[Carol Lin, Cnn Anchor:] Republican Congressman Billy Tauzin's Energy and Commerce Committee, of course, is holding that hearing. And we are going to be speaking to him now live. Congressman Tauzin, Carol Lin at the CNN Center. Can you hear me?
[Rep. Billy Tauzin , Energy & Commerce Chmn:] Yes, good morning.
[Lin:] Well, as you heard from Kate Snow's report, you know very well that all five major networks have conducted their own internal reviews, have come up with their own solutions to the problem. And many of them match some of the expectations that you would have of the network executives, like not calling races until the polls close in that individual state. So why is it that you're holding these hearings when so many people are concerned about voting irregularities in the election, not so much the election coverage?
[Tauzin:] Well, because our jurisdiction is deals with the election coverage itself. And that's our job: to check into what went wrong that night. More importantly, we want to give the network executives a chance to talk about Voter News Service, the single source that they use to make these projections, and what they intend to do to make sure that the Voter News Service does a better job. We found out that the Voter News Service is using some very flawed models that produced, I think, the biases on election night. And that needs to get fixed.
[Lin:] But many of the many of the networks have already pledged that they're not going to be using the Voter News Service solely, that, in fact, CNN is looking outside for an independent source for its analysis. So is this testimony relevant then?
[Tauzin:] Well, CNN's the only network that has so far said they would use an additional source other than the Voter News Service. Keep in mind, for a good news story, the tenet of journalistic credibility is two independent sources. And yet, in this most important case of reporting the election of our president, everyone's using a single source that the networks own. If you're going to use only one and most of them are still going to use single source we want to make sure, in effect, that it's the best information available, that everyone in the country feel it's fair and objective. It is not, today. That source is using models that are 30 years old, have not been significantly updated, and now contain some real biases that we're going to produce at the hearing today.
[Lin:] Well, what evidence of bias do you have in terms of how it influenced the outcome?
[Tauzin:] Well, we have first of all, we're not saying it influenced the outcome of the presidential election. What we're saying today, as we did in the 1980s, that the early calls of the election in the East accurate or inaccurate while people are trying to vote out West, may have the effect of effecting voter turn out in parts of the country that are still voting. Certainly that's true in state where there are two time zones, as in Florida and Kentucky. And so getting these exit-polling reports while people are voting is of serious concern. If you're going to use them, we're saying, make sure they're good sources. Secondly, we're asking the networks to consider, as they all are considering, not even using these sources until after the polls are closed. Third, as Kate pointed out, we're actively discussing, again, as we did in 1985, a uniform poll closing time so that it might fit the networks' agreement.
[Lin:] Are you expecting that the will you be satisfied if the networks listen, pledge to take it under consideration? Or are you thinking that Congress is going to have to mandate many of these changes?
[Tauzin:] No, no. Congress has no business mandating content of reporting. We have no business, you know, legislating the way in which networks or reporters cover the news. That's not our function. That is a First Amendment right of the networks. We defend First Amendment rights just as vigorously as you do. We defend them and want them ourselves. We have to be able to speak freely, too. So we're going to defend your right to do it wrong if you want to. What we're simply saying is that: Why don't we try to get it right? And why don't you help us understand how we can get it right in the future?
[Lin:] All right. Well, Congressman Tauzin, we are committed to getting it right. And we will be watching, of course, as you conduct these hearings today.
[Tauzin:] By the way, CNN should be congratulated for using an external review source. You've done a good job of examining the problems that night. And I want to thank you for it.
[Lin:] Well, we appreciate it. Thank you very much, Congressman. And, of course, we want to remind our audience that you can watch the election coverage hearings right here on CNN beginning around 11 a.m. Eastern.