On Election Night, Networks Plan to Proceed With Caution

"Frankly," says Sam Feist, CNN's political director, "we're not in any rush to call individual House races. Our mantra is simple: It's better to be right than to be first. We're going to be extremely cautious."

As always, the networks will be looking for early bellwethers. Three Republican House members are considered in jeopardy in Indiana, where polls close at 7 p.m. If one or more go down, that will affect the tone of the coverage.

If the dominoes aren't falling the Republicans' way, there may be broad hints about how it's "shaping up to be a big Democratic night" well before any network makes an official projection.

But if the races are tight, network analysts say, the outcome in the House might not be known until Thursday -- or days after that if recounts are involved. Another complicating factor would be delayed counting in Oregon and Washington state, which rely almost entirely on mail ballots.

A big political wave can wash away much of the drama. During the Republican sweep of 1994, the networks began talking of a GOP takeover of the House as early as 8:45 but made no official predictions until hours later.

With the level of public interest -- and the volume of television coverage -- much greater than in a typical midterm election, the networks are turning to some of their veterans. At CBS, former anchor Bob Schieffer will join Katie Couric, who will be headlining election night for the first time. At NBC, longtime anchor Tom Brokaw will join Williams on the set.

"This won't have the moment of a presidential night," says Williams. "But it's a little more than Olympic trials."

Howard Kurtz hosts CNN's weekly media program, "Reliable Sources."