Election night, NBC 10 had the best broadcast locally, supplying the right mix of live coverage, analysis and discussion, as seen on both its own newscast, and the one it produces for WPHL. Admittedly, Tim Lake seems like he should be hosting Good Day Tampa Bay or some late night infomercial rather than a newscast. Also, there is something disconcerting about Renee Chenault-Fattah anchoring election coverage, seeing as how her husband is U.S. Congressman Chakah Fattah. It has the appearance of something not-quite-kosher, but hey, this is Pennsylvania politics, where pork is not a four letter word. And anyway these are only a few minor complaints about some informative and insightful coverage.

Fox 29 also provided some very good coverage in their expanded newscast, but their graphics were a bit on the clunky side, and even somewhat annoying, especially the ticker. Unlike its Fox News Channel cousin, Fox 29 really was fair and balanced.

CBS 3 was its usual sensational self - to a point, anyway. The election gave them an excuse to get away from some of the more tabloid elements of the newscast at least for a day, and they did have some token analysis thrown in with the forced drama. Larry Mendte seemed to be more over the top with more of his faux gravitas than normal, but mercifully they didn't send him out into the field.

ABC 6 seemed like they were covering an election in 1986. The station's coverage was adequate, but they seemed to be lacking in the analysis and big picture departments. Someone really needs to tell the talent at Action News that the Ron Burgundy/Ted Baxter style of reporting and anchoring is to be used for comic effect only, not for serious broadcasts. Well, at least they aren’t using Borat as their model of an ideal news reporter. Not yet, anyway.