Election night. Two words that can send a perfectly calm journalist into a mild state of panic.
If you’ve ever worked in a newsroom during an election, you already know the drill.
The phones won’t stop ringing. Producers are rewriting scripts every five minutes. Reporters are scattered across polling locations, campaign headquarters, and election watch parties. The assignment desk is juggling a million moving pieces, and someone inevitably asks why a live shot isn’t ready when the crew just arrived three minutes ago.
Oh, and there’s a good chance you’ll be eating dinner out of a cardboard container, while staring at election results on six different screens.
Sounds glamorous, doesn’t it?
Election night is one of the biggest nights of the year for journalists, and depending on the races being covered, it can also be one of the most stressful. But while the pressure to deliver accurate, timely election coverage is very real, that doesn’t mean you have to spend the entire night running on caffeine, anxiety, and whatever snacks happen to be left in the newsroom kitchen.
Whether you’re a reporter covering your first election, a producer coordinating wall-to-wall coverage, or a seasoned journalist who has survived more election nights than you’d care to remember, here are nine ways to make it through the madness.
1. Prepare Like Everything Is Going to Go Wrong
Because, honestly, something probably will go wrong.
Your live truck might lose its signal. Your laptop could freeze. Your photographer might get stuck in traffic. The campaign spokesperson who promised you an interview could suddenly become impossible to reach.
Welcome to election night.
The best way to avoid a complete meltdown is to prepare for problems before they happen. Reporters should confirm their live shot locations, interview arrangements, equipment needs, and backup communication methods well before polls close.
Producers should have contingency plans for delayed results, failed live shots, and races that remain too close to call. And if you’re working in the field, bring backup batteries, chargers, extra cables, and whatever else you need to keep working when technology decides to betray you.
Because nothing will test your patience quite like watching your phone battery drop to 2% while your producer is calling for the fourth time.
Election night survival tip: Make a checklist before your shift. The more you can prepare ahead of time, the fewer emergencies you’ll have to deal with later.
2. Eat an Actual Meal Before the Chaos Begins
I know. I know.
You’re busy. You have scripts to write, sources to call, interviews to coordinate, and a producer who’s already asking for updates. But please, for the love of journalism, EAT SOMETHING.
Election night coverage can stretch late into the evening, and sometimes well into the following morning. And while newsroom pizza has practically become an election night tradition, surviving on two slices of pepperoni and three cups of coffee isn’t exactly a recipe for feeling your best.
Try to eat a substantial meal before your shift begins, and bring snacks that will keep you going throughout the night. Protein bars, fruit, nuts, sandwiches, or anything that doesn’t require you to abandon your live shot location for 30 minutes can be helpful.
And don’t forget water.
Coffee might make you feel like you’re functioning at superhuman speed, but it doesn’t replace hydration or sleep.
Election night survival tip: Pack your own food, even if your station promises to provide dinner. Anyone who’s worked in a newsroom long enough knows that sometimes the food arrives late, disappears early, or consists entirely of leftover cookies.
3. Remember That Being First Means Nothing If You’re Wrong
Let’s talk about one of the biggest pressures journalists face on election night: The race to report results.
Every newsroom wants to be first. First to announce a projected winner. First to report a major upset. First to break the news that a candidate has conceded.
But here’s the thing: Being first is completely meaningless if the information you’re reporting is wrong.
Election results can change as ballots are counted, and early returns don’t necessarily reflect the final outcome. Journalists should understand the difference between unofficial vote totals, projected winners, and officially certified election results.
They should also know which sources their newsroom relies on when making race calls.
If your station uses an established election decision desk or trusted race-calling service, understand its procedures before going live. And if a race hasn’t been called, say that. There’s nothing embarrassing about telling viewers that the results are still coming in.
What’s embarrassing is announcing the wrong winner because someone in management wanted to beat the competition by 30 seconds.
Election night survival tip: Verify information before reporting it, clearly attribute projections, and never allow pressure from management to override accuracy.
4. Learn to Tune Out the Newsroom Panic
Every newsroom has at least one person who seems to believe that yelling makes breaking news happen faster.
You know the type.
They’re pacing around the control room, shouting into a headset, demanding updates, and asking questions that were literally answered 45 seconds ago. And on election night? That energy can multiply.
Now, some urgency is understandable. Election coverage involves tight deadlines, rapidly changing information, and a lot of moving parts.
But there’s a difference between urgency and unnecessary chaos. As a journalist, one of the most valuable skills you can develop is learning how to stay focused when everyone around you is losing their minds.
Take a second to prioritize what actually needs your attention. If you’re a reporter, focus on gathering accurate information and communicating clearly with your producer. If you’re a producer, make sure your team knows what’s happening without creating additional confusion.
And if someone starts yelling at you about something that’s completely outside your control? Well, unfortunately, you can’t always control other people’s behavior.
But you can control how you respond.
Election night survival tip: Stay organized, communicate clearly, and don’t allow someone else’s panic to become your own.
5. Have a Safety Plan Before Heading Into the Field
Election coverage can put journalists in unpredictable situations.
You might be reporting from a crowded campaign rally, interviewing voters outside a polling location, or standing near demonstrators with strong political opinions. Most interactions will be perfectly ordinary, but journalists should still take reasonable precautions.
Before heading into the field, know where you’re going, who you’re meeting, and how you’ll contact your newsroom if something goes wrong.
Make sure your phone is charged, identify safe exits when covering large gatherings, and avoid positioning yourself somewhere you could become trapped in a crowd. If someone becomes aggressive, remember that getting the perfect sound bite isn’t worth putting yourself or your crew in danger.
And while reporters should understand their legal rights when covering elections, they should also familiarize themselves with applicable polling-place restrictions and local election rules.
Those rules can vary by state and location.
Election night survival tip: Establish a check-in plan with your newsroom, work with your crew when possible, and prioritize personal safety over getting the shot. No live report is worth getting hurt over.
6. Don’t Let Social Media Turn You Into a Fact-Checking Disaster
If you think election night is chaotic inside a newsroom, just wait until you open social media.
Suddenly, everyone is an election expert.
Someone on X claims a candidate has already won. A Facebook post says thousands of ballots have mysteriously disappeared. A viral TikTok insists a polling location has been shut down. And before anyone has verified a single detail, the rumor has already been shared thousands of times.
This is where journalists have to be especially careful.
Social media can be a useful tool for identifying potential stories, but it should never replace independent verification. Before repeating a claim, check its original source, confirm when and where the information originated, and seek reliable documentation or firsthand confirmation.
For claims about election procedures or voting problems, contact the appropriate election officials and seek corroborating evidence.
And be careful about amplifying false information simply to debunk it. Sometimes repeating a rumor without enough context can give it more attention than it deserves.
Election night survival tip: Treat viral posts as leads to investigate, not facts to report. Your job isn’t to keep up with every rumor on the internet. It’s to help your audience understand what’s actually happening.
7. Take Breaks, Even If They’re Only Five Minutes
Let’s be realistic. You’re probably not getting a leisurely hour-long dinner break in the middle of election night coverage.
But that doesn’t mean you should spend 12 straight hours staring at a monitor without moving.
When coverage allows, take a few minutes to step away. Stretch your legs. Drink some water. Use the restroom. Give your eyes a break from the endless parade of maps, numbers, and election graphics.
And if you’re a producer or manager, try to build reasonable breaks into your team’s schedule instead of waiting until everyone looks like they’ve been awake for three days.
Journalists aren’t machines. Fatigue can affect concentration, decision-making, and the ability to catch mistakes.
That’s especially important during election coverage, when one incorrect number or misleading headline can create unnecessary confusion.
Election night survival tip: Coordinate short breaks with your team and make sure someone is covering your responsibilities before stepping away. Taking care of yourself isn’t a sign that you can’t handle the pressure.
It’s part of doing your job responsibly.
8. Accept That You Might Not Have All the Answers Before Your Shift Ends
Here’s something journalists, and especially newsroom managers, need to remember.
Not every election is going to be decided on election night.
I know that’s frustrating when you’ve spent weeks preparing special coverage, building graphics, coordinating live shots, and planning for a dramatic announcement. But election results don’t operate according to television production schedules.
Some races may be called quickly. Others may take days to resolve as election officials continue counting ballots. And that’s okay.
Journalists should explain why results are taking time, which ballots remain outstanding, and what viewers can expect next. A race remaining undecided doesn’t automatically mean something suspicious has happened. Different states have different ballot-processing procedures, reporting schedules, and certification requirements.
Sometimes counting votes simply takes time.
The responsibility of a journalist is to explain that process accurately, not manufacture a dramatic conclusion because the 11 p.m. newscast needs one.
Election night survival tip: Prepare viewers for uncertainty, explain the counting process, and resist the temptation to turn an unresolved race into a crisis. The story will still be there tomorrow.
9. Give Yourself Permission to Recover After Election Night
You made it.
The live shots are finished. The graphics have stopped changing every 30 seconds. Your producer has finally taken off their headset. And you’ve survived another election night.
Congratulations!
Now, please go home and get some sleep.
Seriously.
Journalists have a tendency to normalize exhaustion, especially after major breaking news events. There’s almost an unspoken competition in some newsrooms over who worked the longest shift, got the least sleep, or sacrificed the most personal time. But working yourself into the ground shouldn’t be considered a badge of honor.
If you’ve spent the night covering election results, it’s reasonable to need time to recover.
That might mean getting extra sleep, eating a proper meal, disconnecting from the news for a while, or simply spending time doing something that has absolutely nothing to do with politics. And newsroom managers should recognize that recovery time matters, too.
Scheduling employees for another demanding shift immediately after an exhausting election night can contribute to burnout and unnecessary mistakes.
Election night survival tip: Rest when you can, communicate fatigue-related concerns, and don’t feel guilty about needing time away from the news. The world will continue spinning if you stop checking election updates for a few hours.
Election Night Shouldn’t Be an Excuse for a Toxic Newsroom
Now, let’s talk about something that often gets overlooked in conversations about surviving major news events. There’s a difference between a demanding newsroom and a toxic one.
Election night is naturally stressful. Long hours, unexpected developments, and last-minute changes are part of covering a major political event. But that doesn’t mean newsroom employees should be expected to tolerate disrespect, unsafe working conditions, or unreasonable treatment from management.
A good newsroom prepares its staff for major coverage.
That means having clear assignments, realistic expectations, reliable communication, and managers who understand that their employees are human beings. A poorly managed newsroom, on the other hand, can turn an already stressful night into a completely unnecessary nightmare.
And unfortunately, some journalists don’t realize just how unhealthy their work environment has become until they start comparing their experiences with those of other newsroom employees.
That’s one reason RateMyStation gives journalists a place to share their workplace experiences and research potential employers.
By exploring newsroom ratings and reading tv station reviews, journalists can learn how other employees describe their station’s management, culture, and working conditions. And while news station rankings may offer a useful starting point when comparing potential employers, it’s important to look beyond any single rating or review.
Pay attention to recurring themes in employee feedback, especially when it comes to scheduling, leadership, workload, and how management treats staff during high-pressure situations.
Because surviving election night is one thing. Feeling like you have to survive your own management team is another.
Final Thoughts: The Election Results Matter, but So Do You
Election night is one of those experiences that reminds journalists why their work matters.
You’re helping people understand the democratic process, providing reliable information, and documenting moments that can shape the future of their communities. That’s important work. But it’s also okay to admit that election coverage can be exhausting, frustrating, and occasionally downright ridiculous.
You can love journalism, and still hate getting a frantic phone call from your producer, while you’re trying to eat dinner. You can take pride in your election coverage, and still wish your news director would stop changing the rundown every two minutes. And you can be dedicated to your career without sacrificing your health or well-being to prove it.
So, prepare ahead of time, double-check your facts, look out for your coworkers, and remember to take care of yourself.
And when election night is finally over? Turn off the election alerts, put down your phone, and enjoy some well-deserved rest.
Because democracy may never sleep, but journalists absolutely should.
Thinking about making a change after election season? Visit RateMyStation.com to explore newsroom ratings, read employee experiences, and research television news stations before making your next career move.
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