Nov. 7
(All times EST)

7:00 p.m.

7:30 p.m.

FLORIDA IN FOCUS
7:30 p.m. -- The networks trained their eyes on a state that had been a battleground throughout the campaign -- Florida. An electoral powerhouse with 25 votes, the state governed by George W. Bush's brother Jeb looked like it could become Gore territory.

8:00 p.m.

8:30 p.m.

A QUICK WIN FOR GORE?
8:30 p.m. -- With Florida ostensibly in Gore's grasp, the focus shifted to Pennsylvania and Michigan -- key battleground states with 41 electoral votes between them. Analysts discussed a possible early victory should Gore carry the two states.

Bush, meanwhile, was completing a near electoral sweep of the South, picking up Virginia, Georgia, the Carolinas and his home state of Texas. But NBC's Tim Russert said the governor would have to "run the table" of remaining states to win the election.

The same sentiment reigned at CBS. Anchor Dan Rather said Bush's prospects were "shakier than cafeteria Jell-O."

9:00 p.m.

9:30 p.m.

BUSH CAMP RESPONDS
9:30 p.m. -- Florida was still the big story for the Bush campaign. At about 9:45, the Texas governor told members of the press he thought the media had spoken too soon.

"The networks called this thing awfully early," Bush said, "but the people actually counting the votes are coming up with a different perspective. So we're pretty darn upbeat about things."

As the hour wore on, those watching the numbers pour in at the networks were getting a lot less upbeat about their calls in Florida. With the margin between Bush and Gore growing slimmer by the minute, the Voter News Service canceled the vote in one Florida county at 9:38, finally retracting its call in the entire state at 10:13.

BY THE NUMBERS
By the time the VNS advisory came out, though, the networks had already changed their tune about Florida's status. CNN moved the state back into the undecided column shortly before 10 p.m., with the other networks and the AP quickly following.

Red faces abounded.

"Could you pass the crow?" CNN's Judy Woodruff asked colleague Bernard Shaw.

At CBS, Dan Rather blamed the reversed call on bad data.

"To err is human," Rather said, "but to really foul up requires a computer... If you're disgusted with us, frankly, I don't blame you."

10:00 p.m.

11:00 p.m.

TOO CLOSE TO CALL
11 p.m. -- Another big break for Al Gore, as the networks called California, and its 54 electoral votes, for the vice president.

After their change of heart on Florida, the networks' coverage centered -- as it would for much of the remainder of the evening -- on electoral math. CBS's Rather turned to a miniature election map attached to his desk, while NBC's Russert kept track of the various electoral scenarios using a wipe-away marker board -- pointing out the growing possibility of a 269 - 269 tie in the electoral college between the two candidates.

"The thing about tonight is, we don't know who the next president of the United States will be," Russert said. "This electoral map is as unpredictable now as it was two weeks ago."

Said CBS's Rather, "It's cardiac arrest time in the presidential campaign."

HOLDOUT STATES
By 12 a.m., many experts thought Election Night would have been over -- including the Bush campaign, which had scheduled the governor's victory speech for 11:39 to 11:51 p.m.

But with both candidates stuck near the 245-vote mark in the electoral college, it was still anybody's election. With Alaska going quickly for Bush and Hawaii swiftly for Gore, it all came down to eight states: Arkansas, Iowa, Wisconsin, Nevada, New Mexico, Oregon, Washington and a still-deadlocked Florida.

Oregon and Washington, both of which use mail-in balloting, became central to network punditry, since it was becoming more and more likely the two states would play an important role in determining a winner.

As the night wore on, the networks stepped up footage of crowds assembled in Nashville, Tenn. and Austin, Texas, all hoping to be part of a victory party.

Nov. 8

12:00 a.m.

1:00 a.m.

THE NUMBER CRUNCH
As the night rolled on to 1 a.m., it looked like the party was nearing an end for Al Gore. Wisconsin, Oregon, Florida and Iowa were the only states left in play, since the networks called Nevada and Arkansas for Bush and Washington and New Mexico for Gore. Notably, the Associated Press didn't follow its broadcast colleagues on the New Mexico call, and that state did not finally certify its results -- a squeaker for Gore -- until November 30.

By now, fatigue and frustration were creeping onto the network airwaves. Entering his eighth hour on the air, CNN's Jeff Greenfield summed up some of his colleagues' feelings.

"At the start of this race, we all thought Florida was securely in Bush's camp. We all thought the Dukakis states were clearly in Gore's camp," he said. "Neither of those things have been true, and that's why we're here at 1 o'clock in the morning wondering who the president is going to be."

ALL EYES ON FLORIDA
By 2 a.m., the Sunshine state was all that stood between either candidate and the presidency.

As with the several preceding hours spent in electoral limbo, the pundits reigned supreme on the networks. ABC's George Stephanopolous worked the numbers, NBC's Tim Russert scribbled madly on his marker board. CNN oscillated between its Capital Gang and Crossfire's Mary Matalin and Mike McCurry. The NewsHour cameras panned between expert panels and political commentators Mark Shields and Paul Gigot.

Amid all the talk was a continuous underscoring of Florida's importance.

"The key here," CNN's Greenfield said "is, Oregon and Wisconsin -- no offense to those good people -- are now irrelevant. ... This thing literally could not be any closer. Florida is the ballgame."

2:00 a.m.

2:15 a.m.

PRESIDENT BUSH?
Ten minutes after the top of the hour, network excitement was again beginning to build. At 2:16 a.m., the call was made: Fox News Channel, with Bush's first cousin John Ellis running its election desk, was the first to project Florida -- and the presidency -- for the Texas governor.

Within minutes, the other networks followed suit.

"George Bush, Governor of Texas will become the 43rd President of the United States," CNN's Bernard Shaw announced atop a graphic montage of a smiling Bush. "At 18 minutes past two o'clock Eastern time, CNN declares that George Walker Bush has won Florida's 25 electoral votes and this should put him over the top."

At 2:20 a.m., ABC's Peter Jennings was less enthusiastic in his network's presidential call.

"Unless there is a terrible calamity, George W. Bush, by our projections, is going to be the next president of the United States."

TO CONCEDE OR NOT TO CONCEDE...
At 2:30 a.m., amid television talk of George W. Bush's quick political rise and references to John Quincy Adams -- the last man to follow his father into the presidency -- Al Gore called it quits.

In a concession phone call to Bush, Gore congratulated the governor on his win and wished him the best. According to his campaign staff, the vice president left his hotel in Nashville to address a rain-soaked crowd in the city's War Memorial Plaza.

But a funny thing happened on the way to Gore's concession. The 50,000-vote margin between Bush and Gore shrank to thousands. Then, to just hundreds.

While the networks continued to forecast what a Bush administration might bring, Gore campaign staff sent their candidate an urgent page: the fight's not over yet.

2:30 a.m.

3:00 a.m.

THE WAITING GAME
The networks carried news of the Gore-Bush phone call, announcing victory and concession speeches would follow shortly.

Reports from each campaign's gathering sites reflected the night's events: An ecstatic Austin crowd erupted into cheers with each live report chronicling Bush's win, while a somber mood enveloped Gore supporters, huddled together in a cold, ironic rain.

The stages were set, the mood at each location clear. Everything was ready to go. But nothing happened.

At 3 a.m., with still no solid speech time in sight, the NewsHour signed off. Eleven minutes later, the AP worked up a press advisory: Bush's lead had dwindled to 6,000 votes, with counts still forthcoming from two heavily Democratic counties.

"That would be something if the networks managed to blow it twice in one night," NBC's Tom Brokaw said. Just minutes later, he'd find out that they had.

3:30 a.m.

4:00 a.m.

PRESIDENTIAL RETRACTIONS
Judy Woodruff wasn't the only network anchor searching for an explanation when the networks one by one returned Florida to the undecided column.

CBS and NBC made their retractions at 3:59 a.m., with the other networks following soon thereafter.

"We're not absolutely sure quite what to do next," said Jennings on ABC.

Each network continued to flash scenes from the crowds waiting in Austin and Nashville, as faces turned from the joy of victory and the anger of defeat to a general consternation and confusion.

Just after 4 a.m., Gore campaign chairman William Daley was the first to appear on stage in Nashville.

"Without being certain of the results in Florida," he said, "we simply cannot be certain of the results of this election."

Don Evans of the Bush campaign spoke in Austin minutes later.

"We hope and believe we have elected the next president of the United States," he said. "I'm confident when all is said and done, we will prevail."

A NIGHT OF INDECISION
"We don't just have egg on our face," NBC's Brokaw said at 4:45 a.m., " -- we have an omelet on our suits."

The networks lamented the night's biggest turnabout, but the continually shrinking margin between the two men remained the early morning mantra.

"Two hundred twenty-four votes separate these two candidates," CNN's Greenfield said. "...At this juncture, with a reported 100 percent reporting, [224 votes] separate George Bush from Al Gore, and separate both these men from the presidency of the United States."

Shortly before 5 a.m., Gore had captured the lead in the national popular vote -- a lead he held onto as counts continued in several states.

Florida Attorney General Bob Butterworth told a local Florida station shortly after the top of the hour that an automatic recount of Florida's votes would begin a few hours later -- and that the count could be completed as early as 5 p.m.

ABC signed off shortly afterward, but not before a hot night on the air got a little bit hotter when a studio light burst into flame. The fire was put out by a staffer.

5:00 a.m.

7:00 a.m.

THE MORNING AFTER
"Good morning, we do not have a winner," Katie Couric said as NBC's Today began its usual 7 a.m. broadcast.

But it was a thoroughly unusual morning. The election day anchor teams had stayed up into the wee hours, with some, like the NBC and CBS teams, broadcasting on into their morning programs.

Election returns had slowed to a trickle as sunrise approached on the East Coast. But at 6:24 a.m., the Associated Press called the state of Wisconsin -- and its 11 electoral votes -- for Gore.

Several morning newspapers -- including The Tampa Tribune, The Orlando Sentinel, and recalled editions of The New York Post -- echoed their broadcast colleagues' mistakes, issuing editions with "Bush Wins" headlines -- yet another goof the media would find themselves apologizing for soon thereafter.

Some in the media blamed returns from the Voter News Service. Others blamed computer data mix-ups. But many in the public -- and in the media -- placed the blame for a night of network retractions square on the shoulders of the journalists themselves.

"Boy, they've [the networks] got some explaining to do," former CBS newsman Walter Cronkite told The Los Angeles Times. "They bear all the responsibility."