns: the frenetic pace of travel; the relentless, unyielding deadlines; the pressure of performance; life in the public eye.
