The station that perennially finishes behind its competition in the Nielsen Media Research TV ratings put on a performance Tuesday night that was top rate.
KMTV (Cox Channel 5) provided impressive coverage, better analysis and broadcast a nearly flawless 10 p.m. newscast on Election Night.
Not far behind was KETV (Cox Channel 9) which delivered on its "more complete coverage" promise by sharing the most election results, to go along with comprehensive reporting that included streaming live coverage on its website,
KETV.com.
WOWT (Cox Channel 8), while much improved from its debacle in the May primary, was clearly third-rate. Technical snafus, ill-timed tosses to reporters in the field and shallow analysis plagued the performance of the NBC affiliate that traditionally owns the 10 o'clock time slot in the Nielsen ratings.
For the purposes of this review, The Reader closely monitored KETV, KMTV and WOWT from 9:56 p.m. (when KMTV and KETV) began their coverage, until approximately 10:30 p.m.
Editor's Note: Although many of the races were not decided until long after that, it is The Reader's belief that a majority of viewers did not stay tuned in for additional coverage.
KMTV, Grade: A
The "Breaking News" philosophy the CBS affiliate has adopted carried over nicely to an Election Night newscast format that rewards hard work and hustle.
KMTV offered live coverage from five locations and had candidate reaction (on tape) from four others.
With veteran reporter Joe Jordan leading off, KMTV hit a home run with Jordan's clear overview of what promised to be a changing political landscape of races across the state.
"Democrats are making gains no one ever expected," Jordan said.
KMTV anchors Deborah Ward and Greg Peterson often provided viewers with "big picture" background on issues and races of importance, providing perspective and insight into how some of the results had changed from the early returns.
The lone knock against KMTV you will find here was Michelle Bandur's awkward start to her interview with Lee Terry: A "Hey, how are you doing? We're live now!" introduction that fell short of the usual high standards of her live reports from the field.
KETV, Grade: B+First, quantity is not always quality.
Secondly, when you have a ticker scrolling results, do not spend time reading them to the viewers when the time is better spent hearing from the candidates.
Those two factors -- as well as a few technical glitches -- are what kept KETV from matching its
top-notch performance on Election Night during the May Primary.
So what did KETV do right? It thoughtfully provided viewers tuning in at 10 p.m. with a "reopen" of its newscast, after starting its coverage at the conclusion of the network's broadcast (9:56 p.m.). Graphics for its full screen boards were top-rate, with most of them featuring the candidates' photos.
And in a throwback to the days when in-studio political analysis was in vogue, Allen Beerman, director of the Nebraska Press Association and former Nebraska Secretary of State, offered commentary on several of the major races.
But there were glaring mistakes that cannot be overlooked.
Anchors Rob McCartney and Julie Cornell mispronounced Shane Osborn's last name, confusing it with former Nebraska football Coach Tom Osborne, who says "Oz-BURN." Reporter Farrah Fazal never explained why she was holding a cell phone up to her ear during a live report and later called the Nebraska State Education Association's Brian Mikkelsen "Brian Mikkels." Reporter Todd Andrews told viewers Ben Nelson was about to speak, only to have McCartney ask him a question (that led to a rushed response) as Nelson began his remarks.
More proof of the subpar performance: Reporter Owen Lei said to Lee Terry "Tell me how you feel right now" and minutes later, reporter Carol Kloss asked Jim Esch virtually the same question ("How does it feel?").
Compare that to KMTV's Jordan, who asked Nelson if he thought there was a message to the White House that Americans want a different handling of the war in Iraq.
WOWT, Grade: B-
From the get-go, WOWT seemed a step slow. Network election coverage provided for several local updates between 8 and 10 p.m., but WOWT sorely missed Ricketts' initial podium appearance around 9 p.m. and his remarks just before 10 that both KETV and KMTV did carry.
"Tonight, Nebraskans have spoken," WOWT viewers
did not hear Nelson tell supporters at the start of his "victory" speech.
The live reports WOWT did broadcast were well below market standards. Reporter Rebecca Kleeman was downright giddy during her interview with Terry. She also spent a great deal of time prefacing her own remarks with an apology for "trying not to scream" over the din of the crowd.
From a technical standpoint, a sound bite from Jim Esch was poorly edited (cutting him off in mid-sentence), and Gary Johnson's taped interview with Heineman was overmodulated.
Anchors John Knicely (who also mispronounced "Osborn") and Tracy Madden fell back on generic transitions between segments ("There are many more races to tell you about" and "All politics are local") and spent too much time reading information that was already scrolling at the bottom of the screen. Knicely also incorrectly referred to Esch as a "29-year-old" (he's 30).
From the Laptop: KMTV was first to hit the air (by nearly 15 minutes) with a projection of victories by Nelson and Heineman ... It was KFAB radio, not a TV station, that had the first interview with Senator-Elect Ben Nelson ... A KETV graphic during one of its cut-ins had Pete Ricketts as "Sen. Pete Ricketts" ... Due to technical limitations, The Reader was unable to adequately track coverage for KPTM (Cox Channel 10) at 9 p.m. and KXVO (Cox Channel 11) at 10 p.m. ... Though not related to its election coverage, WOWT showed a full-screen graphic of the Nebraska "N" the entire time sports anchor Merlyn Klaus was reading a story about a University of Miami football player who was shot and killed.
For those of you "media-types" keeping track:
Live Reports:KMTV (5): Dave Roberts (Pete Ricketts), Joe Jordan (Ben Nelson), Michelle Bandur (Lee Terry), Corey Rangel (Jim Esch), static live (Dave Heineman).
WOWT (4): Brian Mastre (Nelson), Sheila Brummer (Ricketts), Rebecca Kleeman (Terry), Gary Johnson (Heineman).
KETV (9): Brandi Petersen (Ricketts), Todd Andrews (Nelson), Owen Lei (Terry), Carol Kloss (Esch), Mike DiGiacomo (Heineman), Farrah Fazal (Opponents of Initiative 423), Mike Sigmond (Stu Dornan), John Campbell (Don Kleine), Lisa Stites (Proponent of Initiative 423).
Sound on Tape:
KMTV (6): Terry, Dornan, Kleine, Pat Loontjer (Gambling with the Good Life), Dave Nabity (For Amendment 423), Karen Kilgarin (Against Amendment 423).
WOWT (3): Esch, Kleine, Dornan.
KETV (1): Kleine.
"Look Lives":KMTV (0).
WOWT (0).
KETV (1): Kailyn Reid (David Hahn).
Number of Full Screen Graphics (unofficially):
1. KETV
2. WOWT
3. KMTV
In-Studio Live Reports/Guests:
KMTV: Molli Graham (reporter).
KETV: Allen Beerman (guest analyst).
WOWT: None.
The dispute between Pappas Telecasting Companies and EchoStar Communications which threatened to remove FOX affiliate KPTM and WB affiliate KXVO from DISH Network subscribers in Omaha and several other markets has been resolved.
Facing a barrage of criticism, News Corp. announced Monday that the O.J. Simpson book and TV special "If I Did It" would not be broadcast.
Cox Communications is adding three new channels to its lineup at the end of November, including the much-anticipated ESPNU.
The other addition to Cox's digital lineup will be A&E in high definition, broadcasting on Cox Channel 807.
The Game Plan: "The N Zone"
The Game Plan: "The Big Red Zone"
The Game Plan: "Big Red Now" Report
The Game Plan: "Big Red Extra"
Media outlets in North Platte are likely to be more cautious after last week's revelation that a 17-year-old girl had been mistakenly arrested and held in jail for a week.
A week later, the Crimestopper tip led to the arrest of Kayce Schildhauer, 19, of North Platte. 
In order to examine how the decision was made, it is necessary to review the behind-the-scenes monitoring that goes into declaring a winner.
The clever 
Tom Land, Director of Radio Programming for the Journal Broadcast Group, said syndication will not change the core content of the show. However, some minor tweaking will be needed to accommodate new listeners on Journal-owned stations KRZQ (106.7 FM) in Springfield, Mo., beginning Monday, and KICT (95.1 FM) in Wichita, Kan., beginning Nov. 13.
The switch to more generic, national topics was already evident last week when the pair discussed Rush Limbaugh's controversial remarks regarding Michael J. Fox, the topic of gay marriage and stem cell research and Mark Foley's rehabilitation.