Waiting to Exhale

That collective sigh you're hearing on TV is coming from the pundits, anchors and reporters who are nearing the end of Campaign 07-08 (think it's really just been a one-year process?). The collective mood you're sensing from reading political blogs and last-minute MSM election coverage is one of, say, exausted elation.

Speaking of exausted... having covered pretty much every angle of the presidential race, journalists are down to talking about how they're ready for it all to be over. Understandable. Months and months on a bus with campaign aides will do that to you.

Funny thing, though, is they are probably the only ones in the industry who feel that way. It goes without saying that readership and ratings are way up when political races steal the headlines. News editors love it. And TV ad managers will be crying once political spots go off the air -- they've been propping up a struggling industry for months.

Programming note: I'll be blogging for the St. Louis Beacon all day tomorrow, and making a brief appearance on KETC, the St. Louis PBS station to talk about youth voting, which I wrote about for the Web site recently. More on covering the Big Day later in the week...