Inside the biz anchor studio

Frances Martel of Mediaite writes about what it was like insider the studio of Fox Business Network anchor Neil Cavuto on Tuesday night covering the Republican primaries.

Martel writes, “This Super Tuesday, I got to spend some time at Fox Business with Cavuto and his team as they reported on the election returns, to get a sense of what Election Night coverage looks like from the inside, particularly from the unique position of a business rather than cable news network. It is an operation surfeited on details in substance and style, and while Cavuto’s notes, which he says took him a fair bit of time to compile on his own, provide the backbone for his insights on the night, it takes a bit of getting used to the scenery to realize their import—and that of the research team that feeds him information from the control room as it rolls in.

“The first and most obvious thing when entering a studio on Election Night that no one tells you when you see it on TV is that to deliver the sophisticated aesthetic seen on your screen, a studio must necessarily look like a slot machine’s fever dream. Most of the walls are screens and change colors on demand. The ceiling is starred with an abundance of stage lights. The cameramen operate like ventriloquists in charge of machines with the heads of tame dinosaurs that glide peacefully across the floor. Most intriguing in this particular studio is what appears to be a Dali-inspired staircase to nowhere, held up by monster truck wheels. Tonight, it has the night off.

“As the cameras begin to take their places, Cavuto explains the contents of his notes. ‘I try to make a point of studying these states, to the point that I try to remember where every precinct and unusual voting site is, and that I know enough about the unemployment rates of each states, who won what in each state, what carried each state for other candidates in the past. I think if I can give them that economic context as these results are going through, I think I can flesh it out a little more.'”

Read more here.