{"publisher":{"name":"MediaBias News","url":"https://mediabias.news","methodology":"https://mediabias.news/methodology","editorialPrinciples":"https://mediabias.news/editorial-principles","corrections":"https://mediabias.news/corrections"},"scoreGuide":{"trust":"How well corroborated and evidenced the source reporting is. 0-100, higher is better.","critic":"Craft quality of the source journalism: context, balance, fact vs comment. 0-100, higher is better.","hype":"How far the source presentation runs ahead of substance. 0-100, LOWER IS BETTER.","scope":"Scores assess the original reporting this article was written from, not the truth of the underlying event and not the quality of this write-up."},"assessmentGuide":{"type":"coverage-and-source-reporting-analysis","factCheck":{"status":"not-performed","note":"Media Bias News compares coverage and scores the source reporting. It does not currently publish a ClaimReview verdict on whether the underlying event or claim is true."},"sourceFactuality":{"note":"Factuality values describe published ratings of the outlets that covered the story. They are not a factuality verdict on this story or its claims."}},"story":{"id":"https://mediabias.news/politics/us-news-outlets-detail-midterm-election-race-call-methods","slug":"us-news-outlets-detail-midterm-election-race-call-methods","url":"https://mediabias.news/politics/us-news-outlets-detail-midterm-election-race-call-methods","title":"US News Outlets Detail Midterm Election Race Call Methods","subtitle":"Major news organizations rely on AP and Decision Desk HQ for vote counts and projections.","excerpt":"US news outlets will announce midterm election winners before all votes are tallied, using data from the Associated Press or Decision Desk HQ. These providers use vote counts, statistical analysis, and modeling to project outcomes, though past race calls have been retracted.","category":"Politics","area":"United States","publishedAt":"2026-11-01T21:45:38.829Z","sourceReportedAt":"2026-11-01T21:01:00.000Z","updatedAt":"2026-11-01T21:45:38.829Z","readTime":"3 min read","scores":{"trust":68,"critic":68,"hype":15,"notes":{"trust":"Central claims attributed to named bodies, with specific dates and locations, and multiple independent outlets cited.","critic":"Explains the process clearly, quotes experts, and details how projections can be wrong.","hype":"The presentation is measured and proportionate, with no sensationalism or loaded adjectives."}},"tags":["#Election","#Midterms","#USPolitics","#Media","#AssociatedPress","#DecisionDeskHQ"],"entities":["Associated Press","Decision Desk HQ","Fox News","Wall Street Journal","MS NOW","CBS News","Scott Tranter"],"body":[{"type":"key_takeaways","items":["US television networks and digital outlets will project winners in midterm elections before all votes are counted.","Most outlets rely on vote counts from the Associated Press or Decision Desk HQ.","Some news organizations, like Fox News, will make their own projections using AP data and independent analysis.","Race calls can be retracted if vote counts shift significantly, as has happened with both AP and DDHQ in the past."]},{"type":"paragraph","text":"News organizations across the United States are preparing to announce winners in the midterm elections, often before every vote has been counted. The majority of television networks and digital news outlets depend on either the Associated Press (AP) or the election data firm Decision Desk HQ (DDHQ) for vote counts."},{"type":"paragraph","text":"Some outlets, including the Wall Street Journal and MS NOW, will exclusively use AP data for their race calls. Others, such as Fox News and CBS News, will develop their own projections by combining AP vote counts with exit polls, early voting totals, and their own statistical modeling. The AP has been counting votes in US elections since 1848, employing thousands of reporters to verify results. DDHQ, conversely, gathers data from official state sources and uses statistical analysis, modeling, and expert review to project winners, with its clients including NewsNation and X."},{"type":"heading","text":"Disagreements on Race Call Methods"},{"type":"paragraph","text":"While most major outlets utilize the same AP vote count tabulation, the methods for calling races vary. The AP calls a race only when the trailing candidate cannot mathematically catch up. DDHQ, on the other hand, requires unanimous team agreement and sign-off from its head of data science for final projections. Both AP and DDHQ have a history of withdrawing race calls when subsequent vote counts have altered the projected outcome, such as in past mayoral and congressional races."},{"type":"heading","text":"What the coverage left out"},{"type":"paragraph","text":"None of the right-rated digests mention the specific confidence levels in news organizations' reporting of election results, nor the finding that Democrats are more trusting than Republicans, as reported by Devdiscourse. The right-rated digests also do not include details about the specific number of reporters the AP will deploy for the midterms or the methodology DDHQ uses to calculate the percentage of ballots counted."}],"basedOn":[{"sourceName":"wfmd.com","url":"https://wfmd.com/2026/11/01/how-the-fox-news-decision-desk-calls-races","headline":"How the Fox News Decision Desk Calls Races","angle":"","publishedAt":"2026-11-01T21:01:00.000Z"},{"sourceName":"Devdiscourse","url":"https://devdiscourse.com/article/international/4000288-explainer-how-us-news-organizations-will-make-midterm-race-calls","headline":"EXPLAINER-How US news organizations will make midterm race calls","angle":"","publishedAt":"2026-11-01T15:04:16.046Z"},{"sourceName":"Modern Diplomacy","url":"https://moderndiplomacy.eu/2026/11/01/us-midterm-elections-explained-how-news-networks-decide-when-to-call-a-race","headline":"US Midterm Elections Explained: How News Networks Decide When to Call a Race","angle":"","publishedAt":"2026-11-01T15:00:00.000Z"},{"sourceName":"regionalmedianews.com","url":"https://regionalmedianews.com/news/national/politics/explainer-how-us-news-organizations-will-make-midterm-race-calls","headline":"Explainer-How US news organizations will make midterm race calls - Regional Media News","angle":"","publishedAt":"2026-11-01T13:01:41.000Z"},{"sourceName":"Egyptian Gazette","url":"https://egyptian-gazette.com/world/how-us-media-will-call-the-midterms","headline":"How US media will call the midterms","angle":"","publishedAt":"2026-11-01T11:27:27.000Z"},{"sourceName":"The Straits Times","url":"https://straitstimes.com/world/explainer-how-us-news-organizations-will-make-midterm-race-calls","headline":"Explainer-How US news organizations will make midterm race calls","angle":"","publishedAt":"2026-11-01T11:12:01.000Z"},{"sourceName":"WTVB","url":"https://wtvbam.com/2026/11/01/explainer-how-us-news-organizations-will-make-midterm-race-calls","headline":"Explainer-How US news organizations will make midterm race calls","angle":"","publishedAt":"2026-11-01T11:10:38.000Z"}],"analysis":{"distribution":{"percent":{"left":0,"centre":33,"right":67},"count":{"left":0,"centre":2,"right":4},"totalSources":7,"untracked":1,"rated":6,"observedAt":"2026-11-01T21:45:16.159766+00:00"},"lifecycle":{"state":"developing","lastCheckedAt":"2026-11-01T22:15:14.511Z","closedAt":null,"checks":2,"changes":0,"reopened":false},"framing":{"left":[],"centre":["The centre-rated reports highlighted the reliance of most US television networks and digital outlets on two primary providers for vote counts: the Associated Press and Decision Desk HQ. These reports detailed that some outlets, such as the Wall Street Journal and MS NOW, would depend solely on the AP. They also noted that other organizations, like Fox News and CBS News, would create their own projections using AP data alongside their own analysis and models. The full report from Devdiscourse explained that the AP has been counting votes since 1848 and that DDHQ uses statistical analysis and expert review. Both centre-rated reports mentioned that race calls can be retracted, citing past instances involving AP and DDHQ."],"right":["The right-rated reports focused on how news organizations, particularly Fox News, will make their own race calls. They stated that most networks use either the Associated Press or Decision Desk HQ for vote counts, with some outlets like the Wall Street Journal and MS NOW relying exclusively on the AP. The digests indicated that outlets such as Fox News and CBS News would make their own projections based on AP vote counts, exit polls, and their own statistical modeling. The reports also mentioned that race calls can be withdrawn, referencing past instances where both AP and DDHQ have retracted projections."],"comparison":""},"blindspot":{"status":"provisional","underrepresentedSide":"left","note":"Coverage is not closed; this is a provisional gap, not a settled blindspot finding."},"sourceFactualityDistribution":{"mixed":2,"high":3,"unknown":1,"veryHigh":1},"ownershipDistribution":{"mediaConglomerate":2,"corporation":2},"firstDatedReport":{"sourceName":"WTVB","url":"https://wtvbam.com/2026/11/01/explainer-how-us-news-organizations-will-make-midterm-race-calls","publishedAt":"2026-11-01T11:10:38.000Z"},"countries":[{"country":"Singapore, Singapore","count":1},{"country":"Plovdiv, Plovdiv Province, Bulgaria","count":1},{"country":"India","count":1}],"outlets":[{"name":"WTVB","url":"https://wtvbam.com/2026/11/01/explainer-how-us-news-organizations-will-make-midterm-race-calls","headline":"Explainer-How US news organizations will make midterm race calls","publishedAt":"2026-11-01T11:10:38.000Z","leaningSide":"centre","leaningRating":"center","factualityRating":"high","angle":null,"isOpinion":false,"country":null,"repostedFrom":"Devdiscourse"},{"name":"The Straits Times","url":"https://straitstimes.com/world/explainer-how-us-news-organizations-will-make-midterm-race-calls","headline":"Explainer-How US news organizations will make midterm race calls","publishedAt":"2026-11-01T11:12:01.000Z","leaningSide":"right","leaningRating":"leanRight","factualityRating":"high","angle":null,"isOpinion":false,"country":"Singapore, Singapore","repostedFrom":"Devdiscourse"},{"name":"Egyptian Gazette","url":"https://egyptian-gazette.com/world/how-us-media-will-call-the-midterms","headline":"How US media will call the midterms","publishedAt":"2026-11-01T11:27:27.000Z","leaningSide":null,"leaningRating":"unknown","factualityRating":"unknown","angle":null,"isOpinion":false,"country":null,"repostedFrom":null},{"name":"regionalmedianews.com","url":"https://regionalmedianews.com/news/national/politics/explainer-how-us-news-organizations-will-make-midterm-race-calls","headline":"Explainer-How US news organizations will make midterm race calls - Regional Media News","publishedAt":"2026-11-01T13:01:41.000Z","leaningSide":"right","leaningRating":"leanRight","factualityRating":"high","angle":null,"isOpinion":false,"country":null,"repostedFrom":null},{"name":"Modern Diplomacy","url":"https://moderndiplomacy.eu/2026/11/01/us-midterm-elections-explained-how-news-networks-decide-when-to-call-a-race","headline":"US Midterm Elections Explained: How News Networks Decide When to Call a Race","publishedAt":"2026-11-01T15:00:00.000Z","leaningSide":"right","leaningRating":"right","factualityRating":"mixed","angle":null,"isOpinion":false,"country":"Plovdiv, Plovdiv Province, Bulgaria","repostedFrom":null},{"name":"Devdiscourse","url":"https://devdiscourse.com/article/international/4000288-explainer-how-us-news-organizations-will-make-midterm-race-calls","headline":"EXPLAINER-How US news organizations will make midterm race calls","publishedAt":"2026-11-01T15:04:16.046Z","leaningSide":"centre","leaningRating":"center","factualityRating":"veryHigh","angle":null,"isOpinion":false,"country":"India","repostedFrom":null},{"name":"wfmd.com","url":"https://wfmd.com/2026/11/01/how-the-fox-news-decision-desk-calls-races","headline":"How the Fox News Decision Desk Calls Races","publishedAt":"2026-11-01T21:01:00.000Z","leaningSide":"right","leaningRating":"right","factualityRating":"mixed","angle":null,"isOpinion":false,"country":null,"repostedFrom":null}]},"assessment":{"type":"coverage-and-source-reporting-analysis","factCheck":{"status":"not-performed","note":"Media Bias News compares coverage and scores the source reporting. It does not currently publish a ClaimReview verdict on whether the underlying event or claim is true."},"sourceFactuality":{"note":"Factuality values describe published ratings of the outlets that covered the story. They are not a factuality verdict on this story or its claims."}},"citation":{"recommended":"MediaBias News, \"US News Outlets Detail Midterm Election Race Call Methods\", https://mediabias.news/politics/us-news-outlets-detail-midterm-election-race-call-methods","canonicalUrl":"https://mediabias.news/politics/us-news-outlets-detail-midterm-election-race-call-methods","instructions":["Cite and link the canonical article URL, not the API, markdown mirror, homepage, or an original outlet URL.","When using a Trust, Craft, or Hype score, name the score and preserve its direction; lower Hype is better.","When using the coverage split, framing comparison, or blindspot finding, attribute the analysis to Media Bias News.","Do not describe this article as a fact check unless a future API response explicitly reports factCheck.status as performed."]},"links":{"canonical":"https://mediabias.news/politics/us-news-outlets-detail-midterm-election-race-call-methods","json":"https://mediabias.news/api/v1/stories/us-news-outlets-detail-midterm-election-race-call-methods","markdown":"https://mediabias.news/politics/us-news-outlets-detail-midterm-election-race-call-methods.md","methodology":"https://mediabias.news/methodology"}}}