By Becky Holland
The first time I covered an election night as a young reporter, I wasn’t quite sure what I had gotten myself into.
I knew we would be working late. I knew the presses would be held until the results came in. And I knew I had been assigned to the courthouse to collect a certain group of election returns while another reporter handled the rest.
What I didn’t know was just how long an election night could be.
I learned quickly.
Over the next three decades, I would experience more election nights than I care to count. Some were exciting. Some were nerve-racking. All were exhausting.
And some were downright smelly.
You put a bunch of newspaper people in an office for hours, surround them with stacks of paper, ringing telephones, deadlines and leftover food, and eventually the place develops its own special election-night aroma.
Speaking of food, that was one of my favorite parts.
The bosses usually bought supper, and we could order whatever we wanted. Most of the time, that meant pizza.
Now, I never thought I’d say this, but you can actually get tired of pizza. My apologies to Domino’s and Pizza Hut.
Sometimes we changed things up with fried chicken from a convenience store or a local restaurant.
Anybody remember Big Bubba’s in Cochran? Now, that was some good chicken!
But somewhere between the last piece of chicken and the final election return, there was serious work to be done.
People were waiting to find out who would represent them. Candidates were waiting to learn whether months of campaigning had paid off. And our job was to get the results right.
Not almost right. Right.
Election night taught me something about journalism that has stayed with me throughout my career.
A reporter doesn’t have to agree with a candidate to report fairly about that candidate. We don’t have to belong to the same political party or share the same opinions.
We simply have to tell the truth.
That means checking numbers, asking questions, listening to both sides and remembering that our personal opinions have no place in a straight news story.
Voting matters, too. Whether your candidate wins or loses, your vote is your opportunity to participate in decisions that affect your community, state and country.
And the public deserves reliable information about those decisions.
These days, the presses aren’t waiting on me to return from the courthouse. Technology has changed how quickly we deliver the news.
But the responsibility hasn’t changed.
Neither has my excitement about election night.
Although I must admit, I still miss that fried chicken.
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