Scott MacFarlane has traded in the desk once sat behind at CBS News on Election Night for something more direct — livestreamed midterms coverage for the progressive outlet MeidasTouch. He won’t have someone manipulating a Magic Wall or Big Board. He won’t be introduced by swelling orchestral music.
And he won’t be competing with colleagues for precious minutes of airtime. MacFarlane will be ready to talk to followers via streaming channels starting at 7 p.m. At a traditional TV outlet, says MacFarlane, his contribution would have been curated by producers.
This year, he says, “the voice we get to use is my voice. I am going unscripted, without a teleprompter, just telling people point blank what’s happening.” Dozens of independent journalists will do the same. Coverage of returns on Election Night has long been dominated by the nation’s big TV-news outlets.
This year, however, so-called “creators” — indie journalists and non-traditional experts — want their own piece of the audience. In addition to the MeidasTouch stream, which will feature MacFarlane along with former MSNBC host Katie Phang, former NBC News political guru Chuck Todd will hold forth with colleague Chris Cillizza in a live stream they call “The Projection.” It will appear across YouTube, X, Substack, Decision Desk HQ’s Votes portal and Noosphere, one of many new subscription platforms that offers access to the work of expert journalists. Piers Morgan, whose Uncensored company won millions in funding late last year, is traveling from London to host several nights of coverage in the nation’s capital.
Jim Acosta and Katie Couric, two popular former mainstream TV anchors, will team up to host a live stream from the University of Virginia, and have booked guests including Rahm Emanuel, Pete Buttigieg and Tara Setmayer. Don Lemon, the former CNN anchor, will greet guests such as Joy Reid and Hunter Biden while presiding over a show in a New York City bar. Even staid CSPAN is getting in on the craze, and plans to simulcast hours of coverage from progressive outlet The Young Turks and conservative commentator Patrick Bet-David.
Despite some of the hosts’ mainstream roots, many of them think they can bring viewers something the legacy outlets cannot. Many of these people see a big opportunity to generate subscriptions, advertising and revenue — and to draw bigger audiences to their various outlets in an era when the economics of media are decidedly in flux. Advertisers were eager to sponsor Morgan’s shows from Washington, D.C., she says.
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