Calling for change

I'm just gazing over CNN's and TIME's sites the morning after the election. There are natural, important questions being asked in headlines, like "Who'll Fill Obama's Senate Seat?" But there are three things I would like to see more of.

1. A to-do list

I'm well aware that President-Elect Barack Obama has not even been sworn in yet, but I think he made clear in his acceptance speech that there is much work to be done. Now is the time to act, as Obama has said himself and voters nationwide have shown they're prepared for by coming out in massive numbers. There's been talk about the Cabinet and political teams he's assembling and the importance of starting immediately. But what does he need to DO immediately? Which policies that he's promised to initiate need to happen first? This leads me to my next point.

2. What we journalists call a "nut graf"

We need a so-what story. A story that says what this means. We all know the race issue, and how big of a step it is to elect the nation's first black president. But what does this decisive victory mean for the country? That so many voters came out for THIS election to elect OBAMA. How valuable is that during one of the worst economic period's in the nation's history. Leading into No. 3.

3. Reaction

I walked outside around the Ithaca College campus after the networks called Obama, part-journalist, part-Obama supporter, part-student. The joy around me was unreal. Let's not even get into Oprah's tears. I called a friend, and he was beside himself, hardly able to find the words to express his happiness. Another called Obama the "JFK of our generation." I think it might be too early to say that, but the impact Obama has had already is a truly incredible thing.

This is the kind of story I'm looking for.

It's just begun

IT IS OFFICIAL. Barack Obama is president-elect of the United States of America. It came faster than many people thought. Just a sudden flash and then there he was speaking. Students gathered around the Ithaca College campus in celebration as likely many other campuses and places across the country.

I was amazed by how quickly results came in. It seemed like the polls had just closed in a handful of states and Obama suddenly had more than 100 electoral votes, according to CNN. I watched other people around me, all glued to their computer screens. Some on NYTimes.com, others looking at CNN. I wondered if it were possible that Obama could already be at a supreme advantage so early in the night.

CNN called states earlier than other news outlets called precincts. Some people around me, like me, couldn't believe how fast the results were coming in. However, it was a clear, decisive victory for Obama. The desire of CNN to be the first to project a state for either candidate showed the news outlet's disrespect and disregard for the process and for the American people.

But media prevailed in other ways. In new, innovative ways. User-generated content on sites like YouTube displayed an audience interaction incomparable to anything before. As the Internet grows as more people's primary news source for election coverage, it will be exciting to see how independent media covers the 2012 election, the 2016 election, and even the 2040 election.

More post-election blogging to come.