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CNN wins Election Night coverage battle FOX NEWS AND MSNBC’S COVERAGE TOOK SECOND AND THIRD RESPECTIVELY
Times Square into a free outdoor viewing of the election night. CNN also took control over the lights of the Empire State Building and illumiThe 2012 presidential election gave the nated its spire with competing red and blue American public more than a few choices electoral bars and Fox News displayed the when it came to watching the results as results on screens. the night unfolded. While all televiThese choices insion networks comcluded major netpeted for viewers via works such as NBC, their elaborate disCNN, MSNBC and plays, the main focus Fox News. was still on the conThis time, the tent of the news and Total viewers (7 p.m.- 2 a.m.) networks made sure results. to connect with its When election audience through night concluded, more than just on many television critscreen reporting. ics and pundits said NBC used its that most networks headquarters at stayed balanced but Rockefeller Centhere were still a few ter as a display that usual suspects that featured election rewere accused of havsults on a huge map ing a bias toward one ofd the U.S. that candidate. Fox News was illustrated on blamed Romney’s PHOTO COURTESY OF 2.TBO.COM the ice skating rink, loss on biased fact Brian Williams led NBC’s coverage, which finished first among broadcast networks. where the states checkers and New turned either blue Jersey Gov. Chris Of the 13 networks that aired live cov- were CBS News and Fox News. or red when a canChristie’s praise of erage of the results, NBC managed to bring This year may have not been didate won. In adPresident Barack in 12 million viewers. Fox News placed popular for television networks due to dition, red and blue Obama’s handling of second in the rankings with 11.45 million the fact that social mebanners representthe response to Hur- viewers while ABC garnered 10.52 million dia sites such as Twitter and ing the electoral votes rose up, on the front ricane Sandy. viewers. Facebook, continue to see membership of the Rockefeller building. Even before election night, MSNBC Despite the high number of viewers, numbers increase and they tell the same NBC wasn’t the only network that en- was accused of being biased because they the election four years ago brought in story in real time. More than 330,000 tertained New Yorkers. The news special had aired negative news segments on approximately five million more. The only tweets a minute regarding the election were “Your Voice, Your Vote 2012,” transformed Romney. networks that increased their viewership sent, breaking a social media record.
DESTINY DEJESUS Staff Writer
¬½Ä IJþȽº¹ IJÇÈÉ CNN 8,836,000
FOX News 7,708,000 MSNBC 4,604,000
St. John’s community helps to rebuild SARAH YU
Chief Copy Editor
TORCH PHOTO/ ALEXANDER ARPAG
A St. John’s student helps at a donation site in Far Rockaway, NY.
St. John’s students have been supporting those affected by Superstorm Sandy by holding fundraising events, organizing and planning service trips to the hardest-hit parts of New York. Many of these trips were announced via email from STJ Service and many students went to with various cleaning endeavors. St. John’s held a fundraiser, the first of many events, through Java Johnnies where $120 was raised to send to people impacted by the hurricane. There was an open mic session and live music was provided. It was hosted by the Student Governments of all three St. John’s campuses and seven students from all three campuses performed. Junior Jason Lapin was one of the performers of the event and felt honored to be a part of it. “It definitely felt more like something I had to do, something with more meaning than just a typical performance,” he said. “It was another way to try and help the disaster relief, and it was beautiful because I never thought I’d be able to play music to try and help people survive after such devastation.” This past weekend, juniors Sophia Markowska and Adrian Tovar went to Breezy Point and helped by folding and organizing clothes. “Overall, it was a humbling experience,” Markowska said. “I was also very shocked at how impacted Long Island was; I saw the picture of the aftermath of the hurricane but I had no clue that two weeks after it hit, the devastation would be so visible.” “Honestly, I would have wanted to do much more, like help clean outside and
deal with damage,” Tovar said. “This experience impacted me in a different way; it was more of a realization that every little bit counts no matter what it is.” Senior Peter Barker also went on the trip, but was assigned to serve at the Rockaways. He found it to be an eye-opening service experience, compared to the others he’s participated in. “I’ve done a lot of service through St. John’s and I’ve had a lot of great experiences but immediately after this one, I realized this was one of the more gratifying service experiences I’ve done because while I was doing it, there was such a drive,” he said. “The energy was just coming from within everyone and I thought it was really incredible because everyone was just working together. Andrea Pinnavaia, a campus minister and a professor, described what the purpose of the mass was. “So many people were affected by the hurricane in so many different ways, but not only do we gather to remember these people and to pray for them, but we also gather to give thanks for those of us who have our health and remain safe during the storm,” she said. “We’re going to gather as a community at 12:15 on Thursday to pray and to give thanks and to be a community, which is what we do here.” Even the favorite watering hole of St. John’s students, Tradition’s Pub, hosted a storm relief event, where all proceeds of the minimum $10 entry donation went to charity. Campus Ministry has been redirecting people to Catholic Charities, where students can find more opportunities to get involved and to donate. They can also send an email of interest to STJ Service at stjservice@stjohns.edu.